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Alfonso I the Catholic

Alfonso I
Alonso I de Asturias 01.jpg
An 18th-century statue of Alfonso I, by Juan Porcel in Madrid
King of Asturias
Reign 739-757
Coronation 739
Predecessor Favila
Successor Fruela I
Born 693
Cantabria
Died 757
Cangas de Onís, Asturias
Burial Santa Cueva de Covadonga
Consort Ermesinda
Issue Fruela I of Asturias
Vimarano
Adosinda
Mauregatus of Asturias
Dynasty Astur-Leonese dynasty
Father Peter of Cantabria
Religion Roman Catholicism

Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (el Católico), (c. 693 – 757) was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and León.

He succeeded his brother-in-law Favila, and was succeeded by his son, Fruela I. Alfonso's youngest son, Mauregatus, also became king, and his daughter Adosinda was consort to king Silo of Asturias. The dynasty started by Alfonso was known in contemporary Al-Andalus as the Astur-Leonese dynasty.

As the son of Duke Peter of Cantabria, Alfonso held many lands in that region. He is said to have married Ermesinda, daughter of Pelagius, who founded Asturias after the Battle of Covadonga in which he reversed the Moorish conquest of the region. He succeeded Pelagius' son, his brother-in-law, Favila, on the throne after the latter's premature death.

Whether Pelagius or Favila were ever considered kings in their own lifetime is debatable, but Alfonso certainly was. He began a lifelong war against the Moors. In 740, he conquered Galicia and in 754, León. He went as far as La Rioja. However, the few urban populations of these frontier regions fled to his northern dominions, leaving a depopulated buffer between the Christian and Muslim states.


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