Diego Rodríguez Porcelos (governed 873 – c. 885), was the second Count of Castile, succeeding his father

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

. He did not govern

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, however, as his father had done, since this responsibility fell on Count Vela Jiménez. Between 882 and 884 and under the mandate of King Alfonso III of Asturias, he was in charge of the ''

repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; , ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista and became known as the ''Desert of the D ...

'' of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

and Ubierna. Shortly before 882, he built a castle in Pancorbo from where he confronted a large

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

army trying to annex the valley of the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

in two different military campaigns in 882 and 883. He also created a defensive line along the river Arlanzón, and in 884 founded an outpost that would develop into the city of Burgos. It also appears he restored the episcopal see of Oca (ancient ''Auca''). His date and place of death are not agreed upon by the chronicles, though 885 is most probable as recorded in the Chronica Naierensis which states that ''Didacus comes...et interfectus est in Cornuta era DCCCCXXIII, secundo kalendas febroarii'', that is, that he was killed in Cornudilla on 31 January, and most likely, in a battle against the Muslim troops faithful to the Banu Qasi. Nevertheless, other historians, such as Justo Pérez de Urbel give 890 as his decease date. His body, however, was supposedly buried in the hermitage of San Felices de Oca (nowadays Villafranca Montes de Oca). After his death, Castile was divided by his successors into many counties until 932.

Descendants

The name of the mother of his children, who were probably very young when he died, is not known. These were: * Gómez Díaz, who should not be confused with his namesake, Gómez Díaz count in Saldaña, appears in 932 as the '' alférez'' of Count Fernán González whose eldest son, Gonzalo Fernández, married Fronilde Gómez, possibly a daughter of this Gómez Díaz. * Gonzalo Díaz, who appears on 3 February 921 with his wife María at the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña donating some

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s at the Arlanzón River and declaring that he was the son of Count Diego (''Gundessalbus, Didaci comite filius''). * Fernando Díaz, count in Lantarón and Cerezo.

Monuments in his memory

In a roundabout near the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos, there is an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

in his honour, made in 1983 by sculptor Juan de Ávalos. He is also depicted in a sixteenth century statue in the Arco de Santa María, in the same city.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Porcelos, Diego 885 deaths Counts of Spain 9th-century births 9th-century Asturian nobility People of the Reconquista Counts of Castile