| García III Sánchez | |
|---|---|
_Sanches_de_Navarra_-_Compendio_de_cr%25C3%25B3nicas_de_reyes_(Biblioteca_Nacional_de_Espa%25C3%25B1a).png) Late medieval representation of García Sánchez III (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, MS 7415) | |
| King of Pamplona/Navarre King of theKingdom of Najera [es] | |
| Reign | 1035–1054 |
| Predecessor | Sancho III |
| Successor | Sancho IV |
| Born | c. 1012 Nájera,Kingdom of Pamplona |
| Died | (1054-09-01)1 September 1054 Atapuerca,County of Castile |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Stephanie |
| Issue more... | (ill.) |
| House | Jiménez |
| Father | Sancho III of Pamplona |
| Mother | Muniadona of Castile |
García III Sánchez (Basque:Gartzea III.a Sanoitz;c. 1012 – 1 September 1054),[1] nicknamedGarcía from Nájera (Basque:Gartzea Naiarakoa, Spanish:García el de Nájera) wasKing of Pamplona from 1034 until his death. He was alsoCount of Álava and had under his personal control part of theCounty of Castile. As the eldest son ofSancho III he inherited the dynastic rights over the crown of Pamplona, becoming feudal overlord over two of his brothers:Ramiro, who was given lands that would serve as the basis for theKingdom of Aragón; andGonzalo, who received the counties ofSobrarbe andRibagorza. Likewise, he had some claim tosuzerainty over his brotherFerdinand, who under their father had served asCount of Castile, nominally subject to theKingdom of León but brought under the personal control of Sancho III.
García Sánchez inherited the crown ofPamplona after the death of his fatherSancho III in 1035, bypassing the late king's eldest sonRamiro, who was illegitimate. In 1043, he defeated his half-brother in battle, setting the eastern border of the kingdom. García Sánchez III took advantage of the weakened state of the numerousIslamic taifa kingdoms that arose after the dissolution of theCaliphate of Córdoba to push the southern border over their territory, taking the city ofCalahorra in 1045. He also inherited from his father theCounty of Álava and a great part of theCounty of Castile (La Bureba,Trasmiera,Montes de Oca, theEncartaciones andLas Merindades).
In 1037, he joined his brotherFerdinand, the nominal Count of Castile, in a battle against theKingdom of León that took place near the riverPisuerga and that came to be known asBattle of Tamarón.Bermudo III, King of León, was defeated and killed in battle, ending a dynasty of monarchs that went back toPeter of Cantabria. Ferdinand would then be crowned King of León.[2]The relationship between the two brothers would however turn sour by the conflictive distribution of the lands of Castile between León and Pamplona, leading to theBattle of Atapuerca, where García Sánchez would perish.[1][3]
García Sánchez III marriedStephanie of Foix in Barcelona in 1038. Stephanie was the youngest daughter of eitherBernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre[4] orBerenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona.[5] They had nine children:
García Sánchez had two illegitimate children by unknown women:
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded byas King of Pamplona | King of Navarre 1035–1054 | Succeeded by |
