Afonso I of Portugal

Afonso I
Depiction in the Castilian manuscript Compendium of Chronicles of Kings, c. 1312-1325
King of Portugal
Reign26 July 1139 – 6 December 1185
Acclamation25 July 1139
SuccessorSancho I
Count of Portugal
Reign1112 – 25 July 1139
PredecessorHenry
Co-countTheresa (1112–1128)[1]
RegentTheresa (1112–1128)
BornAlphonso Henryquez[citation needed]
1106, 25 July 1109, August 1109 or 1111
Guimarães (some argue Viseu)
Died6 December 1185 (aged c. 73–79)
Coimbra, Portugal
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1146; died 1157)
Issue
Detail
Urraca, Queen of León
Teresa, Countess of Flanders
Mafalda
Sancho I, King of Portugal
HouseBurgundy
FatherHenry, Count of Portugal
MotherTheresa, Countess of Portugal

Afonso I[a] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu]; 1106/1109/1111 – 1185), also called Afonso Henriques, nicknamed the Conqueror (Portuguese: O Conquistador) and the Founder (Portuguese: O Fundador)[2][3] by the Portuguese, was the first king of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the County of Portugal, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquista, an objective that he pursued until his death.

Afonso was the son of Theresa of León and Henry of Burgundy, rulers of the County of Portugal. Henry died in 1112, leaving Teresa to rule alone. Unhappy with Teresa's romantic relationship with Galician Fernando Pérez de Traba and his political influence, the Portuguese nobility rallied around Afonso, who revolted and defeated his mother at the Battle of São Mamede in 1128 and became Count of Portugal soon afterwards. In 1139, Afonso renounced the suzerainty of the Kingdom of León and established the independent Kingdom of Portugal.

Afonso actively campaigned against the Moors in the south. In 1139 he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Ourique, and in 1147 he conquered Santarém and Lisbon from the Moors, with help from men on their way to the Holy Land for the Second Crusade. He secured the independence of Portugal following a victory over León at Valdevez and received papal approval through Manifestis Probatum. Afonso died in 1185 and was succeeded by his son, Sancho I.

  1. ^ Haydn, Joseph (1860). A dictionary of dates relating to all ages and nations: for universal reference; comprehending remarkable occurrences, ancient and modern, the foundation, laws, and governments of countries, ... and particularly of the British Empire. By Joseph Haydn. Edward Moxon, Dover Street. p. 527.
  2. ^ Congress, Library of. "Afonso I, King of Portugal, 1109?–1185". id.loc.gov. LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Afonso I | king of Portugal". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 August 2021.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne