Sancho II of Pamplona

Sancho II
Sancho II of Pamplona, in the Codex Vigilanus
King of Pamplona
Tenure	970–994
Predecessor	García I
Successor	García II
Count of Aragon
Tenure	948–994
Predecessor	Andregoto Galíndez
Successor	García II
Died	994
Burial	San Juan de la Peña
Spouse	Urraca Fernández
Issue	García Sánchez Ramiro Gonzalo Urraca
House	House of Jiménez
Father	García Sánchez I
Mother	Andregoto Galíndez
Religion	Catholicism

Sancho Garcés II (Basque: Antso II.a Gartzez, c. 938 – dead 994), also known as Sancho II. He 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 Galíndez. He recognised the Kingdom of Viguera during his reign.

He is sometimes referred to as Sancho Abarca by modern sources. This appellation was first applied to Sancho II by chroniclers writing centuries after his time who were confused about the succession to Pamplona, creating a single ruler out of the combined careers of Sancho II and his grandfather Sancho I of Pamplona. The weight of evidence suggests that this nickname originally applied to Sancho I.

Sancho Garcés was born circa 938, son of García Sánchez I of Pamplona, the second King of Pamplona from the Jiménez dynasty, and his first wife Andregoto Galíndez, daughter of Galindo Aznárez II, Count of Aragon. His maternal grandfather died without any legitimate male children, thus passing down the rights to the Count of Aragon to Sancho's mother who, in turn, passed them down to him and he became Count of Aragon, in 948, while still underage. He was initially under the guardianship of Count Fortún Jiménez. After the death of is father in 970, he became King of Pamplona and was known as Sancho II.

He appears mentioned on the occasion of a donation to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña in 987, when he titled himself "king of Navarre", being the first to use said title. This title, however, did not come into common usage until the late eleventh century.

Under Sancho, the kingdom solidified some of the gains of his predecessor, but also suffered several significant military setbacks at the hands of Umayyad troops. Navarre was linked with the Kingdom of León and the County of Castile by familial bonds, and the realms frequently worked in concert, with the Navarrese monarchy supporting the young Ramiro III of León.