- Sancho II of Pamplona
Sancho II Garcés Abarca (after 935 – December 994) was the Jiménez King of Pamplona and Count of Aragon from 970 until his death. He was the son of García Sánchez I and Andregota, daughter and heiress of
Galindo Aznárez II ,Count of Aragon . After his succession, he recognised his younger brother Ramiro asKing of Viguera .The "Historia General de Navarra" by
Jaime del Burgo says (referencing in turn the "Anales del Reino de Navarra" ofJosé de Moret ) that on the occasion of the donation of the villa ofAlastue by Sancho to the monastery ofSan Juan de la Peña in 987, he titled himself "King of Navarre," the first time that title had been used. In other places, he appears as the first King of Aragon and in others the third. These titles, however, did not come into common usage until the late eleventh century. The epithet "Abarca," meaning "sandal," is not contemporary, but is medieval.Under Sancho and his immediate successors, Navarre reached the height of its power and its largest size. During this period, the Navarre was united to the
Kingdom of León and theCounty of Castile by familial bonds. The Navarrese monarchy supported the young Ramiro II when he secured the throne of León.Upon the death of the
Caliph of Cordoba ,Al-Hakam II , in 976, and the succession of his sonHisham II , who had been taught byAl-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir , the prospects of the Christian kingdoms seemed dim. The troops of Al-Mansur defeated the Christians atTorrevicente , south ofSoria . Afterwards, the Muslims returned to triumph atTaracueña , nearOsma . In 975, Sancho was defeated by the Moors atSan Esteban de Gormaz , and in 981 atRueda , a dozen kilometers fromTordesillas , 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 Urraca in marriage. From this union was born
Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo , the second successor of Al-Mansur who tried to usurp the Caliphate of Córdoba from theUmayyad heir.In 972, he founded the monastery of
San Andrés de Cirueña . In 976, at the monastery ofAlbelda , the cultural and intellectual centre of his kingdom, the "Codex Vigilanus " was completed. It is one of the most importantilluminated manuscripts of medieval Spain, containing the canons of theCouncils of Toledo , a copy of the "Liber Iudiciorum ", and the first Western representation of theArabic numerals , among many other texts.Sancho married Urraca, the daughter of the Castilian count
Fernán González and Sancha, Sancho's aunt. The marriage occurred after 962 and before 970. Before 950, Urraca had been married twice previously, to Ordoño III andOrdoño IV of León , from both of whom she separated. Sancho was her third and last husband. Their children were:
*García Sánchez II
*Ramiro (died 992)
*Gonzalo, was given the county of Aragon under the regency of his mother
*Urraca (Abda) the Basque, given to Al-Mansur before entering a convent
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