The Battle of Golpejera also known as Golpejar, was an internecine battle among Christian kingdoms fought in early January 1072. King

Sancho II of Castile The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

(the Strong) defeated the forces of his brother

Alfonso VI of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

(the Brave) near

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the French Way of the Way of Saint James. History Carrión de los Condes ...

. It is notable as being one of the battles in which

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...

participated.

Background

In the 11th century, the three kingdoms of Castile, León and Galicia had been united under a single ruler, King

Ferdinand I of León Ferdinand I ( 1015 – 24 December 1065), called the Great (''el Magno''), was the count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the king of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have h ...

, known as The Great. But his elaborate plans for succession led to years of infighting among siblings. If Ferdinand had followed the

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se Succession Law, (Ferdinand was the son of

Sancho III of Navarre Sancho Garcés III ( 992-996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great ( es, Sancho el Mayor, eu, Antso Gartzez Nagusia), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage t ...

), then his elder son, Sancho of Castile, should have receive either all or the most of the inheritance. The nobility of León, however, saw itself as the supreme heir of the ancient Hispanic-Gothic kingdom, and balked at rule under a Castilian monarch. Castile until recently had been merely frontier county of León. Ultimately, in a

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

-like compromise, Ferdinand elected to divide among his sons his domains into three kingdoms.

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

would inherit León; García, Galicia; and

Sancho The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

, Castile. To his two daughters,

Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female given name, first name. In Spanish language, Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the ...

and Elvira, he granted the towns of Zamora and Toro. After his father's death, Sancho made claims on his brother's domains, and invaded the neighboring Christian kingdoms.

Results and aftermath

defeated his brother, Alfonso VI of León over the

Carrión River Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carion, Carrion or Carrión may also refer to: Geography * Carion, Madagascar, former name of Nandihizana * Carrión (river), a river in Spain * Carrión de Calatrava, a municipality in central ...

(9 miles

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

of the city of Santa Maria de Carrion – the capital of the Beni-Gomez –

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

counts of Saldaña, Liebana,

Carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...

, and Zamora). The battle started at dawn, and after a hard fight the Castilians were driven from the field. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (

) managed to encourage both King and army, and lead them in a new attack the following morning. Alfonso was captured, but released into exile, where he sought refuge in Toledo, which was then in

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

hands. Despite this outcome, Sancho's victory was short-lived; he was assassinated by treachery while besieging Leonese nobles who had sequestered with Sancho's sister Urraca in the walled town of Zamora. Alfonso was able to return and rule the joint Kingdom of León-Castile.

In modern culture

This battle is featured as part of the series of the

campaign in '' Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion'' as "Brother Against Brother".

External links

Short synopsis of the Battle of Golepejera and Llantada

{{coord, 42, 20, N, 4, 36, W, source:eswiki_region:ES, display=title Golpejera 11th century in the Kingdom of León Golpejera Golpejera Golpejera 1072 in Europe 11th century in Castile Golpejera History of the province of Palencia