Editing Ferdinand I of León (section)

==King of León (1037–65)==

===Relations with Navarre===
[[File:Beautus Facundus graanoogst druivenoogst 1047.jpg|thumb|upright|"Harvest of grain and grapes", from the [[Commentary on the Apocalypse|''Beatus'' de Facundus]], commissioned by Ferdinand and Sancha, circa 1047]]
On 15 September 1054, Ferdinand defeated his elder brother García at the [[Battle of Atapuerca]] and reduced Navarre to a vassal state under his late brother's young son, [[Sancho IV of Navarre|Sancho García IV]]. Although Navarre at that time included the traditionally Castilian lands of [[Álava]] and [[La Rioja (Spain)|La Rioja]], Ferdinand demanded the cession only of [[Bureba]].<ref name=reilly7/> Over the next decade, he gradually extended his control over more of the western territory of Navarre at the expense of Sancho IV, although this was accomplished peacefully and is only detectable in the documentary record.<ref name=reilly9>Reilly 1988, 9–10.</ref>

===Relations with al-Andalus===

====War with Zaragoza====
In 1060, according to the ''[[Historia silense]]'', Ferdinand invaded the [[Taifa of Zaragoza|''taifa'' of Zaragoza]] through the upland valley of the eastern Duero in the highlands around [[Soria]]. He captured the fortresses of [[Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz (1060)|San Esteban de Gormaz]], [[Berlanga de Duero|Berlanga]] and [[Vadorrey]], and afterwards proceeded through [[Santiuste]], [[Huermeces]] and [[Santamara]] as far as the [[Roman road]] that lay between [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] and [[Zaragoza]].<ref name=reilly10>Reilly 1988, 10–11.</ref> The success of the campaign was made possible by the preoccupation of the Zaragozan emir, [[Ahmad al-Muqtadir]], with attacking the neighboring [[Taifa of Tortosa|''taifa'' of Tortosa]] and defending his northeastern frontier from [[Ramiro I of Aragon]] and [[Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona]]. The emir, up until then paying tribute to Sancho IV of Navarre, submitted to Ferdinand and agreed to pay ''[[parias]]''. Although probably originally meant to be temporary, Ferdinand managed to enforce the tribute until his death.<ref name=reilly10/>

====War with Toledo====
With al-Muqtadir sidelined as a threat, Ferdinand turned his attention to [[Al-Mamun of Toledo|Yahya ibn Ismail al-Mamun]], [[Taifa of Toledo|emir of Toledo]]. It is probable that Ferdinand already maintained close relations with the Toledan court, and was perhaps protector of the [[Mozarabs|Mozarabic Christian]] community in Toledo. In 1058, the last known Mozarabic bishop of Toledo, [[Pascual (Mozarabic bishop)|Pascual]], was consecrated in León. In 1062, Ferdinand invaded the east of al-Mamun's ''taifa'', taking [[Talamanca (Bages)|Talamanca]] and besieging [[Alcalá de Henares]]. After seeing his country plundered, al-Mamun agreed to pay ''parias'' and Ferdinand left.<ref name=reilly11>Reilly 1988, 11–12.</ref>

====Great raid on Badajoz and Seville====
In 1063, using the new income from his ''parias'', Ferdinand organised a "great raid, or ''[[Razzia (military)|razzia]]''" into the ''[[taifa]]s'' of [[Taifa of Seville|Seville]] and [[Taifa of Badajoz|Badajoz]]. Seville, and probably Badajoz also, paid a ransom for his withdrawal. This attack was probably also designed to remove Badajoz as a threat during his siege of Coimbra the next year.<ref name=reilly11/>

====Reconquests in Portugal====
Although the sources are unclear, it is possible that as early as 1055 Ferdinand attacked the ''taifa'' of Badajoz. His first serious campaign of ''[[Reconquista]]'' was an invasion of the lower basin of the [[Duero]] between the coast, which had long been held by León, and the mountains. On 29 November 1057 his army conquered [[Lamego]] and its valleys.<ref name=reilly9/> Having secured the Duero, Ferdinand began to bring the valley of the [[Mondego River|Mondego]] under his control, first taking [[Viseu]] in its middle stretch on 25 July 1058 and then moving down towards the sea. It was "a long and grueling battle" before [[Coimbra]], at the mouth of the Mondego, was taken on 25 July 1064 [[Siege of Coimbra (1064)|after a six-month siege]].<ref name=reilly9/>

====War with Valencia====
In 1065, Ferdinand embarked on his last military campaign. He invaded the [[Taifa of Valencia|''taifa'' of Valencia]] and laid siege to [[Valencia, Spain|the city itself]] but did not have the forces to take the city. During the retreat from the city he ambushed and defeated the pursuing forces of the emir [[Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Muẓaffar]] late in the autumn at the [[Battle of Paterna]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sánchez Candeira |first=Alfonso |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxY4lwlCO9IC |title=Castilla y León en el siglo XI: estudio del reinado de Fernando I |date=1999 |publisher=Real Academia de la Historia |isbn=978-84-89512-41-2 |pages=187 |language=es}}</ref> The emir's father-in-law, [[al-Mamun of Toledo]], seized control of Valencia, and the frightened emir of Zaragoza renewed his tribute payments to León. Ferdinand fell ill in November and returned to his kingdom.<ref name=reilly11/>