The War of the Three Sanchos and the Legacy of Sancho the Great

During the 11th century, three grandsons of Sancho III "the Great" of Navarre, all named Sancho, rule over different Spanish kingdoms. These first cousins are:

• Sancho II "the Strong", King of Castile,
• Sancho IV Garcés, King of Navarre,
• Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragon.

Their rivalries and conflicts culminate in the War of the Three Sanchos, a struggle over territorial disputes and regional dominance.

The primary historical source documenting this war is the thirteenth-century Primera Crónica General, which provides a narrative of the events and reflects the fragmentation and power struggles among the Christian kingdoms of Iberia during the Reconquista.

The first attempt by Ramiro I of Aragon to take Graus, the northernmost Muslim outpost in the valley of the Cinca, had taken place in 1055, probably in response to the defeat of García Sánchez III of Navarre at Atapuerca the year before (1054), which had placed Ferdinand I of León and Castile in a commanding position against Ramiro's western border and the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza to his south.

His first expedition against Graus had failed, and in 1059 Ferdinand had succeeded in extorting parias (tribute) from Zaragoza.

Ramiro marches on Graus again in the spring of 1063, but this time the Zaragozans have with them three hundred Castilian knights under the infante Sancho the Strong and (possibly) his general Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid.

The presence of the Cid at the battle is based on a single source, the generally reliable Historia Roderici, which alleges that he was the alférez of Sancho at the time.

Considering the rarity of the Cid's name in the documents of the early 1060s, this is unlikely.

The circumstances of the actual battle are obscure.

Reinhart Dozy argued that Ramiro survived four months after the battle and that neither the Cid nor Sancho took any part in it.

The Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis records only that occisus est a mauris in bello apud Gradus (he [Ramiro] was killed by the Moors in war near Graus), with no mention of the Castilians.

The aforementioned Chronica naierensis contains an account generally, though not universally, regarded as a legend: that Sancho Garcés, an illegitimate son of García Sánchez III of Navarre, eloped with the daughter of García's wife, Stephanie (probably by an earlier marriage), who was the fiancée of the Castilian infante Sancho, and that he sought refuge at the court first of Zaragoza, then later of Aragon.

Sancho, to avenge the disruption of his marriage plans, marched against Ramiro and Zaragoza, and Ramiro died in the encounter near "the place called Graus" (loco qui Gradus dicitur) in 1064 or 1070.

According to the Arabic historian al-Turtūshī, Ramiro (misidentified as "Ibn Rudmīr", the son of Ramiro) was assassinated by a Muslim soldier who spoke the Christians' language and infiltrated the Aragonese camp.

Pope Alexander II had first preached the Reconquista in 1063 as a "Christian emergency."

It was also preached in Burgundy, probably with the permission of participation of Hugh of Cluny, where the abbot's brother, Thomas de Chalon, leads the army.

Certainly zeal for the crusade had spread elsewhere in France, for Amatus of Montecassino notes that the "grand chivalry of the French and Burgundians and other peoples" (grant chevalerie de Francoiz et de Borguegnons et d'autre gent) is present at the siege of Barbastro.

Thus, a large army, primarily of Frenchmen and Burgundians, along with a papal contingent, mostly of Italo-Normans, and local Spanish armies, Catalan and Aragonese, is present at the siege when it begins in 1064.

The leader of the papal contingent was a Norman by the name of William of Montreuil.

The leader of the Spaniards is Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragon, whose realm is greatly threatened by the Moors to the south.

The largest component, the Aquitainian, is led by the Duke Guy Geoffrey, aka William VIII.

During William VIII's rule over Aquitaine, the alliance with the southern kingdoms of modern Spain is a political priority, as shown by the marriage of all his daughters to Iberian kings.Though the makeup of this grand army has been subject to much dispute, that it contained a large force of Frankish knights is generally agreed upon.

This expedition is the first campaign organized by the papacy against a Muslim city, and the precursor of the later Crusades movement.

Historian Reinhart Dozy first began a study of the War in the mid-nineteenth century based on the scarce primary sources, mainly Amatus and Ibn Hayyan.

Dozy first suggested the participation of a papal element based on Ibn Hayyan's reference to the "cavalry of Rome."

Subsequent historiography has stressed the Cluniac element in the War, primarily the result of Ferdinand I of León's recent attempts to introduce the Cluniac reform to Spain and inspired by the death of Ramiro I of Aragon following the failed Siege of Graus.

This interpretation has been criticized in more recent decades, especially the papal connection and Italian involvement.

It has been suggested that Alexander was preoccupied with the Antipope Cadalus at the time and did not preach a plenary indulgence for warriors of the Reconquista until the 1073 campaign of Ebles II of Roucy.

It has also been theorized that it was not William of Montreuil, but Guy Geoffrey, who was the "Roman" leader implied by Ibn Hayyan.

The duke of Aquitaine leads the army through the Pyrenees at Somport, joining the Catalan army at Girona early in 1064.

The entire army then marches past Graus, which had resisted assault twice before, and moves against Barbastro, at this time part of the taifa of Lleida ruled by al-Muzaffar.

The city is besieged for forty days until it surrenders, according to both Muslim and Christian sources.

Terms are given by the Christians to spare the lives of the Muslims and respect their properties, but the pact is quickly broken.

Another source tells us that the garrison offered to surrender their property and families in exchange for letting them leave the town, and so it was agreed with the besiegers.

However, the Crusaders didn't honor the treaty and killed the soldiers as they came out.

Crusader soldiers plunder and sack the city without mercy.

Thousands of Muslims, i.e.

residents and what little garrison remains, are massacred (reportedly fifty thousand) and the victors divide an enormous amount of booty.

Not only that, the plight of the women seems to have been especially tough as a consequence of the siege and victory of the crusaders.

During the siege, an indefinite but large number had died of thirst related diseases and the surviving females are subjected to degrading treatment after victory, converting them into servant and sex slaves, or sometimes even exposing them to the torture of their husbands.

The Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar records the capture of a good many Saracen girls and Saracen treasures.

Armengol III of Urgel is given the lordship of the city.

The Moors, in a counterattack in 1065, easily retake Barbastro and undo all the crusaders' work, massacring the small garrison.

Ermengol III dies on April 17, 1065, while defending the city from Moorish reprisals.

Thibaut, the Burgundian leader, dies also, possibly of wounds received on campaign, while returning to France after the loss of the city.

The War of the Three Sanchos (1065–1067 CE)

The War of the Three Sanchos arises in part from the lingering tensions following the division of Sancho III the Great’s empire in 1035. That partition had left Navarre as the dominant kingdom over the “petty kingdoms” (regula) of Castile and Aragon. However, by 1065, Navarre had fallen into vassalage under Castile, which had been joined with León after the death of Ferdinand I.

The Castilian Claim to Bureba and Alta Rioja

Sancho II of Castile, now ruling over Castile and León, covets Bureba and Alta Rioja, territories that his father, Ferdinand I, had helped reconquer from the Caliphate. However, Ferdinand later ceded these lands to his elder brother, García Sánchez III of Navarre, the father of Sancho IV of Navarre.

Sancho of Castile seeks to reclaim these disputed lands, launching a series of frontier raids. In response, Sancho IV of Navarre seeks an alliance with Sancho Ramírez of Aragon, fearing Castilian expansion.

The Conflict and the Role of El Cid

Most of the war takes place in the Burgos and La Rioja regions, reflecting Castile’s aim of recovering key frontier territories. The conflict is also tied to Castile’s capacity to participate in the Reconquista, which had been weakened by the division of Ferdinand’s kingdom in 1065.

During the campaign, Sancho of Castile attempts to extend his influence over the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza, which pays him parias (tribute).

According to the 12th-century Crónica Najerense, a key battle occurs in which Sancho of Castile’s alférez (standard-bearer), Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, defeats his Navarrese counterpart, Jimeno Garcés. This victory earns him the nickname "campi doctor" or "master of the field [of battle]", later immortalized in Spanish literature as El Campeador, the legendary El Cid.

The War of the Three Sanchos reflects the ongoing power struggles between the Christian kingdoms of Iberia, as each ruler seeks to expand their domains while weakening their rivals.

The Counterattack of Sancho Ramírez and the Uncertain Outcome (1067 CE)

Between August and September 1067, Sancho Ramírez of Aragon, allied with Sancho IV of Navarre, launches a counteroffensive against Castile, pushing back against Sancho II of Castile’s incursions into Navarre and La Rioja.

However, historical tradition is divided over who emerged victorious:

• The Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña records a Navarrese and Aragonese victory, claiming they routed Castilian forces at Viana.
• The Primera Crónica General, in contrast, attributes victory to Sancho II of Castile, portraying him as triumphant in battle.

The conflicting accounts reflect the political biases of later chroniclers and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of this phase of the War of the Three Sanchos. Regardless of the victor, the war underscores the intense rivalry between the Christian kingdoms as they competed for dominance in northern Iberia.

The Conclusion of the War of the Three Sanchos (1067 CE)

As the War of the Three Sanchos continues, Sancho II of Castile regains Álava and ...

...the Montes de Oca, and ...

...Pancorbo, as well as the disputed territories of Bureba and Alta Rioja, reclaiming lands that had previously been ceded to Navarre.

Despite these territorial gains, the conflict ultimately ends in a stalemate in 1067, as attention shifts to a new dynastic struggle. The death of Sancha of León, the widow of Ferdinand I, creates an opening for war between Ferdinand’s sons, Sancho II of Castile and Alfonso VI of León, leading to further instability in the Christian kingdoms of Iberia.

The Civil War Among Ferdinand I’s Sons and the Rise of Sancho II (1065–1072 CE)

The Kingdoms of Castile, León, and Galicia had once been united under King Ferdinand I of León, known as "The Great." However, his division of the realm among his children led to years of dynastic warfare among his sons.

Ferdinand’s Succession Plan and Its Consequences

If Ferdinand I had followed Navarrese succession customs, his eldest son, Sancho of Castile, would have inherited either all or the majority of the kingdom. However, the Leónese nobility, considering themselves the true heirs of the ancient Visigothic kingdom, refused to accept Castilian rule. At this time, Castile had only recently transitioned from a frontier county of León into a full-fledged kingdom.

Ferdinand ultimately divided his realm:

• Alfonso VI was granted León.
• García II received Galicia.
• Sancho II inherited Castile.
• His daughters, Urraca and Elvira, were granted the towns of Zamora and Toro.

In addition, each brother was assigned a sphere of influence over different Taifa states.

The Breakdown of the Partition and the First Conflicts (1068–1071)

The division soon collapsed as the brothers turned on one another:

• In 1068, Alfonso VI invaded the Galician client Taifa of Badajoz, extorting tribute, violating the agreed division.
• In response, Sancho II attacked Alfonso, defeating him at the Battle of Llantada (1068 CE), though he failed to overthrow him.
• By 1071, Sancho and Alfonso joined forces against García II, marching across León and Galicia in a coordinated attack. While Sancho conquered the northern territories, Alfonso issued charters in the south, effectively carving up their younger brother’s kingdom.
• García fled to exile in Seville, leaving only Sancho and Alfonso to vie for ultimate control.

The Battle of Golpejera (1072) and Alfonso’s Exile

The final confrontation between the two brothers came in early January 1072, at the Battle of Golpejera, near the Carrión River (south of Santa María de Carrión, the seat of the powerful Beni-Gómez family).

• The battle began at dawn, with both sides fighting fiercely. By the end of the first day, Sancho’s Castilian forces were routed, and his army fled the field.
• However, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, later known as El Cid, rallied the demoralized Castilian troops, inspiring them to launch a renewed attack the following morning.
• In this second assault, Sancho II decisively defeats Alfonso VI, capturing him on the battlefield.

Following his defeat and capture, Alfonso VI is released into exile. He flees to his Moorish client Taifa of Toledo, where he seeks refuge under Muslim protection.

This victory leaves Sancho II as the most powerful of Ferdinand’s heirs, setting the stage for further conflict over the remaining territories of his divided father’s kingdom.