Alfonso I of Asturias

Alfonso I of Asturias

Alfonso I (more rarely "Alonso"), called the Catholic ("el Católico"), was the King of Asturias from 739 to his death in 757. He was son of Duke Peter of Cantabria, and held many lands in that region. He may have been the hereditary chief of the Basques, but this is uncertain. He is said to have married Ermesinda, daughter of Pelayo, who founded the kingdom after the Battle of Covadonga in which he reversed the Moorish conquest of the region. He succeeded Pelayo's son, his brother-in-law, Favila on the throne after the latter's premature death.

Whether Pelayo or Favila were ever considered kings in their own lifetime is debatable, but Alfonso certainly was. He began a lifelong war against the Moors. In 740, he conquered Galicia and in 754, León. He went as far as La Rioja. However, the populations of these frontier regions fled to his northern dominions, leaving a depopulated buffer between the Christian and Muslim states.

This created the so-called "Desert of the Duero", an empty region between the River Duero and the Asturian Mountains. Alfonso intended it this way; he wished to leave such a zone where any invading army would find it too difficult to survive. Besides the martial, the demographic and cultural effect of this policy on later Asturian and Spanish and Portuguese history is large. It was over a hundred years before the region was repopulated (an event known as the Repoblación).

The Arab writers speak of the kings of the northwest of Iberia as the Beni-Alfons (descendants of Alfonso), and appear to recognize them as a Galician royal stock derived from Alfonso I.

See also

* Kingdom of Galicia conquered in the year 740, 8th century, by Alfonso I of Asturias

s-ttl|title=King of Asturias
years=739–757


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alfonso III de Asturias — Rey de Asturias Miniatura medieval que representa a Alfonso III el Magno. Reinado 866 910 Coronación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alfonso I de Asturias — Alfonso I el Católico Rey de Asturias Estatua que representa a Alfonso I el Católico. Rey de Asturias 739 757 Predecesor …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alfonso II de Asturias — Alfonso II el Casto Rey de Asturias Estatua que representa a Alfonso II el Casto. Víctor Hevia. Oviedo Reinado 791 842 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alfonso, Prince of Asturias — may refer to:* Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468), the son of John II of Castile and Infanta Isabel of Portugal * Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938), the son of Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg …   Wikipedia

  • Alfonso I de Asturias — Alfonso I de Asturias, también conocido como Alonso I de Asturias. Rey de Asturias desde el año 739 al 757, apodado el Católico . Duque de Cantabria y descendiente del rey visigodo español Recaredo. Era yerno del caudillo Don Pelayo, ya que… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alfonso II de Asturias — (760 842) apodado el Casto, rey de Asturias entre los años 791 y 842. Era hijo de Fruela I y Munia. Nació en Oviedo hacia el año 760. Al morir su padre quedó al cargo de su tía Adosinda, aunque hay una tradición que dice que fue llevado al… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alfonso III de Asturias — Alfonso III de Asturias, apodado el Magno. Rey de Asturias desde 866 a 910. Nació hacia el 848, hijo de Ordoño I de Asturias. Dominó una sublevación vascona en 867 y más tarde otra en Galicia. En 868 se ocupa Oporto y Coimbra en 878 …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alfonso II of Asturias — Alfonso II (759 842), called the Chaste, was the king of Asturias from 791 to his death, the son of Fruela I and the Basque Munia. He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father s… …   Wikipedia

  • Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938) — For other Princes of Asturias named Alfonso, see Alfonso, Prince of Asturias. Alfonso Prince of Asturias; Count of Covadonga Alfonso in military uniform at the age 8 …   Wikipedia

  • Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468) — For other Princes of Asturias named Alfonso, see Alfonso, Prince of Asturias Infante don Alfonso de Trastamara y Aviz, Prince of Asturias (1453 ndash;1468) was the figurehead of rebelling magnates against his brother Henry IV of Castile.Alfonso… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”