Sancho II of Castile
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Sancho II (1036/1038-October 7, 1072), called the Strong, or in Spanish, el Fuerte, was King of Castile (1065-1072) and León (1072).
He was the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Castile and Sancha of León. His maternal grandparents were Alfonso V of Leon by Elvira Mendes.
He succeeded in Castile while his younger brother Alfonso succeeded in their mother's inheritance of León and Galicia was given to the youngest son García.
In 1068, Sancho defeated his cousins Sancho IV of Navarre and Sancho of Aragón in the War of the Three Sanchos. He reconquered Bureba, Alta Rioja, and Álava which his father had given to Sancho of Navarre's father, García, in return for aid against Bermudo III of León. In that year, he defeated Alfonso, his brother, at Llantada, but he soon teamed up with him to conquer Galicia. They succeeded (1071) and partitioned it, but Sancho then turned on Alfonso. With the aid of his alférez El Cid, he defeated Alfonso at Golpejera (1072). He then forced him into exile in Toledo and took over León as king.
His sister Urraca, Lady of Zamora, held that city against him, as the Leonese were strongly opposed to his presence. It was consequently a Zamoran noble who finally put and end to Sancho's campaigning success. Vellido Dolfos entered Sancho's camp as a pretendant deserter, separating Sancho from his guard as if to tell him the secrets of the Zamoran defence, and assassinated him.
He was succeeded in his kingdoms by the brother he displaced, Alfonso.
Finally, mention should be made of the part these events play in the Cantar de Mío Cid.
In the game Age of Empires II, Sancho appears in the first scenario of the El Cid campaign. In the scenario, he makes El Cid his general and asks him to defeat and capture Alfonso. He also Appears as the King of Castille in the 1066 scenario of the game Crusader Kings.
| Preceded by Ferdinand I |
King of Castile 1065 – 1072 |
Succeeded by Alfonso VI |
| Preceded by Alfonso VI |
King of Leon 1072 – 1072 |
|
| Preceded by García II |
King of Portugal 1072–1072 |
