Sancho Garcés II (
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
: ''Antso II.a Gartzez'', c. 938 – 994), also known as Sancho II, was
King of Pamplona
The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France.
The me ...
and
Count of Aragon from 970 until his death in 994. He was the eldest son of
García Sánchez I of Pamplona and
Andregoto Galíndez. He recognised the
Kingdom of Viguera during his reign.
Nickname
He is sometimes referred to as Sancho ''Abarca'' by modern sources. This appellation was first applied to Sancho II by chroniclers writing centuries after his time who were confused about the succession to Pamplona, creating a single ruler out of the combined careers of Sancho II and his grandfather
Sancho I of Pamplona. The weight of evidence suggests that this nickname originally applied to Sancho I.
Biography
Sancho Garcés was born circa 938, son of
García Sánchez I of Pamplona, the second
King of Pamplona
The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France.
The me ...
from the
Jiménez dynasty, and his first wife
Andregoto Galíndez, daughter of
Galindo Aznárez II,
Count of Aragon. His maternal grandfather died without any legitimate male children, thus passing down the rights to the Count of Aragon to Sancho's mother who, in turn, passed them down to him and he became Count of Aragon, in 948, while still underage. He was initially under the guardianship of Count
Fortún Jiménez. After the death of his father in 970, he became King of Pamplona and was known as Sancho II.
He appears mentioned on the occasion of a donation to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña in 987, when he titled himself "king of Navarre", being the first to use said title. This title, however, did not come into common usage until the late eleventh century.
Under Sancho, the kingdom solidified some of the gains of his predecessor, but also suffered several significant military setbacks at the hands of
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
troops. Navarre was linked with the
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
and the
County of Castile
The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Cas ...
by familial bonds, and the realms frequently worked in concert, with the Navarrese monarchy supporting the young
Ramiro III of León.
In 972, he founded the monastery of San Andrés de Cirueña. In 976, at the monastery of
Albelda, the cultural and intellectual centre of his kingdom, the ''
Codex Vigilanus'' was completed. It is one of the most important
illuminated manuscripts
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
of medieval Spain, containing the canons of the
Councils of Toledo
From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty synods, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against Priscillianism, assembled in 400. The "thir ...
, a copy of the ''
Liber Iudiciorum
The ''Visigothic Code'' (, or Book of the Judgements; ), also called ''Lex Visigothorum'' (English: ''Law of the Visigoths''), is a set of laws first promulgated by king Chindasuinth (642–653 AD) of the Visigothic Kingdom in his second year of ...
'', and the first Western representation of the
Arabic numerals
The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numera ...
, among many other texts.
Upon the death of the
Caliph of Cordoba,
Al-Hakam II
Al-Hakam II, also known as Abū al-ʿĀṣ al-Mustanṣir bi-Llāh al-Hakam b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (; 13 January 915 – 1 October 976), was the Caliph of Córdoba. He was the second Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba in Al-Andalus, and son of Abd-al-R ...
, in 976, and the succession of his son
Hisham II, who had been taught by
Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, the prospects of the Christian kingdoms seemed dim. The troops of Al-Mansur defeated the Christians at
Torrevicente, south of
Soria
Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...
. Afterwards, the Muslims returned to triumph at Taracueña, near
Osma
Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma is the third-largest municipality in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of about 5,250.
It is made up of two parts:
*the smaller Ciudad de Osma (city ...
. In 975, Sancho was defeated by the Moors at
San Esteban de Gormaz
San Esteban de Gormaz is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the provinces of Spain, province of Soria (province), Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Spain. Its population is approximately 3,500. The town is located in the ...
and it has been suggested that he was captured at the
Battle of Estercuel that year.
In 981 at the
Battle of Rueda, a dozen kilometers from
Tordesillas
Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 8,760 .
The town is located on ...
, the Christians suffered another humiliating defeat. Because he could not defeat Al-Mansur by arms, Sancho went to
Córdoba as an ambassador for his own kingdom, bringing many gifts for the victorious Al-Mansur, making a pact with him and agreeing to give the Muslim his daughter. From this union was born
Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, the second successor of Al-Mansur who tried to usurp the Caliphate of Córdoba from the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
heir. He faced further incursions from Almanzor in 989, 991 and 992, the last of which resulted in a second submission at Córdoba, and the next year he sent his son Gonzalo on an embassy to the Caliphate to consolidate the rapprochement. In 994, the year of his death, the kingdom saw yet another incursion by a caliphate army.
After his death in 994, he was buried in San Estebán de Monjardín and later, he was interred in the
Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.
Marriage and children
Sancho Garcés was married to
Urraca Fernández
Urraca Fernández (died 1007) was queen of León and Navarre as the wife of two kings of León and one king of Navarre between 951 and 994. She acted as regent for her son Gonzalo in the County of Aragon in 996–997, and served as co-regent ...
, daughter of the
Count of Castile
This is a list of counts of Castile.
The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. F ...
Fernán González. They had four children.
*
García Sánchez,
King of Pamplona
The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France.
The me ...
and
Count of Aragon from 994 until his death in 1000, and married to Jimena Fernández, daughter of
Fernando Bermúdez de Cea, a member of very high rank among the
Leonese nobility.
* Ramiro Sánchez, died in 992, when his parents made a donation to
San Millán de la Cogolla
San Millán de la Cogolla () is a sparsely populated municipality in La Rioja (Spain). The village is famous for its twin monasteries, Yuso and Suso (Monasterio de San Millán de Yuso and Monasterio de San Millán de Suso), which were declared a ...
for the sake of his soul.
*
Gonzalo Sánchez, he was given some lands in Aragon by his brother.
* Urraca or Sancha Sanchez, known in Arabic as Abda and nicknamed "''the Basque''", having been given by her father to
Almanzor
Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...
, whom she married after converting to Islam. Abda and Almanzor had a single son, named
Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo.
Ancestry
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancho 02 of Pamplona
930s births
994 deaths
10th-century Navarrese monarchs
House of Jiménez
Counts of Aragon
Burials at the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña