| Sancho II | |
|---|---|
.png) Sancho II in the Castilian manuscriptCompendium of Chronicles of Kings (...) (c. 1312-1325). Currently located atBiblioteca Nacional de España. | |
| King of Castile | |
| Reign | 1065–1072 |
| Predecessor | Ferdinand I |
| Successor | Alfonso VI |
| King of León | |
| Reign | 1072 |
| Coronation | 12 January 1072 (León) |
| Predecessor | Alfonso VI |
| Successor | Alfonso VI |
| King of Galicia | |
| Reign | 1071–1072 |
| Predecessor | García II |
| Successor | Alfonso VI |
| Born | c. 1036/1038 Zamora,Kingdom of León |
| Died | 7 October 1072 (aged 33–36) Zamora, Kingdom of León |
| Burial | |
| Consort | Alberta |
| Dynasty | Jiménez |
| Father | Ferdinand I of León and Castile |
| Mother | Sancha of León |
Sancho II (1036/1038 – 7 October 1072), calledthe Strong (el Fuerte), wasKing of Castile (1065–72),Galicia (1071–72) andLeón (1072).
Born atZamora, Sancho was the eldest son ofFerdinand the Great andSancha of León. He was married toAlberta, known by name only from her appearance as Sancho's wife in contemporary charters. ChroniclerWilliam of Poitiers related that competition for the hand of a daughter ofWilliam I, King of England led to strife between two sons of Ferdinand I, and some historians have thus speculated that Sancho's wife, with her non-Iberian name, may have been the daughter in question. However, two later Norman chroniclers report that it wasAlfonso VI's betrothed, and not Sancho's wife Alberta, who was William's daughter.
After Ferdinand the Great defeated and killed his wife's brotherin battle, he was crowned King ofLeón and Castile and called himselfImperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all of Spain"). When the kingdom was divided following Ferdinand's death in 1065, Sancho succeeded his father as King of Castile, while Sancho's younger brotherAlfonso become King of León and his youngest brotherGarcía became king of the reestablished Kingdom of Galicia (partitioned from León). Each of the brothers was also assigned a sphere of influence among theTaifa states, with Sancho designated to receive theparias (tributary payments) from theTaifa of Zaragoza. Ferdinand also granted some holdings to his two daughters, givingUrraca control of the city ofZamora andElvira the city ofToro, bothenclaved within Alfonso's Kingdom of León.
In 1068, Sancho defeated his cousinsSancho IV of Navarre andSancho of Aragon in theWar of the Three Sanchos. This expanded his Kingdom of Castile with the reconquered land ofBureba,Alta Rioja, andÁlava, which his father had given to Sancho IV's father,García, for his support in defeatingBermudo III of León. The same year, Alfonso invaded theTaifa of Badajoz, aclient state of his brother Garcia's Kingdom of Galicia. Sancho, concerned that Alfonso had intentions on conquering his brothers, defeated Alfonso at theBattle of Llantada, reinstating the status quo. Sancho would develop his own appetite for his youngest brother's kingdom: teaming up with Alfonso in 1071, Sancho marched across León to conquer García's northern lands at the time that Alfonso was in the southern part of the Galician realm issuing charters. García fled to exile in theTaifa of Seville, while his older brothers partitioned the Kingdom of Galicia between them.
Sancho soon turned on Alfonso. In 1072, with the aid of hisalférezEl Cid, at theBattle of Golpejera, he defeated Alfonso, who fled into exile in theTaifa of Toledo. Sancho was crowned King of León on 12 January 1072, holding all three crowns that Ferdinand had distributed to his sons only six years earlier. Toro, the city of Sancho's sister Elvira, fell easily in 1072. Sancho was stalled in a siege of his sister Urraca's better-defended city, Zamora.
A Zamoran noble, Vellido Adolfo (also known as Bellido Dolfos), entered Sancho's camp pretending to be a deserter and assassinated him.[1][2] Vellido was chased back to Zamora by El Cid, but escaped into the town through a gateway since calledPortillo del Traidor ("Gateway of the Traitor"). Sancho was succeeded in his kingdoms by the brother he had previously deposed, Alfonso. García, induced to return from exile, was deceived by Alfonso and imprisoned for life, leaving Alfonso in uncontested control of the reunited territories of their father, later taking on their father's title "Emperor of all Spain". Sancho was buried inSan Salvador de Oña.
Sancho II of Castile and León Born: circa 1036/38 Died: 7 October 1072 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Castile 1065–1072 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Galicia 1071–1072 withAlfonso VI | |
| Preceded by | King of León 1072 | |
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