Editing Reconquista (section)

====Kingdom of Castile (1037–1230)====
{{Main|Kingdom of Castile}}
[[File:Alfonso VI reconquista Toledo.JPG|thumb|20th century ceramic depiction of the [[conquest of Toledo]] by [[Alfonso VI of León and Castile|Alfonso VI]], at the [[Plaza de España, Seville|Plaza de España]]]]
[[Ferdinand I of León|Ferdinand I of Leon]] was the leading king of the mid-11th century. He conquered [[Coimbra]] and attacked the [[taifa]] kingdoms, often demanding the tributes known as [[parias]]. Ferdinand's strategy was to continue to demand parias until the taifa was greatly weakened both militarily and financially. He also repopulated the Borders with numerous ''fueros''. Following the Navarrese tradition, on his death in 1064 he divided his kingdom between his sons. His son [[Sancho II of Castile]] wanted to reunite the kingdom of his father and attacked his brothers, with a young noble at his side: Rodrigo Díaz, later known as [[El Cid Campeador]]. Sancho was killed in the siege of [[Zamora (Spain)|Zamora]] by the traitor Bellido Dolfos (also known as Vellido Adolfo) in 1072. His brother [[Alfonso VI of Castile|Alfonso VI]] took over Leon, Castile and Galicia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ferdinand I {{!}} king of Castile and Leon {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-I-king-of-Castile-and-Leon |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Alfonso VI the Brave gave more power to the ''fueros'' and repopulated [[Segovia]], [[Ávila (province)|Ávila]] and [[Salamanca]]. Once he had secured the Borders, King Alfonso conquered the powerful [[Taifa of Toledo|Taifa kingdom of Toledo]] in 1085. [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], which was the former capital of the Visigoths, was a very important landmark, and the conquest made Alfonso renowned throughout the [[Christian world]]. However, this "conquest" was conducted rather gradually, and mostly peacefully, during the course of several decades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfonso VI {{!}} Biography, Facts, & Children {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfonso-VI |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> However, Toledo was not fully secured and integrated into Alfonso's kingdom until after a period of gradual resettlement and consolidation, during which Christian settlers were encouraged to move into the area.

Alfonso VI was first and foremost a tactful monarch who chose to understand the kings of taifa and employed unprecedented diplomatic measures to attain political feats before considering the use of force. He adopted the title ''[[Imperator totius Hispaniae]]'' ("Emperor of all [[Hispania]]", referring to all the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, and not just the modern country of Spain). Alfonso's more aggressive policy towards the taifas worried the rulers of those kingdoms, who called on the African [[Almoravid]]s for help.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ampuero |first=Marcelo E. Fuentes |date=May 2018 |title=An Empire of Two Religions: Muslims as Allies, Enemies, and Subjects in the Literature of the Iberian Christian Kingdoms |url=https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/215162/Fuentes_umn_0130E_19269.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616173625/https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/215162/Fuentes_umn_0130E_19269.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |access-date=June 16, 2023}}</ref>