Monarchy of Spain: Difference between revisions

The monarchy in Spain has its roots in the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] and its Christian [[successor states]] of [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]], [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] (later [[kingdom of Leon|Leon]] and [[Kingdom of Castille|Castille]]) and [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], which fought the ''Reconquista'' or Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula following the [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania]] in the 8th century. One of the earliest influential dynasties was the [[Jiménez dynasty|House of Jiménez]] which united much of Christian Iberia under its leadership in the 11th century. From [[Sancho III of Navarre]] (r. 1000–1035) until [[Urraca of León and Castile]] (r. 1106–1125), members of the Jiménez family claimed the historic Visigothic title ''Imperator totius Hispaniae'' or ''[[Imperator totius Hispaniae|Emperor of All Spain]]''. The Jiménez rulers sought to bring their kingdoms into the European mainstream and often engaged in cross-[[Pyrenees]] alliances and marriages, and became patrons to [[Cluniac Reforms]] (c. 950–c. 1130). Urraca's son and heir [[Alfonso VII of León and Castile]], the first of the Spanish branch of the [[Anscarids|Burgundy Family]], was the last to claim the imperial title ''of Spain'', but divided his empire among his sons. The [[Castilian Civil War]] (1366 to 1369) ended with the death of [[Peter of Castile|King Peter]] (r. 1334–1369) at the hands of his illegitimate half-brother [[Henry II of Castile|Henry, 1st Count of Trastámara]] who ruled as Henry II (r. 1369–1379). Henry II became the first of the [[House of Trastámara]] to rule over a Spanish kingdom. King Peter's heiress, his granddaughter [[Catherine of Lancaster]], married [[Henry III of Castile|Henry III]], reuniting the dynasties in the person of their son, [[John II of Castile|King John II]].