García Sánchez III ( eu, Gartzea III.a Sanoitz; 1012 – 1 September 1054),''Europäische Stammtafeln'': II #56, III.1 #145; Moriarty, ''Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault'', p80, 109 nicknamed García from Nájera ( eu, Gartzea Naiarakoa, es, García el de Nájera) was King of Pamplona from 1034 until his death. He was also Count of Álava and had under his personal control part of the

County of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

. As the eldest son of Sancho III he inherited the dynastic rights over the crown of Pamplona, becoming feudal overlord over two of his brothers: Ramiro, who was given lands that would serve as the basis for the

Kingdom of Aragón The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...

; and

Gonzalo Gonzalo may refer to: * Gonzalo (name) * Gonzalo, Dominican Republic, a small town * Isla Gonzalo, a subantarctic island operated by the Chilean Navy * Hurricane Gonzalo, 2014 See also * Gonzalez (disambiguation) * Gonzales (disambiguation) * ...

, who received the counties of

Sobrarbe Sobrarbe is one of the comarcas of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. Many of its people speak the Aragonese language locally known as ''fabla''. The ...

and Ribagorza. Likewise, he had some claim to

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

over his brother

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, who under their father had served as Count of Castile, nominally subject to the

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...

but brought under the personal control of Sancho III.

Biography

García Sánchez inherited the crown of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

after the death of his father Sancho III in 1035, bypassing the late king's eldest son Ramiro, who was illegitimate. In 1043, he defeated his half-brother in battle, setting the eastern border of the kingdom. García Sánchez III took advantage of the weakened state of the numerous Islamic taifa kingdoms that arose after the dissolution of the

Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and part ...

to push the southern border over their territory, taking the city of

Calahorra Calahorra [] ( an, Calagorra, la, Calagurris) is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris ...

in 1045. He also inherited from his father the County of Álava and a great part of the

(

La Bureba La Bureba is a ''Comarcas of Castile and León, comarca'' located in the northeast of the Province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is bounded on the north by Las Merindades, east by the Comarca del Ebro, south- ...

Trasmiera Trasmiera ( Spanish: ''Trasmiera''; Cantabrian and historically: ''Tresmiera'') is a historic '' comarca'' of Cantabria ( Spain), located to the east of the Miera River (''tras'' Miera, meaning behind Miera, from the point of view of Asturias d ...

, Montes de Oca, the Encartaciones and

Las Merindades Las Merindades is a comarca located north of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bounded on the north-west by the province of Cantabria, north-east by the province of Biscay, south by La Bureba, sout ...

). In 1037, he joined his brother

, the nominal Count of Castile, in a battle against the

that took place near the river

Pisuerga The Pisuerga is a river in northern Spain, the Duero's second largest tributary. It rises in the Cantabrian Mountains in the province of Palencia, autonomous region of Castile and León. Its traditional source is called Fuente Cobre, but it has ...

and that came to be known as Battle of Tamarón.

Bermudo III Bermudo or Vermudo, from Latin Veremundus, is a given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Veremund (fl. c. 500), Suevic king of Galicia *Bermudo I of Asturias (r. 788–91), king, called "the Deacon" (''el Diácono'') *Bermudo II of León (r. ...

, King of León, was defeated and killed in battle, ending a dynasty of monarchs that went back to

Peter of Cantabria Peter ( la, Petrus, es, Pedro; died 730) was the Duke of Cantabria. While various writers have attempted to name his parentage, (for example, making him son or brother of King Erwig), early sources say nothing more specific than the chronicle of ...

. Ferdinand would then be crowned King of León. The relationship between the two brothers would however turn sour by the conflictive distribution of the lands of Castile between León and Pamplona, leading to the

Battle of Atapuerca The Battle of Atapuerca was fought on 1 September 1054 at the site of Piedrahita ("standing stone") in the valley of Atapuerca between two brothers, King García Sánchez III of Navarre and King Ferdinand I of Castile. The Castilians won and K ...

, where García Sánchez would perish.

Marriage and family

García Sánchez III married Stephanie of Foix in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

in 1038. Stephanie was the youngest daughter of either

Bernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre Bernard Roger ( – ) was the count of Couserans, in which capacity he was lord of parts of Comminges and Foix. Life Bernard Roger was the son of count Roger I of Carcassonne and Adelaide de Melgueil. His elder brother, Raymond I of Carc ...

Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona Berenguer Ramon I ''Berengar Raymond I(1005 – 26 May 1035), called the Crooked or the Hunchback (in Latin ''curvus''; in Catalan ''el Corbat''; in Spanish ''el Corvado'' or ''el Curvo''), was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1 ...

. They had nine children: * Sancho Garcés, nicknamed ''Sancho the Noble'', who became King of Pamplona and ruled as Sancho IV from 1054 until his death in 1076. He married Placencia of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. * Urraca Garcés, married in 1074 to

García Ordóñez García Ordóñez (died 29 May 1108), called de Nájera or de Cabra and Crispus or el Crespo de Grañón in the epic literature, was a Castilian magnate who ruled the Rioja, with his seat at Nájera, from 1080 until his death. He is famous in li ...

, lord of

Nájera Nájera () is a small town, former bishopric and now Latin Catholic titular see, former capital of the Kingdom of Navarre, located in the "Rioja Alta" region of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the river Najerilla. Nájera is a stopping point on the Fr ...

and

Grañón Grañón () is a village in the province and autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and as of 2011 had a population of 307 people. References Populated places in La Rioja (Spain) {{LaRiojaES-g ...

. * Ermesinda Garcés, married to Fortún Sánchez, lord of Yéqueda. * Ramiro Garcés, lord of

. * Fernando Garcés, lord of Bucesta, Jubera, Lagunilla and Oprela. * Ramón Garcés, lord of Murillo and Agoncillo. Ramón became known as ''the fratricidal'', after he murdered his brother and King Sancho IV. Afterwards he escaped to the

Taifa of Zaragoza The taifa of Zaragoza () was an independent Arab Muslim state in the east of Al-Andalus (present day Spain), which was established in 1018 as one of the taifa kingdoms, with its capital in Saraqusta (Zaragoza) city. Zaragoza's taifa emerged ...

. In an 1134 charter, Marquesa, wife of Aznar López, referred to her grandfather as "rex Raymundi" (literally 'king' Ramón). However, in medieval Navarre there are examples of the term being used by ''

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...

s'', so this need not signify he claimed the throne on his brother's death. * Jimena Garcés, lady of Corcuetos,

Hornos de Moncalvillo Hornos de Moncalvillo is a village in the province and autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultr ...

and Daroca.Appears for the last time on 27 May 1085 at the

Monastery of Santa María la Real of Najera A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

confirming a donation made by her brother Ramiro. * Mayor Garcés, lady of

Yanguas Yanguas is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instit ...

. * Sancha Garcés García Sánchez had two illegitimate children by unknown women: * Sancho Garcés, lord of

Uncastillo Uncastillo ( Aragonese: Uncastiello) is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, eastern Spain. At the 2010 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) it had a population of 781. Along with Sos d'o Rei Catolico, Exeya d'o ...

, married to Constanza. His son,

Ramiro Sánchez Ramiro Sánchez of Monzón (1070–1129/1130) was a noble kinsman of the kings of Navarre. In 1104 he was '' tenente'' of Urroz, of Monzón between 1104 and 1116, probably of Tudela in 1117 and from 1122 to 1129 in Erro. Biography His father was ...

, would be the father of

García Ramírez García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pampl ...

, who became King of Pamplona. * Mencía Garcés, married to Fortún Ochoiz, lord of Cameros.

Ancestry

Notes

Sources

* * * *Salazar y Acha, Jaime de (1992)
"Reflexiones sobre la posible historicidad de un episodio de la Crónica Najarense"
Príncipe de Viana, Anejo 14:537–564.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Sanchez 03 Of Navarre 1010s births 1054 deaths 11th-century Navarrese monarchs House of Jiménez Navarrese monarchs Monarchs killed in action Burials at the Monastery of Santa María la Real of Nájera 11th-century people from the Kingdom of Pamplona People from Nájera Sons of emperors