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 The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

from 1034 until his death. He was also

Count of Álava Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

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 cent ...

. 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''. Th ...

and Ribagorza. Likewise, he had some claim to suzerainty 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 This is a list of counts of Castile. The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. Fr ...

, nominally subject to the Kingdom of León 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 parts o ...

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 The County of Álava ( eu, Arabako konderria) was one of the Basque ''señoríos'', a feudal territory during the 9th and 13th centuries that corresponds to present-day Álava, in the Basque Country. Until the final invasion and incorporation in ...

and a great part of the

(

La Bureba La Bureba is a ''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-east by the Montes de Oca an ...

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 de Sa ...

, Montes de Oca, the

Encartaciones Enkarterri ( Spanish: ''Las Encartaciones'') is a comarca of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or districts that make up the province of Biscay. Its administrative centre is Balma ...

and

Las Merindades Las Merindades is a comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the te ...

). In 1037, he joined his brother

, the nominal Count of Castile, in a battle against the Kingdom of León 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 The Battle of Tamarón took place on 4 September 1037 between Ferdinand, Count of Castile, and Vermudo III, King of León. Ferdinand, who had married Vermudo's sister Sancha, defeated and killed his brother-in-law near Tamarón, Spain, after ...

. Bermudo III, 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 Ki ...

, 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 ci ...

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 Carcass ...

or Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona. They had nine children: * Sancho Garcés, nicknamed ''Sancho the Noble'', who became

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, 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 F ...

and

Grañón Grañón () 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 ultra'' (Latin ...

. * 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 ...

. 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 th ...

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

Daroca Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district. It is located in the basin of Calatayud, in the valley of the Jiloca river. N ...

.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 which ...

confirming a donation made by her brother Ramiro. * Mayor Garcés, lady of Yanguas. * 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'os C ...

, married to Constanza. His son, Ramiro Sánchez, would be the father of García Ramírez, who became

. * 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