Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was
King of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the n ...
from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the
House of Aviz
The House of Aviz (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Casa de Avis''), also known as the Joanine Dynasty (''Dinastia Joanina''), was a dynasty of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which flourished during the Portuguese Renaissance, Renaissance ...
.
He was the son of
João Manuel, Prince of Portugal
Dom João Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugal () (3 June 1537 – 2 January 1554) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince), the eighth son of King John III of Portugal by his wife Catherine of Austria, daughter of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of ...
, and his wife,
Joanna of Austria. He was the grandson of King
John III of Portugal
John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious (Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the thi ...
and
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...
. He disappeared (presumably killed in action) in the
battle of Alcácer Quibir, against the Saadians of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. Sebastian I is often referred to as ''the Desired'' (
Portuguese: ''o Desejado'') or ''the Hidden'' (
Portuguese: ''o Encoberto''), as the Portuguese people longed for his return to end the decline of Portugal that began after his death. He is considered to be the Portuguese example of the