Sancho I of Pamplona

The Kingdom of Pamplona at the death of Sancho I

Sancho I Garcés (c. 860 – December 11, 925) was king of Pamplona from 905 to 925. He was a son of García Jiménez, who was king of "another part of the kingdom" of Pamplona and Dadildis de Pallars, his second wife.

In 905, a coalition of enemies of the king, Fortún Garcés, consisting of Lubb ibn Muhammed of the Banu Qasi, King Alfonso III of Asturias, Galindo Aznar II of Aragon and Sancho's uncle, Raymond I of Pallars and Ribagorza, deposed Fortún, and put Sancho on the throne in his place. Throughout his reign, he involved himself in the squabbles among the Muslim lords to the south with repeated success. In 907, he turned on his former ally Lubb ibn Muhammad, killing him in battle. Four years later, another former ally, Galindo Aznar, joined with his brother-in-law Muhammad al-Tawil and Abd Allah ibn Lubb ibn Qasi to attack Sancho, but they were defeated and neutralized as a threat. Al-Tawil fled and was killed shortly afterward, and the power of the Banu Qasi was severely crippled, while Galindo was forced into vassalage to Sancho, leading to the incorporation of the County of Aragon into the Pamplona kingdom. In 920, he teamed with Bernard I of Ribagorza and Amrus ibn Muhammed, son of Muhammad al-Tawil, to attack Banu Qasi-held Monzón. His successes allowed him to join Ultra-Puertos, or Basse-Navarre (Baja Navarra), to his own dominions, and extend his territory as far as Nájera. As a thanksgiving offering for his victories, he founded, in 924, the convent of Albelda.

Perhaps to legitimize the succession, Sancho married Toda Aznárez, daughter of Onneca Fortúnez. Thus, Sancho and Toda's children were also descendants of the Arista dynasty of Navarrese monarchs, but likewise akin to Abd-ar-Rahman III of Córdoba, a grandson of Onneca by a former husband. When Sancho died in 925, his only son was still quite young. Thus, Sancho was succeeded by his brother, Jimeno Garcés, upon whose death Sancho's son García would succeed under the regency of Toda. In his memory, the family would be called the Banu Sanyo (Arabic: بنو شانجه, 'descendants of Sancho') by Al-Andalus chroniclers.

Family

The Codex of Roda gives Sancho and Toda six children:

• Oneca, wife of Alfonso IV of León
• Sancha, married firstly Ordoño II of León, secondly Alvaro Herraméliz of Álava, and thirdly Fernán González, Count of Castile
• Urraca, wife of Ramiro II of León
• Velasquita (or Belasquita), married firstly Munio, count of Vizcaya, secondly Galindo, son of Bernard, count of Ribagorza, and third, nobleman Fortún Galíndez.
• Orbita
• García, king of Pamplona, married firstly Andregota Galíndez and secondly Teresa

Sancho also had an illegitimate daughter:

• Lupa, mother of Raymond I, Count of Bigorre

References

• Salas Merino, Vicente (2008) (in Spanish). La Genealogía de Los Reyes de España [The Genealogy of the Kings of Spain] (4th ed.). Madrid: Editorial Visión Libros. pp. 216–218. ISBN 978-84-9821-767-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=s-YxL2tIbEgC&pg=PA216.