Beni Alfons

The Beni Alfons or Banu Alfonso (Arabic: بنو إذفونش‎, Banu Iḍfunš, "sons of Alfonso") were the family of kings which ruled in Asturias, Galicia, and León from the succession of Alfonso the Catholic, son of Peter of Cantabria in 740. For the next century, rule shifted between Alfonso's descendants and those of his brother Fruela of Cantabria. With the death of Alfonso II a century later, a younger branch of the family took the throne, headed by Ramiro I. For most of the 10th century, internecine squabbles resulted in divided rule and succession struggles among various branches of the family, which were brought to an end by the succession of Bermudo II in 984. The rule of the dynasty ended with the defeat and death of Bermudo III in 1037, the throne passing via his sister to Ferdinand I of León and Castile.

Under their rule, the Astur-Leonese kingdom went from a small mountain enclave to one of the dominant powers in Hispania, only to be eclipsed and conquered by the Banu Sancho (Jiménez dynasty) of Navarre. Most scholars consider the Counts of Cea and hence queen Jimena Fernández of Navarre to have represented a younger branch of this family. One of two proposed derivations for 11th century count García Ordóñez would make him a scion of the dynasty.