Alfonso III "el Magno" Ordóñez Rey de Asturias y Galicia

  Noted events in his life were:

• Web Reference: ⁴⁹³
Charles Cawley's Medieval Lands, Alfonso III "el Magno" rey de Asturias

Alfonso de Asturias, son of Ordoño I King of Asturias & his wife Munia. He succeeded his father in 866 as Alfonso III "el Magno" King of Asturias. His succession was challenged by Fruela Vermúdez, conde in Galicia, and King Alfonso was obliged to seek refuge in Castile with conde Rodrigo until the rebel was killed by the king's supporters.

He was also faced with a Basque rebellion in 867. Having pacified internal opposition, he was able to turn his attention to territorial expansion and reconquest from the Moors. He occupied northern Portugal in 868, and resettled the land between the Miño and Duero rivers. By 880, all of Galicia and the northern third of Portugal were under his control. Despite slower progress in Castile and León, King Alfonso was able to force territorial concessions under the peace of 884.

Taking advantage of internal conflicts among the Muslims, he was able to strike deep into the heart of al-Andalus during the expedition of 881. He negotiated an alliance with Pamplona, confirmed by his marriage, and together they fought for control over Rioja. He moved his capital from Oviedo to León, after which the Kingdom was usually known as "Asturias and León".

Conde Witiza rebelled against him but the rebellion was crushed in 895 with the help of conde Hermenegildo Gutiérrez. He revived Visigothic court forms, such as the traditional right of royal consecration. On his death, his territories were divided between his three sons.

He married Jimena de Pamplona, daughter of García I Íñiguez King of Pamplona & his first wife Urraca. She is absent from the list of children of King García I in the Codex de Roda. Daughter of King García I according to Sánchez-Albórnoz. Settipani, while agreeing that Jimena must belong to the royal family of Navarre.

• Web Reference:
Wikipedia en español: Alfonso III of Asturias, called the Great, was king of Asturias from 866 until shortly before his death, occurred in 910. Son and successor of Ordoño I and his Wife, Queen Nuña, Alfonso III was the last Asturian king, or the first of León.

Alfonso III married Jimena de Asturias, whose affiliation is not confirmed, although some historians consider that she was the daughter of King García Íñiguez de Pamplona and sister of King Fortún Garcés. The wedding would have been held between 28 May and 20 Dec 873. In 874 both signed the donation of a golden cross to the church of Santiago.

Their children were:

• García I de León, the firstborn, king of León.
• Ordoño II of León, King of Galicia and later of León after inheriting the Leon throne at the death of his older brother.
• Fruela II of León, King of Asturias and later of León.
• Gonzalo, confirmed in numerous privileges of the time, issued by his parents and siblings, and was an archdian from the cathedral of Oviedo.

Alfonso married Ximena García de Navarra, daughter of García I Iñíguez Rey of Navarre (Pamplona) and Uracca Giménez, in 869. (Ximena García de Navarra was born about 849 in Navarra, died before 912 and was buried in Santa María, Oviedo, Asturias, Iberia.)