Velasco the Basque (, ''Balask al-Galaski'')This is the Romanization of Collins 2012; Lévi-Provençal & García Gómez 1954 use ''Balašk al-Ŷalašqi''; and Cañada Juste 1976 uses ''Balashk al-Chalashqí''. was the

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 ...

ruler of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

in the early 9th century. Velasco may have come to power in 799 in the uprising that overthrew 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 ...

rule in Pamplona, when Muṭarrif ibn Mūsa, probably of the Banu Qasi, was assassinated there. The contemporary ''

Annales Regni Francorum The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...

'' record that "the Navarri and the Pamplonans, who had defected to the Saracens in recent years, were received back into allegiance" in 806. Velasco must be seen as a pro- Frankish leader, perhaps even a Frankish appointee. According to the 11th-century ''Muqtabis'' of Ibn Ḥayyān, in the year 816 ( AH 200) the Córdoban '' ḥājib'' ʿAbd al-Karīm led an expedition against Velasco, whom he describes as the "lord of Pamplona" (, '' ṣāḥib'') and the "enemy of God". There is no record of Velasco receiving any assistance from his Frankish allies. In fact, the Umayyad governor of

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, the future ʿAbd al-Raḥmān II, even sent an embassy to the Frankish emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

that year, perhaps to forestall just such a Frankish reaction. Velasco did receive assistance from the neighbouring

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius who traditionally has been described as being of Visigothic stock. Modern research is leaning towards the view that Pelagius was of Hispano-Roman ...

. The Asturian contingent included some Basques from the region of

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

. After thirteen days of fighting "without truce" along the river Arum, Velasco was defeated and the Álavan leader, García López (''Garsiya ibn Lubb''), was killed. This García was a cousin of King

Alfonso II of Asturias Alfonso II of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste (), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian of Asturias, Nepotian ...

, who was himself half-Basque. The "best knight of Pamplona", Sancho, and a certain Ṣaltān, leader of the '' majūs'' (idolaters), were also among those killed. Following their defeat, the Basques blocked the rivers and mountain passes, frustrating any further Umayyad advance. Ṣaltān was probably the leader of a faction of pagan Basques. Nothing is heard of Velasco after his defeat in 816, but he was no longer lord of Pamplona by 824, when Íñigo Arista was ruling there.

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* * * * * * {{refend Basque people 9th-century people from the Kingdom of Pamplona Upper March