Alphonse Ier of Asturies

Alphonse Ier the catholic , died into 757, king of Asturies, wire of Pierre, duke of Cantabrie.

Duke of Cantabrie and going down from the king Visigoth Recaredo. He was the son-in-law of the “Caudillo” (driving or guides in Spanish) Pélage the Conqueror since married to his daughter Ermesinda. He had grounds of Cantabrie by his father, the duke Pierre de Cantabrie and was heir to Asturies via his wife. He succeeded his brother-in-law.

As well Pelage as his/her son Favila never regarded himself as kings. With the difference, Alphonse Ier the Catholic autoproclama King of Asturies. With him the work of reconquest of the Iberian peninsula started, benefitting from the internal dissensions within the Moslem camp which appeared after the lost battle of Poitiers. It annexed the Galicia in 740, the León in 754 and arrived even until Rioja (but it could not repopulate it).

During its programs of reconquest, the cities and villages were emptied because their inhabitants took refuge in the surer grounds of north controlled by Alphonse Ier and his army. These facts involved two consequences for the future:

Firstly, the creation of the “Desert of Duero”, in the zone ranging between the river Duero and the Cantabric Cordillera. It remained practically deserted, in term of population, to make difficult an increase of the Moslems towards north. A repopulation of the zone was carried out nearly one century later.
Secondly, increase in the population in the zone of the northern slope of the Cordillera, Cantabrie and Asturies.

Of his wife, it had had:

Fruela I {{er}} (v. 740 † 768) which will succeed to him,
Viremar, prince assassinated towards 767.
Audesinde, married to Silo, which will become also king of Asturies.
a son, father of Nepotianus, which will be king of Asturies into 842.

It also had an illegitimate son Mauregat, which will be also king of Asturies.

Random links: