Alfonso VIII (11 November 1155 – 5 October 1214), called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo.

He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate.

After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarcos against the Almohads, he leads the coalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders who break the power of the Almohads in the Battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212, an event which marksthe arrival of a tide of Christian supremacy on the Iberian peninsula.

His reign seees the domination of Castile over León and, by his alliance with Aragon, he draws these two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection.