bra, Sanctaren, Lisbon, and Sintria. He also raised isome forces for the defence of his tributary, the king of Huesca ; but these were eventually defeated by Don Pedro, king of Arra. gon, and the Moorish principality of Huesca was subverted. Upon the demise of Donna Bertha,

A.D. the king gave his natural daughter,

1094. Theresa, to Henry Besançon, together with all his recent conquests in Portugal; and, after continuing a widower for about two years, he espoused the princess Zaide (daughter of Mohammed Aben Habet, king of Seville), who was esteemed the most beautiful lady of that age, and who cheerfully consented to change her religion, on condition of being raised to the throne of Leon and Castile.

This alliance proved extremely unfortunate for the Spanish Christians; for, the kings of Leon and Seville having invited Joseph, king of Barbary, to assist them in the reduction of all the Moorish principalities in Spain, that şubtle prince made himself master of Seville, Granada, Almeria, and Murcia ; defeated a numerous body of troops under the command of Don Garcia de Cabra ; and subdued the

greatest part of Andalusia. He then returned with a prodigious number of captives to Morocco, and sent over such powerful reinforcements to his subjects whom he had left in Spain, that one of his generals actually invested Toledo, and compelled Alphonso to retire into his hereditary dominions. This audacious attempt was, indeed, frustrated by the vigilance of Alphonso's troops ; but the infidels still retained an important post on the frontiers, whence they might

renew

renew their incursions upon any favourable opportunity

Upon the demise of Don Rodrigo, surnamed the Cid, or lord, the Moors hoped to have ef. fected the recovery of Valencia, which had been wrested from them by the gallantry of the de ceased warrior ; but Alvaro Fanez, the governor, compelled them to retire with considerable loss. However, as the place was preserved with much difficulty and expence, it was afterwards evacuated by the royal command.

Soon after this occurrence, Alphonso A. D.

lost his fourth consort, whose son, Don 1103.

Sancho, was considered as the heir apparent to all his father's dominions ; but, not. withstanding he had now an heir male, the king resolved to enter again into the bands of matri mony, and accordingly espoused a princess of the house of Este, though this measure gave great umbrage to the infanta Urraca, and her husband Don Raymond.

Joseph, king of the Almovarides, having accomplished his designs in Africa, made a fresh descent upon Spain, with a more numerous fleet and army than had ever appeared in that kingdom. Having united his troops, and made all the necessary arrangements, he marched toward the capital, and gained a bloody victory over the Spaniards, who attempted to arrest his pro

This fatal engagement, in which the young prince, Don Sancho, and his governor were massacred, was the most affic. tive reverse of fortune that the Christians had sustained since the demolition of Leon. However, the infidels purchased their advantage so dearly, that they deemed it expedient to retire

gress at Uclea.

to their own dominions, and by that means
gave the Spaniards leisure to levy fresh troops,
and to place a strong garrison in their metro-
polis.
1. In this melancholy posture of affairs, the king,
whose declining years and bodily infirmities dis-
abled him from making any great exertions, di-
rected all his nobles to appear at Leon, and to
take an oath of fidelity to the young Alphonso,
son of his daughter Urraca, and the king of
Arragon. He also gave some judicious direc-
tions concerning the protection of his frontiers,
and disposed the affairs of Toledo to such ad.
vantage, that the inhabitants of that city en-
joyed the most profound tranquillity, notwith-
standing the languishing condition of their so-
vereign, and the increasing strength of their
warlike enemies. At length, Alphonso VI. sub-
mitted to the mortal condition, after he had en-
joyed the regal dignity forty-four years from the
demise of his father, and thirty-seven from the
time of his restoration. He appears to have
been one of the most prudent and illustrious
characters that ever swayed the Spanish sceptre,
and from his death may be dated the numerous
calamities of his subjects.
- Don Alphonso, king of Arragon and Na.
varre, led a numerous body of troops into Cas-
tile, in order to support his claim to the go-
vernment as the husband of Donna Urraca.
This step rendered him extremely unpopular
among the Castilians; and his subsequent ille
treatment of the queen occasioned such dread.
ful confusions in the whole kingdom, that re-
course was eventually had to hostilities by the
opposite parties, and a sanguinary battle was

fought

fought on the Campo de Espiria, between the adherents of the injured princess and those of her imprudent consort. Victory declared in favour of the king ; the cities of Burgos, Va. lencia, Sahagon, and Leon, were given up to be pillaged; and even the sacred dormitory of the kings of Leon was plundered by the triumphant soldiery.

In this sad extremity, the archbishop of Com. postella crowned the young prince, Alphonso Raymond, in the cathedral church of St. James, and encouraged Urraca to take refuge in Ga. licia. The queen cheerfully embraced this proposal, and soon levied a fresh army, which gained some important advantages over the king of Arragon, and compelled him to raise the siege of Astorga, which he had carried on for some time with equal skill and resolution.

In the spring of 1114, a council was held at Palentia by the express desire of Urraca, in which the pope's legate declared, that the marriage of that princess was void and illegal, on account of her consanguinity with Alphonso. By this sentence the king of Arragon's pretensions were totally annihilated ; but the troubles of the state were by no means appeased, for the disappointed monarch contrived to raise a forinidable rebellion in Galicia. The queen gave great umbrage to many of her nobility, by the ill-timed severity which she exercised upon her son's most zealous partisans, and the Moors made several irruptions in hope of profiting from these intestine commotions.

Some time after Alphonso Raymond A.DK

had assumed the reins of 1118.

government, and made his public entry into Tole

do,

do, Urraca prevailed on him to assist in recovering some places which were still held by the king of Arragon; but she soon took offence at his conduct, and a fresh series of calamities resulted from her violent temper. At length, however, after she had violated many engagements, forfeited the affection of her truest ad herents, and proceeded to such extremities as threatened a general rupture, her wild projects were terminated by death, and her remains were interred in the church of St. Isidore, at Leon. The king, who must now be distin.

A. D. guished by the title of Alphonso VII.

1126. came to Leon within two days after the death of his mother, and was received with every testimony of loyalty by the nobility of Leon, Castile, and Asturias. There were, in

ed, some malecontents in the cities of Valencia, Carrion, Burgos, and Villa Franca, that refused to acknowledge his authority, but they were successively reduced to obedience; and before the end of the year, the new monarch found himself in full possession of all his grandfather's dominions, most of them being regained by his victorious arms, or prudent conduct, and the rest being ceded by the king of Arra

in an amicable treaty. As soon as Alphonso had procured the blessings of tranquillity for his subjects, he deemed it expedient to provide for the succession by a prudent marriage, and, accordingly, espoused Donna Berengara, the count of Barcelona's daughter, who was equally famed on account of her personal charms and menal accomplishments. The year following he held a council at Valen. VOL. XV,

R

cia,

gon