Ordoño IV, called the Wicked or the Bad (c. 926– Córdoba, c. 962 or 963) was the

king of León In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons. Below follows a ...

from 958 until 960, interrupting the reign of

Sancho the Fat The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

for a two-year period. He was the son of

Alfonso IV of León Alfonso IV (s933), called the Monk ( es, el Monje), was King of León from 925 (or 926) and King of Galicia from 929, until he abdicated in 931. When Ordoño II died in 924 it was not one of his sons who ascended to the throne of León but rat ...

and his queen,

Onneca Sánchez of Pamplona Onneca Sánchez of Pamplona (died June 931) was Queen consort of León as the wife of Alfonso IV of León. She was the mother of Ordoño IV of León, and the daughter of Sancho I of Pamplona. References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onneca Sánchez of ...

,One modern scholar, Manuel Carriedo Tejedo ("La Version de l
"Historia Silense" Sobre la Filiacion de Vermudo II"
''Tierras de León: Revista de la Diputación Provincial'', (1981) 21(44), 38-44), has argued that Ordoño IV was instead son of Galician king

Alfonso Fróilaz Alfonso Fróilaz, called the Hunchback (Spanish ''el Jorobado''), was briefly the king of the unified kingdom of Asturias, Galicia and León in 925. He succeeded his father, King Fruela II, in July 925 but was driven from the throne within the yea ...

, a paternity for Ordoño IV also favored by

Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz y Menduiña (; April 7, 1893 in Madrid – July 8, 1984 in Ávila) was a Spanish scholar, politician and orator. He served as Prime Minister of the Spanish Republican government in exile during the dictatorship of Fran ...

. García Álvarez, "Ordoño IV" refutes this view, as does Emilio Sáez Sánchez (1947), "Sobre la Filiacion de Ordoño IV", ''Cuadernos de Estudios Gallegos'', 2, 363-75). and nephew of

Ramiro II of León Ramiro II (c. 900 – 1 January 951), son of Ordoño II and Elvira Menendez, was a King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of the kingdom, he gained the crown of León (and with it, Galicia) after su ...

and of

García Sánchez I of Pamplona García Sánchez I (Basque: ''Gartzea I.a Santxez''; c. 919 – 22 February 970), was the king of Pamplona from 925 until his death in 970. He was the second king of the Jiménez dynasty, succeeding his father when he was merely six years old. ...

. In 958, two years into the reign of Sancho I of León, he benefited from a rebellion of the nobility that would succeed in briefly placing him on the throne. The Leonese nobles, as well as the disaffected Galician and Castilian ones, had grown sick of the obese Sancho. He received particular help in this from his brother-in-law, count

Fernán González of Castile Fernán González (died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile. Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberian Peninsula, Iberia, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the ...

, whose daughter he married. However, count Fernán was defeated through a

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se and Umayyad alliance on Sancho's behalf in 960, and Ordoño was forced out. Upon losing his throne, Ordoño fled first to

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

, then

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

, where he abandoned his wife. This lost him the support of Fernán González, who allied himself with García Sánchez I of Pamplona. The Castilian count sent Ordoño to Ghalib al-Nasiri, commander of the 'Middle Frontier' in

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba del Moral. Etymology Its name derives from the Arabic 'madīnat salīm', which was named afte ...

, from whom he was passed on to the court of the

caliph of Córdoba A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. There he submitted and made a plea for aid. The caliph at first offered him help, but this led his rival Sancho likewise to offer his submission, thereby neutralizing any benefit to the caliph helping Ordoño, who died in Cordoba, still dethroned. During the short period of his reign, he was married, for political reasons, to

Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collec ...

, daughter of Fernán González and formerly wife of his cousin

Ordoño III of León Ordoño III (–956) was the King of León from 951 to 956, son and successor of Ramiro II (931–951). He confronted Navarre and Castile, who supported his half-brother Sancho the Fat in disputing Ordoño's claim to the throne. He a ...

. After Ordoño IV abandoned her, she would remarry to

Sancho II of Pamplona Sancho Garcés II (Basque: ''Antso II.a Gartzez'', c. 938 – 994), also known as Sancho II, was King of Pamplona and Count of Aragon from 970 until his death in 994. He was the eldest son of García Sánchez I of Pamplona and Andregoto Galínde ...

. According to chronicler Sampiro, she bore Ordoño IV two children, but their identity is not known with certainty. Chronicler

Ibn Hayyan Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Qurṭubī () (987–1075), usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus. Born at Córdoba, his father was an important official at the court of the Andalusi ...

assigns him a son García, but given that Urraca had a son of that name, the future king

García Sánchez II of Pamplona García Sánchez II (Basque: ''Gartzea II.a Santxez''; died c. 1000), was King of Pamplona and Count of Aragon from 994 until his death c. 1000. He was the eldest son of Sancho II of Pamplona and Urraca Fernández and the second Pamplonese monarc ...

by her third husband, Ibn Hayyan may have mistaken this step-son for a son. Likewise, a minority of modern scholars suggested that

Bermudo II of León Bermudo (or Vermudo) II (c. 953 – September 999), called the Gouty ( es, el Gotoso), was first a rival king in Galicia (982–984) and then king of the entire Kingdom of León (984–999). His reign is summed up by Justo Pérez de Urbel's desc ...

was the son of Ordoño IV rather than of

, but a contemporary charter naming Bermudo's grandfather as Ramiro refutes this.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ordono 04 of Leon 920s births 960s deaths 10th-century Leonese monarchs Beni Alfons Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro