Garcia I of Leon

García I of León (c. 870-914) was the first King of León, between 910 and 914, and son of Alfonso III the Great, King of Asturias, and Queen Jimena from Asturias.

He was the brother of the kings Ordoño II and Fruela II of León, who succeeded him on the Leonese throne when García I died without leaving any descendants.

Biography

García was the eldest son of King Alfonso the Great and his wife, Queen Jimena of Asturias. His grandparents were King Ordoño I of Asturias and his wife, Queen Nuña on his paternal side. During the reign of his father, he collaborated with him in government tasks.

In the year 909, Alfonso III discovered a conspiracy that tried to deprive him of the throne in which his eldest son, Infante García, his wife, Queen Jimena of Asturias and their other children were involved. Infante García took part in the conspiracy supported by his father-in-law, Munio Núñez, Count of Castile, and father of his wife, Muniadona. However, the infante García was arrested and Alfonso III ordered him locked up in the castle of Gauzón, although, shortly after, the king was forced to abdicate his three children and to divide his kingdom among them. The kingdom of León corresponded to the first-born son, the infante García, that of Asturias corresponded to the infante Fruela and that of Galicia to the infante Ordoño, although García would have a pre-eminent position. Alfonso III died in the city of Zamora on December 20, 910 after leading a victorious expedition against Muslims.

King García I established his Court in the city of León. During his reign, he maintained distant and conflictive relations with his brother Ordoño. When their father died, García I prevented Bishop Genadio de Astorga from taking the five hundred metcales that Alfonso III had donated to the city of Santiago de Compostela. However, the kingdom of León was considered, in the opinion of various historians, the main of the kingdoms arising from the inheritance of Alfonso III the Great. The brothers of García I de León considered themselves subordinate to him.

In the year 911 he invaded Muslim territory with his army. According to various historians, he must have entered it through lands from Toledo or Talaverana, as it is recorded in the chronicles of the time that he returned to his kingdom crossing the port of the Earthquake.

During his reign, King García I repopulated various cities in order to secure the line of the Duero River, which had become one of the keys to the defensive system of Leon. In the year 912, according to the Anales Castellanos Primeros, her father-in-law Munio Núñez, Count of Castile, repopulated the city of Roa, Gonzalo Téllez repopulated the city of Osma and Gonzalo Fernández de Burgos repopulated Haza, Clunia and San Esteban de Gormaz. The queen Jimena de Asturias, mother of García I de León, died in the year 912.

King García I of León died in the city of Zamora, although the exact date is unknown, since the chronicles of the time differ when referring to it. However, the historian Gonzalo Martínez Díez pointed out that his death must have occurred in the city of Zamora at some point between the months of January and June of the year 914. His body was taken to Asturias, where his brother governed. of him, King Fruela. His remains were buried in the pantheon of kings in the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rey Casto in the cathedral of Oviedo.

His brother Ordoño II was proclaimed King of León since García had no descendants.

Marriage

He married Muniadona, daughter of the Count of Castilla Munio Núñez, although they had no children.