| |||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
León | ||||||
| Language | Leonese | ||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||
| Government | Feudal Monarchy | ||||||
| King | Fernando VIII de Haro | ||||||
| Population | 3,480,000 | ||||||
| Established | 910, as Kingdom of León, division of the Kingdom of Asturias 932, united Asturias and Galicia 1037, united Castille 1296, secession from Castille 1586, re-established. | ||||||
| Currency | Real | ||||||
The Crown of León is a nation in Europe composed of the Kingdoms of León, Sevilla, Córdoba and the Principality of Asturias. It is in a personal union with the Crown of Portugal. It borders the kingdoms of Jaén, Toledo and Castille to the east, all of them being part of the Castillian Crown, the Kingdoms of Algarve, Portugal and Galicia to the west, and the Emirate of Granada to its southeast.
History[]
The city of León was founded by the Roman Seventh Legion (usually written as Legio Septima Gemina ("twin seventh legion"). It was the headquarters of that legion in the late empire and was a centre for trade in gold, which was mined at Las Médulas nearby. In 540, the city was conquered by the Arian Visigothic King Leovegild, who did not harass the already well-established Roman Catholic population. In AD 717, León fell again, this time to the Moors. However, León was one of the first cities retaken during the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula, and became part of the Kingdom of Asturias in AD 742.
León was a small town during this time, but one of the few former Roman cities in the Kingdom of Asturias which still held significance (the surviving Roman walls bear the medieval walling upon them). During Visigothic times, the city had served as a bishopric, and incorporating the city into Asturias brought legitimacy to the Asturian monarchs who sought to lead a unified Iberian church, during a time when most of the Iberian Peninsula was governed by Muslim powers.
León was created as a separate kingdom when the Asturian king, Alfonso III "the Great", divided his realm among his three sons. León was inherited by García I (910–914). His successor was Ordoño II of León (914–924), who moved the capital of the kingdom of Astures to León.
Ordoño II of León was also a military leader who brought military expeditions from León south to Seville, Córdoba and Guadalajara, in the heart of the Muslim territory.
After a few years of civil wars during the reign of Fruela II, Alfonso Fróilaz and Alfonso IV, Ramiro II (931–951) assumed the throne and brought stability to the kingdom. A brave military chief who defeated the Muslim armies in their own territory, Ramiro's expeditions turned the Valley of the Douro into a no-man's land that separated Christian kingdoms in the north of Iberia from the Muslim states in the south. Ramiro II was nicknamed "The Devil" by Muslims because of his great military skill.
As the Leonese troops advanced they were followed by a process of repoblación, which consisted of repopulating the Meseta high plains, with people coming from Galicia and especially from Asturias and León. This migration of Leonese peoples greatly influenced the Leonese language. During the repoblación period, there arose a distinct form of art known as Mozarabic art. Mozarabic art is a mixing of Visigoth, Islamic and Byzantine elements. Notable examples of the Mozarabic style are the Leonese churches of San Miguel de Escalada and Santiago de Peñalba.
During the early 10th century, León expanded to the south and east, securing territory that became the County of Burgos. Fortified with numerous castles, Burgos remained within Leon until the 930s, at which time Count Fernando González of Castile began a campaign to expand Burgos and make it independent and hereditary. He took for himself the title Count of Castile, in reference to the many castles of the territory (around Burgos), and continued expanding his area at the expense of León by allying with the Caliphate of Córdoba, until AD 966, when he was defeated by Sancho I of León.
The Kingdom of León continued to be the most important of all those of the Iberian Peninsula. However, Sancho III of Navarre (1004–1035) inherited Castille on the late 1020's, and added León in the last year of his life, leaving Galicia to temporary independence. In the division of lands which followed his death, his son Fernando succeeded to the county of Castile. Two years later, in 1037, he conquered León and Galicia, after defeating Bermudo III. For nearly 30 years, until his death in 1065, he ruled over a combined kingdom of León-Castile as Fernando I of León. In these clashes in an impoverished and isolated culture, where salt-making and a blacksmith's forge counted as industries, the armies that decided the fate of the kingdoms numbered in the hundreds of fighting men.
Early in its existence, León lay directly to the north of the wealthy, sophisticated, and powerful Caliphate of Córdoba. When internal dissensions divided Al-Andalus loyalties in the 11th century, leading to an age of smaller Taifa successor states of the Caliphate, the impoverished Christian kingdoms which had been sending tribute to the Caliphate found themselves in a position to demand payments (parias) instead, in return for favours to particular factions or as simple extortion.
Thus, though scarcely influenced by the culture of the successor territories of the former Caliphate, Fernando I followed the example of the counts of Barcelona and the kings of Aragon and he became hugely wealthy from the parias of the Taifas. When he died in 1065, his territories and the parias were split among his three sons, of whom Alfonso emerged the victor in the classic fratricidal strife common to feudal successions.
Few in Europe would have known of this immense new wealth in a kingdom so isolated that its bishops had virtually no contact with Rome, except that Fernando and his heirs (the kings of León and Castile) became the greatest benefactors of the Abbey of Cluny, where Abbot Hugh (died 1109) undertook construction of the huge third abbey church, the cynosure of every eye. The Way of Saint James called pilgrims from Western Europe to the supposed tomb of Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela, and the large hostels and churches along the route encouraged building in the Romanesque style.
Alfonso VI was one of the most important kings of León of the Middle Ages. He assumed control of first León, and later Castile and Galicia, when his brother died attacking the Leonese city of Zamora. He was crowned Emperor of Spain and received the honoring of all the kings of the Iberian Peninsula.
The taking of Toledo, the old Visigoth capital, in 1085 by Alfonso VI of León was a turning point in the development of León and Castile and the first major milestone in the Reconquista. Christian Mozarabs from Al-Andalus had come north to populate the deserted frontier lands, and the traditional view of Spanish history has been that they brought with them the remains of Visigothic and Classical culture, and a new ideology of Reconquista, a crusade against the Moors. Modern historians see the fall of Toledo as marking a basic change in relations with the Moorish south, turning from the simple extortion of annual tribute to outright territorial expansion. Alfonso VI was drawn into local politics by strife within Toledo and inherited the political alliances of the city-state. He found himself faced with problems unfamiliar to him, such as appointing and dealing with a Catholic bishop in Toledo and the settling of garrisons in the small Muslim strongholds, the taifas, which were dependent on Toledo and which often bought the king's favour with gold from their trade with Al-Andalus and the Maghreb. Alfonso VI thus found his role as a Catholic king redefined as he governed large cities with sophisticated urban, Muslim subjects and growing Christian populations.
In 1139, The isolated Atlantic province, the County of Portugal, separated to become the Kingdom of Portugal.
The two kingdoms of León and Castile were split in 1157, with the death of Alfonso VII.
The last two kings of an independent Kingdom of León (1157–1230) were Fernando II and Alfonso VIII (IX of Castille). Fernando II led León's conquest of Mérida, a city dating from Roman times. Alfonso VIII, besides conquering the whole of Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz), was the most modern king of his time, founding the University of Salamanca in 1212 and summoning in 1188 the first parliament with representation of the citizenry ever seen in Western Europe, the Cortes of León.
The last king of an independent León, Alfonso VIII, did not want his kingdom to disappear upon his death and designated his heirs as Sancha and Dulce, the daughters of his first wife. When Alfonso VIII died in 1230, his son by Berengaria of Castile, Fernando III of Castile, invaded León and assumed the crown. He thus became the first joint sovereign of both kingdoms since the death of Alfonso VII in 1157.
The union between León and Castile was never accepted by Leonese people. King Fernando III needed two years to suffocate the independentist revolts in the Kingdom of León. So, his son Alfonso X returned the independence of the Kingdom of León, but it was not respected by Sancho IV. His brother John waited until 1296, when Sancho was dead, to be crowned as Juan I, King of León, Galicia and Sevilla. In 1301 he abdicated and the king of Castile assumed the Crown of León, joining both kingdoms.
Though the kings of Castille and León initially continued to take the title King of León as the superior title, and to use a lion as part of their standard, power in fact became centralized in Castille. The Kingdom of León and the Kingdom of Castile kept different Parliaments, different flags, different coin and different laws.
The Kingdom of León co-existed as a personal union under the Crown of Castile, with León possessing separate institutions, such as its own cortes, the Real Adelantamiento of the Kingdom of León, the Merino mayor of León, among others, The Castilian monarchs, however, soon began a process of unifying the laws of the two kingdoms, as exemplified by the Siete Partidas. By the 16th century, León became a captaincy-general.
In 1586, With the deposition of the Castillian King, León was dissociated from the Crown of Castille, and entered in a personal union with Portugal.
Subjects and Colonies[]
Córdoba[]
- Name: Reino de Córdoba (Castillian)/Kingdom of Córdoba (English)
- Flag:
- Coat of Arms:
- Capital: Córdoba
- Language: Leonese
- Religion: Roman Catholicism
- Regime: Monarchy
- Currency: Real
- Established: 1236
The Kingdom of Córdoba has been a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile from the time it was won from Muslim rule in 1246 during the Reconquista until the present day. This kingdom is not independent from the Castillian kingdom, basically serving the same purpose as Algarve on Portugal. the Crown of Castile before its partition consisted of several such kingdoms. Córdoba is one of the Three Kingdoms of Andalusia.
Sevilla[]
- Name: Reino de Sevilla (Castillian)/Kingdom of Seville (English)
- Flag:
- Coat of Arms:
- Capital: Sevilla
- Language: Leonese
- Religion: Roman Catholicism
- Regime: Monarchy
- Currency: Real
- Established: 1248
The Kingdom of Sevilla has been a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile from the time it was won from Muslim rule in 1246 during the Reconquista until the present day. This kingdom is not independent from the Castillian kingdom, basically serving the same purpose as Algarve on Portugal. the Crown of Castile consisted of several such kingdoms before its partition. Sevilla is one of the Three Kingdoms of Andalusia.
Asturias[]
- Name: Principado de Asturias(Castillian)/Principality of Asturias (English)
- Flag:
- Coat of Arms:
- Capital: Oviedo
- Language: Leonese
- Religion: Roman Catholicism
- Regime: Monarchy
- Currency: Real
- Established: 718
With the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus (29-19 BC), the region entered into the annals of history. After several centuries without foreign presence, the Suebi and Visigoths occupied the land from the 6th century AD to the beginning of the 8th century, ending with the Moorish invasion of Spain. However, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spain's northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. Rather, with the beginning of the Moorish conquest in the 8th century, this region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and in 722, a de facto independent kingdom was established, the Regnum Asturorum, which was to became the cradle of the incipient Reconquista (Reconquest).
In the early 10th century, the Kingdom of Asturias gave way to the Kingdom of León, and during the Middle Ages the geographic isolation of the territory made historical references scarce. Through the rebellion of Henry II of Castile in the 14th century, the Principality of Asturias was established. The most famous proponents of independence were Gonzalo Peláez and Queen Urraca I, who while achieving significant victories were ultimately defeated by Castilian troops. After its integration into the Kingdom of Spain, Asturias provided the Spanish court with high-ranking aristocrats and played an important role in the colonization of America. From 1388 to 1586, the heir to the Castilian throne was styled Prince of Asturias. With the dissociation of León from Castile, the title of Prince of Asturias became the title for the heir of the Leonese throne, while the Castilians adopted the title of Prince of Cantabria. In the 16th century, the population reached 100,000 for the first time, and within another century that number would double due to the arrival of Antilian corn.
Nobiliarchic divisions and titleholders (as of 1718)[]
Duchies[]
- Alba de Tornes - appanage of the crown
- Alburquerque - Francisco VI de la Cueva (1692-)
- Alcalá de los Gazules - Luis II Afán de Ribera
- Arcos - Francisco II Ponce de León (1725-)
- Baena - Francisco II Fernández de Córdoba (1670-)
- Béjar - Joaquín López de Zuñiga (1715-)
- Benavente - Francisco II Pimentel (1695-)
- Cáceres - appanage of the crown
- Cádiz - appanage of the crown
- Cea - appanage of the crown
- Galisteo - appanage of the crown
- Feria - Gómez VII Suárez de Figueroa (1702-)
- Medina de Rioseco - Francisco Enriquez de Cabrera (1692-)
- Medina de las Torres - Leonor Nuñez de Gúzman (1660-) - Martín Nuñez de Gúzman (1658-)
- Medina Sidonia - Pedro I Pérez de Gúzman (1711-)
- Montellano - José II de Solís (1698-)
- Montoro - Luis VII Méndez de Haro (1686-)
- Osuna - Juan VII Téllez-Girón (1702-)
- Plasencia - held by the Dukes of Béjar
- Trujillo - Álvaro IX de Luna (1693-)
Marchessates[]
- Alcalá de la Alameda - Luis Portocarrero (1701-)
- Alcañices - Francisco III Enríquez de Almansa (1709-)
- Almonacid de los Oteros - Pedro IV Homodel (1688-)
- Astorga - Pedro V Álvarez Osorio (1695-)
- Ayamonte - Juan III de Cisneros (1699-)
- Carpio - held by the Dukes of Montoro
- Castrofuerte - appanage of the crown
- Cerralbo - José II Pacheco Osorio (1699-)
- Coria - appanage of the crown
- Estepa - Manuel Centurión
- Gibraleón - held by the Dukes of Béjar
- Grajal - Juan III de Vega (1694-)
- Guadalcázar - Francisco VI Fernández de Córdoba (1703-)
- La Bañeza - appanage of the crown
- La Lapilla - Pedro IV de Fonseca (1689-)
- La Mina - Jaime de Guzmán-Dávalos (1690-)
- Mirabal - Francisco de Mirabal (1680-)
- Mirabel - Garcia III de Apodaca (1700-)
- Montemayor - Juan XI de Baeza (1704-)
- Orellana la Vieja - Rodrigo V de Orellana (1704-)
- Priego - held by the Dukes of Feria
- Rafal - Juan II García de Lasa (1680-)
- Santaella - José III de Aguayo (1681-)
- Távara - held by the Dukes of Trujillo
- Toral - held by the Dukes of Medina de las Torres
- Toro - Fernando III Gómez de Sandoval (1686-)
- Valdecarzana - Lope II Fernández de Miranda (1699-)
- Valdefuentes - appanage of the crown.
- Valencina - Antonio Pantoja (1696-)
- Valle de la Reina - Gonzalo Tamariz de las Rocas (1688-)
- Valverde de la Sierra - Fernando VI de Tovar (1695-)
- Villafranca - held by the Marchesses of Priego
- Villamanrique - appanage of the crown.
- Villanueva del Fresno - Cristóbal Portocarrero (1695-)
- Zahara - held by the Dukes of Arcos
Counties[]
- Alba de Liste - Martín Enriquez (1695-)
- Alcaudete - appanage of the crown.
- Bailén - held by the Dukes of Arcos
- Belálcazar - held by the Dukes of Béjar
- Cabra - held by the Dukes of Baena
- Castellar - Francisco Arias de Saavedra (1709-)
- Castronuevo - Sebastián de Porres (1683-)
- Cheles - Juan VI de Villena (1687-)
- Coca - appanage of the crown.
- Espejo - Alonso VII de Argote (1681-)
- Gelves - Pedro VI de Ocampo(1710-)
- La Monclova - Joaquín Portocarrero (1681-)
- Las Posadas - held by the Marchesses of Guadalcázar
- Las Tercias de Badajoz - Held by the Marchesses of La Lapilla
- Ledesma - held by the Dukes of Alburquerque
- Los Molares - Fernando VII Enriquez de Ribera (1678-)
- Luna - Pedro IV de Quiñones (16683-)
- Montijo - Cristóbal VII Portocarrero (1692-)
- Morente - held by the Dukes of Montoro
- Oliva de Plasencia - Benito Calderón de Vargas (1696-)
- Olivares - held by the Dukes of Montoro
- Palma del Río - appanage of the crown.
- Péñaranda de Bracamonte - Juan V de Bracamonte (1690-)
- Peñaflor de Argamasilla - Ignacio Manuel de Villacís (1681-)
- Plasencia - Francisco de Lanuza (1683-)
- Puebla del Maestre - Alonso XI de Cárdenas (1688-)
- Quintanilla de Flórez - Jerónimo Flórez-Osorio (1690-)
- Santa Eufemia - Rodrigo VII Messia Carrillo
- Siruela - Antonio II de Velasco (1689-)
- Toreno - Fernando III Queipo de Llano (1709-)
- Valencia de Don Juan - held by the Dukes of Nájera
Monarchs[]
Kingdom of Astures[]
- Pelayo (718-737)
- Fáfila (737-739)
- Alfonso I (739-757)
- Fruela I (757-768)
- Aurelio (768-774)
- Silo (774-783)
- Mauregato (778-783)
- Bermudo I (788-791)
- Alfonso II (791-842)
- Nepociano (842)
- Ramiro I (842-850)
- Ordoño I (850-866)
- Alfonso III (866-910)
- Fruela II (910-925)
Kingdom of León (House of Astur)[]
- Garcia I (870-914)
- Ordoño II (871-924)
- Fruela II (924-925)
- Alfonso IV (900-932)
- Ramiro II (905-951)
- Ordoño II (925-956)
- Sancho I (931-[956-958/960-966])
- Ordoño IV (926-[958-960]962)
- Ramiro III (961-985)
- Bermudo II (956-999)
- Alfonso V (994-1028)
- Bermudo III (1015-1037)
House of Jiménez[]
- Sancha I (1013-1067)/Fernando I (1016-1065)
- Alfonso VI (1040-1109)
- Urraca I (1079-1126)
House of Burgundy[]
- Alfonso VII (1105-1157)
- Fernando II (1137-1188)
- Alfonso VII (1171-1230)
- Sancha II/Dulce (reigned in 1230)
- Juan I (1260[1296-1301]-1319)
House of Burgundy (personal union with Castille)[]
- Fernando III (1199-1252)
- Alfonso IX (1221-1284)
- Sancho II (1258-1295)
- Fernando IV (1285-1312)
- Alfonso X (1311-1350)
- Pedro I (1334-1369)
House of Trastámara (personal union with Castille)[]
- Enrique I (1334[1366-1367/1369]-1379)
- Juan II (1358-1390)
- Enrique II (1379-1406)
- Juan III (1405-1454)
- Enrique III (1428-1456)
- Alfonso XI (1451-1474)
House of Habsburg (personal union with Castille)[]
- Isabel (1451-1504)/Fadrique I (1453-1513)
- Maximiliano I (1484-1550)
- Fernando V (1528-1552)
- Maximiliano II (1510-1569)
- Alfonso XII (1534-1577)
- Fadrique II (1560-[1577-1586]1614)
House of Avis (personal union with Portugal)[]
- Garcia III (1557-1587)
House of Lara[]
- Nuno I (1559-1631)/Urraca II (1559-1630)
- Alfonso XIII (1588-1635)
- Juan IV (1611-1636)
- Fernando VI (1614-1667)
- Alfonso XIV (1619-1687)
- Juan V (1642-1708)
- Ramiro IV (1670-1716)
- Alfonso XV (1694-1720)
- Urraca III (1691-1748)
House of Haro[]
- Juan VI (1689-1756)
- Alfonso XVI (1715-1777)
- Fernando VII (1740-1791)
- Alfonso XVII (1760-1816)
- Alfonso XVIII (1780-1834)
- Alfonso XIX (1800-1859)
- Alfonso XX (1823-1861)
- Ramiro V (1850-1872)
- Fernando VIII (1825-1893)
- Juan VII (1847-1912)
- Octavia I (1873-1948)
House of Lara[]
- Garcia III (1872-1935)
- Alfonso XXI (1893-1964)