Sancho II Sánchez or Sans II Sancion (died sometime between 854 and 864) succeeded his brother

Aznar Sánchez Aznar is a Spanish and Gascon surname of Basque origin and an obsolete given name. It probably stems from old Basque "azenar(i)" ('fox', modern "azeri"). Notable people with this name include the following: Surname * Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas ...

as count of ''Vasconia Citerior'' (

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

) in 836, in spite of the objections of King

Pepin I of Aquitaine Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine (French: ''Pépin''; 797 – 13 December 838) was King of Aquitaine and Duke of Maine. Pepin was the second son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye. When his father assigned t ...

. After Pepin's death in 838, confusion enveloped southern Gaul. Most Aquitainian counts elected

Pepin II Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...

as their king, but Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

, urged by his wife Judith, redivided his vast realm at

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

in May 839, granting all of Aquitaine, Gascony,

Septimania Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...

, and the

Hispanic March The Hispanic March or Spanish March ( es, Marca Hispánica, ca, Marca Hispànica, Aragonese and oc, Marca Hispanica, eu, Hispaniako Marka, french: Marche d'Espagne), was a military buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania, estab ...

to his youngest son,

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

. Louis sent an imperial army into the Limousin and then installed his son at

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

. The partisans of Pepin were defeated and Louis proceeded to appoint new counts in new districts. One Seguin was appointed in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

to counter Sancho, now acting virtually alone. Seguin was appointed '' dux Wasconum'' by

—that is, duke of the march guarding the frontier with the Gascons, led by Sancho, most probably a Basque himself. Seguin was killed later that year in a battle against the Vikings. In 848, Bordeaux was left without a leader after the withdrawal of the Vikings. It is not known for sure if Sancho took possession of the city, but it is certainly possible. Historian

Ferdinand Lot Ferdinand Victor Henri Lot ( Le Plessis Piquet, 20 September 1866 – Fontenay-aux-Roses, 20 July 1952) was a French historian and medievalist. His masterpiece, '' The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages'' (1927), ...

supposed that Sancho was even nominated as duke at

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Emenon, Count of Périgord Emenon (or Emeno) was the Count of Poitou (828–839), Périgord (863–866), and Angoulême (863–866). It is unknown who nominated him count of Poitou, but it was probably Pepin I of Aquitaine, at whose side he had fought against the emperor L ...

, the husband of his sister Sancha, Sancho was captured by the dissident

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 ...

chieftain Musa. Charles negotiated their release and in turn Sancho handed over Pepin II when the latter took refuge in Gascony in September 852.Higounet, 39. The chronology here is confused and the chief Moorish offensive should probably be dated to 856, leaving open the sequence and veracity of the related event. In or before 864, Sancho died and the duchy of Gascony passed to his nephew Arnold, son of Emenon. The later duke García Sánchez may have been his son. __NOTOC__

Notes

Sources

Primary

*Pertz, G, ed. ''Chronici Fontanellensis fragmentum'' in Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptores, Vol. II. *Pertz, G, ed. ''Chronicum Aquitanicum'' in Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptores, Vol. II. *Waitz, E, ed. ''Annales Bertiniani''. Hanover: 1883.

Secondary

*Higounet, Charles. ''Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age''. Bordeaux, 1963. *Lewis, Archibald R. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050''. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Sancho II of Gascony Basque people 864 deaths Dukes of Gascony Year of birth unknown