- García Ordóñez
García Ordóñez ( – 1108), known as "Crespo of Grañón", "Boquituerto" or "Crispín", was count of
Nájera . He was the husband of Urraca Garcés (daughter ofGarcía Sánchez III of Navarre and sister of Sancho Garcés IV, "he of Peñalén").In 1076,
Alfonso VI placed the territory of La Rioja in his hands. From Nájera, his power was extended toGrañón andCalahorra ; Calahorra was made the episcopal headquarters.In 1079, sent by Alfonso VI, he helped the Moorish king of Granada fight against
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid), who also had been sent by Alfonso VI with the excuse of collecting the tribute from the king of Sevilla, forming part of a maneuver with the purpose of unbalancing the forces of theTaifa kings in his favor. El Cid was victorious, though without knowing, he had wrecked the plans of his king and complicated the overall situation.Ordóñez transferred the political and military weight of Nájera to
Logroño , an old town located next to the bridge over theEbro , which connected La Rioja to theWay of St. James . In 1095, Alfonso VI granted Logroño a charter of rights that would be a model for other Spanish cities.Alfonso VI named Ordóñez tutor for his only son,
Sancho Alfónsez , in addition to giving him theAlférez Real honor instead of El Cid. He took part in the Battle ofUclés in which he died defending the life of the young Sancho Alfónsez, who would die in the same battle shortly after.
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