The Battle of Golpejera also known as Golpejar, was an internecine battle among Christian kingdoms fought in early January 1072. King

Sancho II of Castile The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...

(the Strong) defeated the forces of his brother

Alfonso VI of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. ...

(the Brave) near

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. Situated on the River Carrión, it is 40 kilometers upstream from the provincial capital of Palencia, on the F ...

. It is notable as being one of the battles in which

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

participated.

Background

In the 11th century, the three kingdoms of Castile, León and Galicia had been united under a single ruler, King

Ferdinand I of León Ferdinand I ( 1015 – 24 December 1065), called the Great (''el Magno''), was the count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the king of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have ...

, known as The Great. But his elaborate plans for succession led to years of infighting among siblings. If Ferdinand had followed the

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

se Succession Law, (Ferdinand was the son of

Sancho III of Navarre Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of Castile, Álava and Monzón ...

), then his elder son, Sancho of Castile, should have receive either all or most of the inheritance. The nobility of León, however, saw itself as the supreme heir of the ancient Hispanic-Gothic kingdom, and balked at rule under a Castilian monarch. Castile until recently had been merely frontier county of León. Ultimately, in a

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

-like compromise, Ferdinand elected to divide among his sons his domains into three kingdoms.

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

would inherit León; García, Galicia; and

Sancho The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...

, Castile. To his two daughters, Urraca and Elvira, he granted the towns of Zamora and

Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...

. After his father's death, Sancho made claims on his brother's domains, and invaded the neighboring Christian kingdoms.

Results and aftermath

defeated his brother, Alfonso VI of León over the Carrión River (9 miles

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

of the city of Santa Maria de Carrion – the capital of the Beni-Gomez –

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

counts of Saldaña, Liebana,

Carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

, and Zamora). The battle started at dawn, and after a hard fight the Castilians were driven from the field. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (

) managed to encourage both King and army, and lead them in a new attack the following morning. Alfonso was captured, but released into exile, where he sought refuge in Toledo, which was then in

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

hands. Despite this outcome, Sancho's victory was short-lived; he was assassinated by treachery while besieging Leonese nobles who had sequestered with Sancho's sister Urraca in the walled town of Zamora. Alfonso was able to return and rule the joint Kingdom of León-Castile.

In modern culture

This battle is featured as part of the series of the

campaign in '' Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion'' as "Brother Against Brother".

References

External links

Short synopsis of the Battle of Golepejera and Llantada

{{coord, 42, 20, N, 4, 36, W, source:eswiki_region:ES, display=title Golpejera 11th century in the Kingdom of León Golpejera Golpejera Golpejera 1072 in Europe 11th century in Castile Golpejera History of the province of Palencia