Íñigo I of Pamplona
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Íñigo I Íñiguez, called Arista in Spanish and Aritza or Aiza in Basque (his Basque name was Eneko Enekones) (c.781 – 852) was the first king of Pamplona (810 or 824-851 or 852). He was also apparently count of Bigorre and Sobrarbe. His origin is obscure, but his patronymic indicates that he was the son of an Íñigo. It has been speculated that he was kinsman of García Jiménez, who in the late 8th century succeeded his father Jimeno in resisting Carolingian expansion into Vasconia. He is also speculated to have been related to the other Navarrese dynasty, the Jiménez.
His mother also married (chronology suggests it was after her marriage to Íñigo) Musà ibn Fortún ibn Qasi, by whom she was mother of Musà ibn Musà ibn Qasi, head of the Banu Qasi and Moslem king of Tudela, one of the chief lords of Valley of the Ebro. Due to this relationship, Íñigo and his kin frequently acted in alliance with Musà ibn Musà and this relationship allowed Eneko to extend his influence over large territories in the Pyrenean valleys.
The family of Velasco was the chief rival of Eneko and the Banu Qasi and the chiefest of allies of the Franks in Spain. In 799, pro-Frankish assassins murdered Mutarrif ibn Musà, governor of Pamplona, who belonged to the Banu Qasi. A Velasco moved into the vacuum and the Frankish influence spread westwards in Iberia. In 824, the Frankish counts Aeblus and Aznar Sánchez made another expedition against Pamplona. This led Eneko to overthrow the Frankish underlings. He was pronounced "King of Pamplona" in that city by the people. Eneko was a Christicolae princeps (Christian prince), according to Eulogio de Córdoba. However, his kingdom combined both Moslem and Christian to maintain independence against outside powers. All was not peace between the Moors and the Basques, however. Abd-ar-Rahman II, emir of Córdoba, made reprisals against Pamplona.
This was a time of conflict with the Vikings and, according to Moorish chronicles, Eneko's son [1] was captured by the Norse and released for an immense ransom [2]. In 841 [3], Eneko fell victim to paralysis [4] in battle against the Norse with Musà ibn Musà. Either his brother Fortún Íñiguez ("the premier knight of the realm", also half-brother of Musà) or his son García acted as regent, and they joined Musà ibn Musà in an uprising against the Caliphate of Córdoba. In the ensuing campaign Fortún Íñiguez was killed. In 850, envoys of Eneko and Jimeno, "Dukes of the Navarrese", were received at the French court. Eneko died in 851 or 852, and was succeeded by García Íñiguez (as reported by chronicler ibn Hayyan) although it is likely that Jimeno continued to function as a semi-autonomous ruler in "another part of the kingdom", as his son García Jiménez later would. Eneko's own male line lost the throne to the latter's son in 905, but later kings of Pamplona were Eneko's descendants through the female line.
The name of the wife (or wives) of Eneko is not reported in contemporary records, although chronicles from centuries later assign her the name of Toda or Oneca. There is also scholarly debate regarding her derivation, some hypothesizing that she was daughter of Velasco, lord of Pamplona (killed 816), and others making her kinswoman of Aznar I Galíndez:
- Assona Íñiguez, who married her father's half-brother, Musà ibn Musà ibn Fortún ibn Qasi, lord of Tudela and Huesca
- García Íñiguez, the future king
- Galindo Íñiguez, father of Musà ibn Galindo, Wali of Huesca in 860, assassinated in 870 in Córdoba
- a daughter, wife of Count García el Malo (the Bad) of Aragón (some modern sources call her Nunila, but no name is given by the earliest sources).
As a trivial and interesting irony of history, it may be noted that the famous general of the Cuban Wars of Independence, Calixto García Íñiguez, [5] was a descendant on his mother's side of Íñigo Arista, and was held captive in, and escaped from, Pamplona in the 19th Century.
| New Title | King of Pamplona 824–851/2 |
Succeeded by García Íñiguez |
