Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Mendoza (died 11 August 1525), 3rd

Count of Cabra Count of Cabra is a Spanish noble title created by King Henry IV of Castile on 2 November 1455 for Diego Fernandez de Cordova and Montemayor, 1st Viscount of Iznájar. The titleholder is a Grandee of Spain, the third oldest such title in Spain. ...

, was a Castilian nobleman. He served with distinction during the war in which the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

was conquered by the forces of Castile and Aragon, and subsequently had great influence in Castile.

Family

Diego was son of

Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Carrillo de Albornoz Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Carrillo de Albornoz ( – Baena, 5 October 1487) was a Castilian nobleman who held the titles of 2nd Count of Cabra, 2nd Viscount of Iznájar, 4th Lord of Baena and Marshal of Castile. He is best known for leading th ...

(c. 1438–1487), 2nd

, Viscount of

Iznájar Iznájar is a town and municipal area in the province of Córdoba in Andalucia, southern Spain. Demographics In 2005, it had a population of 4,960 inhabitants, with a population density of 36.5 people per km2. Geography The municipality cover ...

, lord of

Baena Baena is a town and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the Córdoba Province, Spain, province of Córdoba, Andalusia. It is situated near the on the slope of a hill southeast of Córdoba, Spain, Córdoba by road. The popu ...

and of many other manors. His father was one of the most prominent men of late medieval Castile, and under

Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile (Spanish language, Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), nicknamed the Impotent, was King of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingdom of León, León and the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Ca ...

(1425–1474) played a leading role in the conquest of the

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; ) was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the foun ...

. His mother was María Hurtado de Mendoza, daughter of

Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of the Infantado Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, 1st Duke of the Infantado, or Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Suarez de Figueroa (Guadalajara, Castile, 25 September 1417 – Manzanares el Real, Spain, 25 January 1479) was a Spanish noble. Biograph ...

, and also of the highest Castilian nobility. Diego's childhood education was mainly concerned with the art of war, and he accompanied his father in the

Granada War The Granada War was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It ended with the defeat o ...

(1482–1491). Diego's first wife was Beatriz Enriquez de Velasco, cousin of

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

(1452–1516), daughter of

Alonso Enríquez de Quiñones Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. The original Visigothic name ''Alfonso'' suffered the phonetic change of the phoneme /f/ into the mute /h/ in the Early Middle Ages (around 9th Century), w ...

(c. 1432–1485), third

Admiral of Castile Admiral of Castile was the representative of the King of Castile at the head of the Navy. It was a dignity created in 1247 that lasted until 1705. Admiral of Castile The title of Admiral of Castile was created by King Ferdinand III the Saint in ...

, Count of Melgar y Rueda and uncle of King Ferdinand, and Maria de Velasco, daughter of Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 1st Count of Haro. His second wife was Francisca de Zúñiga and de la Cerda, daughter of Diego de Zúñiga, claimant to be

Duke of Béjar Duke of Béjar () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1485 by the Catholic Monarchs to Álvaro de Zúñiga, 1st Duke of Plasencia and chief justice of Castile. The title refers ...

, and Juana de la Cerda y Castañeda. He had many children, both legitimate and illegitimate.

Military career

Diego succeeded his father in 1487, and began to distinguish himself in his own right in the sieges of Granada. In 1488 he was instructed by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

, to start an offensive against Grenada from

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

, which he did with all the forces he could supply and won many victories, concluding with the capture of Baza and

Huéscar Huéscar () is a municipality of the province of Granada, Spain. History When the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Rome, Osca was a town of the Turdetani, and incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. However, purportedly an ...

. In 1489 he was told by the sovereigns to invade Grenada from

Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...

in May. He provided 250 lances and 300 foot soldiers, and with his uncle Martín Alfonso de Córdoba y Montemayor made the whole of the

Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, ) is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, Granada and Almería; ...

region fall to the Christian forces the next year. The fighting continued, with another attack on the Nasrid emirate and the

Vega de Granada The Vega de Granada is a ''comarca'' (county, but with no administrative role) in the province of Granada, in Andalusia, Spain. The name refers to the basin near the city of Granada. This comarca was established in 2003 by the Government of Anda ...

, defense of Baza, and on 23 April 1491 a fresh attack on the Vega de Granada to end the armed conflict. Don Diego Fernández de Córdoba, count of Cabra, Viscount of Iznájar, lord of Baena is listed among those present in December 1491 in the

Capitulations of Santa Fe The Capitulations of Santa Fe between Christopher Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, were signed in Santa Fe, Granada on April 17, 1492. They granted Columbus the titles of admiral of t ...

Later career

After the war the Catholic monarchs rewarded Diego in 1493 with the lordship of the towns of Canillas de Aceituno,

Árchez Árchez is a small village in the province of Málaga, in southern Spain. The village is situated approximately 21 kilometres from Vélez Málaga. It has a population of approximately 408 residents, who are known as Archeros. Archez is located in ...

and

Corumbela Corumbela is a village in the province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. The date of foundation is unknown, although it is believed that it was populated by Iberians. The name is Roman and means "dove". At present, the village has about 300 inhabita ...

in the Sierra de Bentomiz and

Vélez-Málaga Vélez-Málaga () is a municipality and the capital of the Axarquía comarca in the province of Málaga, in the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the most important city in the comarca. Locally it is referred to as Vélez. Vélez- ...

area. He now had great influence in Castile. On 11 June 1499 he was appointed joint viceroy and governor of Castile with Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, Count of Feria and father of his relative the Marquis of Priego to represent them during his visit to

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. Diego was one of the three ambassadors to England that left on 26 August 1501 to accompany princess

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

(1485–1536) on her marriage to

Arthur, Prince of Wales Arthur, Prince of Wales (19/20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502), was the eldest son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and an older brother to the future King Henry VIII. He was Duke of Cornwall from birth, and he was crea ...

(1486–1502). The others were Alonso de Fonseca (1440–1512), archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, and his cousin

Antonio de Rojas Manrique Antonio de Rojas Manrique (died 27 June 1527) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Patriarch of the West Indies (1524–1527), ''(in Latin)'' Bishop of Burgos (1525–1527), ''(in Latin)'' Bishop of Palencia (1524–1525), ''(in Latin)' ...

(died 1527), bishop of Mallorca. In November 1506 some nobles, including Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Mendoza and Pedro Fernández de Córdoba y Pacheco (1470–1517), Marquis of Priego, instigated a riot in Córdoba in which the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

's prison was assaulted and the prisoners released. The inquisitor

Diego Rodríguez de Lucero Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. ...

fled on a mule to save his life. Diego was appointed ''Alcalde mayor'' (Chief justice) and ''Alcaide'' (Governor) of the fortress of

Alcalá la Real Alcalá la Real is a city in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2024 INE figures, the city had a population of 21,581. Geography Alcalá la Real is situated from the provincial capital, Jaén, and from Granada, on the slopes of L ...

. In the last part of his life Diego Fernández de Córdoba seems to have carried out important pacification work in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

, which earned him the gratitude of the Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

(1500–1558). Diego Fernández de Córdoba and Mendoza died in

, Córdoba on 11 August 1525.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba y Carrillo de Albornoz, Diego Fernandez de 1525 deaths Counts of Spain