Portugal in the Middle Ages
| Kingdom of Portugal | ||||||||||
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Reino de Portugal Regnum Portugalliae |
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| Capital |
Coimbra (1139-1255) Lisbon (1255-1415) |
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| Languages |
Portuguese Latin |
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| Religion | Roman Catholicism | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 1139-1185 | Afonso I (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1385-1433 | João I (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Establishment | 25 July 1139 | ||||||||
| • | Recognition by León | 1143 | ||||||||
| • | Portuguese Interregnum | 1383-1385 | ||||||||
| • | Conquest of Ceuta | 14 August 1415 | ||||||||
| Currency | Portuguese dinheiro | |||||||||
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The kingdom of Portugal was established from the county of Portugal in the 1130s, ruled by the Alfonsine Dynasty. During most of the 12th and 13th centuries, its history is chiefly that of the gradual reconquest of territory from the various petty Muslim principalities (taifas) of the period.
This process was essentially complete with the ascension of Afonso III of Portugal, the first to claim the title of King of Portugal and the Algarve. The history of Portugal in the period between the death of Afonso III in 1279 and the beginning of the Portuguese Empire in 1415 includes the succession crisis of 1383 and the subsequent transition from the Portuguese House of Burgundy to the House of Aviz.
Towards the close of the 11th century crusading knights came from every part of Europe to aid the kings of León, Castile and Aragon in fighting the Moors. Among these adventurers was Henry of Burgundy, who, in 1095, married Theresa of León, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso VI of León. The County of Portugal was included in Theresa's dowry. Count Henry ruled as a vassal of Alfonso VI, whose Galician marches were thus secured against any sudden Moorish raid. But in 1109 Alfonso VI died, bequeathing all his territories to his legitimate daughter, Urraca of Castile, and Count Henry at once invaded León, hoping to add it to his own dominions at the expense of his suzerain.
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Wikipedia