Ramiro III (King of Leon)

Regency

The First Years of Regency

Ramiro III inherited the throne of the kingdom of Leon at the age of 5, after his father Sancho I was poisoned in November or December 966 during the suppression of the rebellion in Galicia . The first document in which Ramiro is endowed with a royal title is dated December 16 of this year. Due to the infancy of the new king, a regency council was created, which included his paternal aunt, abbess of the monastery of San Salvador de Leon Elvira Ramirez , and his mother, Teresa Ansures of Monson , who soon also left for the monastery. The main role in the regency council was played by Elvira Ramirez, who relied on the support of the Christian prelates of the kingdom and close ties with the royal family of Navarra , whose king, Garcia I Sanchez , was a long-time ally of Ramiro’s father. It is believed that it was the support of King Garcia I that Ramiro was obliged to retain the throne. Many immigrants from Navarra became persons particularly close to Elvira Ramirez.

In the very first years of the reign of Ramiro III, a split appeared among the nobility of the kingdom on the question of whether Ramiro was a worthy candidate for the throne. At the coronation of Ramiro III there was only a part of the vassals of King Leon: despite the presence of Count Saldania Gomez Diaz and several Galician counts led by Rodrigo Velazquez and Froila Vela, there were no such large feudal lords as Count Portugal Gonzalo Mendes and Count Astorgi Gonzalo Munes , who were credited with poisoning King Sancho I and who at that time was released from prison by his supporters. Opponents of Ramiro III supported Bermudo II , the son of King Ordogno III, who was raised in Galicia. Count of Castile Fernand González was neutral.

Elvira Ramirez tried to increase the prestige of power by reinstating the king of imperial symbols: in the charters , the title “ Imperator of all Spain ” ( Imperator totius Hispaniae ) begins to be used in relation to Ramiro, the name Ramiro is followed by the name Flavio ( Flavius ), which was used first by the Roman emperors, and then by the kings Visigoths , Elvira herself uses the title basilea ( empress ). However, she failed to strengthen her influence in those areas where the positions of the opponents of Ramiro III were strong. As a result, the authority of the Regency Council extended only to the central and eastern parts of the kingdom; most of Galicia and Portugal did not recognize the power of King Ramiro.

Viking attack on Galicia

Already in 968, Elvira Ramirez faced a serious threat: on the coast of Galicia, a large Viking army led by Gundred landed ^[1] . Having not received military assistance from the king, the Bishop of Santiago de Compostela Sisnand II spoke out against the Normans , however, the Galician militia headed by him was defeated at the battle of Fornelos , and the bishop himself was killed. Elvira’s attempt to direct St. Rosendo against the Vikings, who defeated the Vikings in 965, did not lead to success. Not meeting with resistance, the Normans for three years plundered 18 Galician cities, including Santiago de Compostela. Only in 971, one of the counts ^[2] managed to assemble a new army and defeat the Vikings. Gundred died. The remnants of his troops sailed south, with the intention of attacking the lands of the Cordoba Caliphate .

Further Decline of Regency Authority

The reign of the female regent was not popular among most of the king's vassals, even among those who initially welcomed the ascension to the throne of Ramiro III. The only constant supporter of Elvira Ramirez was the Ansoures family, while the Count of Saldania and the Count of Castile, who, under weak royal authority, were expanding their possessions not only due to the no man's land on the border with the Cordoban caliphate, but also due to the king’s personal possessions, were more and more removed from the support of Ramiro. Although Elvira Ramirez was able to prevent the vassals from speaking out against the power of Ramiro III, this was done through the cession of lands and gifts, which further undermined the authority of her board.

Wishing to secure possible support for the Moors , in the late 960s and early 970s, all the rulers of the Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula sent their embassies to Cordoba (including the Count of Barcelona Borrell II and the King of Navarre, Sancho II Abarca ). The embassies of Elvira Ramirez in 971 and 973 confirmed a peace treaty concluded with the caliph al-Hakam II King Sancho I. However, at the same time, the embassies of the vassals of King Leon came to the caliph. The ambassadors of Count Monson Fernando Ansures, the Galician Earl Rodrigo Velazquez and the Count of Castile Garcia Fernandez personally arrived in Cordoba acted as rulers independent from the king and negotiated with the Caliph themselves.

The beginning of the war with the Moors

At the end of the summer of 974, al-Hakam II became seriously ill. Upon learning of the caliph’s disease and the fact that the Cordoba caliphate was waging a heavy war in their African possessions at that time, the Count of Castile Garcia Fernandez, with the consent of Elvira Ramirez, tore the peace treaty with the Moors and attacked the fortress of Desu , and then defeated the Muslim army in battle under Llano de Albores. In the spring of 975, the Count of Castile again invaded the Moors and besieged one of the most important Muslim fortresses - Gormas , located in the immediate vicinity of the Castilian city of San Esteban de Gormas . He was opposed by one of the best commanders of the caliph - Galib al-Nasiri . The first clash between the troops of the Christians and the Moors did not bring victory to either side, however, Galib had to withdraw his troops from the current nearby river. At that time, reinforcements began to approach both Christians and the Moors. The camp of Garcia Fernandez arrived with his troops Elvira Ramirez and Ramiro III, King of Navarre Sancho II Abarca, as well as Count Manson Fernando Ansoures and Saldania Gomez Diaz. The total number of Christians was 60,000 soldiers. On June 18, Christians stormed the Gormas Fortress, but were forced to retreat, suffering heavy losses. At the same time, Galib himself attacked the army of Christians and inflicted a new defeat on him. Retreating, the Christian rulers divided their troops and each headed to their possessions, however, they were again attacked by the approaching troops of the Moors: Galib defeated Count García Fernandez at Lang , and the Vali of Zaragoza defeated Sancho II Abarque.

The battle of Gormas was the last event in which Elvira Ramirez was referred to as regent. From that moment, her name ceases to appear in the official documents of the kingdom. It is assumed that the nobility, taking advantage of the defeat from the Moors, managed to remove Elvira from the regency and she again retired to the monastery, or Elvira died during the retreat from Gormas. Ramiro III, who became an adult in 976, assumed all power in the kingdom.

Independent Board

War on the Moors

976 passed without serious clashes with the Moors, but in 977, one of the prominent statesmen and military leaders of Muslim Spain, Muhammad ibn Abu Amir , who later took the name al-Mansur, began his campaigns against the Christians. Since that time, the war took on a very unfortunate character for Christians. Already during his first campaign, al-Mansour took the kingdom of Leon of Salamanca , belonging to the kingdom , and then defeated the rulers of Christian Spain in three consecutive battles, defeating Ramiro III at San Esteban de Gormas , Count of Castile Garcia Fernandez again under Lang , and King Navarre Sancho II Abarcou - under Estercuel . Having reached the borders of Asturias , al-Mansour returned to Cordoba with rich booty and many prisoners. In the same year, the Moors made another attack on the possessions of Ramiro. Smaller incursions into the kingdom of Leon took place almost every year.

In 981, King Ramiro III received in the capital of the Muslim military commander Galib al-Nasiri , dissatisfied with al-Mansur’s removal from the real power of Caliph Hisham II and rebelled against the Hajib . Combining with the detachments of supporters of Galib, the Leon army went on a campaign against Cordoba. An army of the Moors led by al-Mansur came forward to meet him. The battle took place on July 10 near San Vicente (near Atyensa ). Initially, the superiority was on the side of the Allied forces, but when Galib received a blow to the head and fell off the horse, his supporters decided that he was dead and took to flight. Following them, bearing heavy losses, the army of Ramiro III retreated. Galib was found. His headless body, to intimidate the opponents of al-Mansour, was put on public display in Cordoba.

In revenge for the support of King Ramiro Galib, al-Mansur in the same year made a big campaign in the kingdom of Leon. One unit of the Moors, under the command of Abdullah al-Hajjar, captured the city of Zamora , with the exception of its citadel, killing 4,000 local residents. At this time, al-Mansur himself defeated the combined army of Ramiro III, Sancho II Abarca and Garcia Fernandez under Rueda , forcing him to retreat to Leon . Along the way, taking and destroying Simancas , al-Mansour approached the capital Ramiro III. Despite repeated attacks, the Moors managed to capture only some quarters of the well-fortified city, and the winter that began forced them to lift the siege. Having destroyed the part of the city occupied by them and having ravaged the surroundings, al-Mansour returned to Cordoba. King Ramiro, seeing the ruin of his kingdom and not being able to continue the war with al-Mansour, was forced to conclude peace with the Moors on the condition of recognizing himself as a tributary of the Cordoba caliphate . Following him, the king of Navarra recognized himself as a vassal of the caliph. The war with the Moors was continued only by the Count of Castile Garcia Fernandez.

The Bermudo Rebellion

At the very beginning of his independent reign, Ramiro III made an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Galicia and the county of Portugal , which during the regency of Elvira Ramirez actually went out of control of the royal power. Dissatisfaction with the rule of Ramiro here further intensified after the defeats inflicted on King al-Mansour and his recognition as a vassal of the Cordoba caliphate. Among the Portuguese nobility at the end of 981, a conspiracy arose to overthrow Ramiro III and make Bermudo the new king brought up in these lands.

By the summer of 982, a rebellion had swept Galicia, which allowed Bermudo to be crowned on November 11 in Santiago de Compostela (under the name Bermudo II). Attempts by supporters of Ramiro III, Count Rodrigo Velazquez and Bishop of Santiago de Compostela Pelayo to prevent this, ended in failure. The power of King Bermudo II was recognized in the western parts of the kingdom, while the central and eastern regions of the country continued to be considered his king Ramiro III.

Both rivals turned to al-Mansur for military help, but he did not support either Ramiro or Bermudo, considering it advantageous for his rivals to weaken their forces in the internecine struggle. In the winter of 982—983 , Ramiro gathered an army and marched against the rebels. The battle took place at Portilla de Arenas (near Monterroso ), however, in it, none of the parties was able to win a decisive victory: Ramiro III returned to Leon , and Bermudo II strengthened in Galicia. The turning point came in 984 , when al-Mansor made a new campaign in the kingdom of Leon, during which he ruined Zamora and Sepulveda .

Taking advantage of the situation, Bermudo, with the help of his supporters, managed to enter the capital of the kingdom, the city of Leon, and finally establish his authority here. Ramiro fled to Astorga , where he took refuge in the monastery of San Miguel de Destrian. By this time, only relatives of his mother and wife, Count of Monson Fernando Ansures and Count of Saldania Gomez Diaz, remained faithful to him.

The last charter , dated by the years of the reign of Ramiro III, was issued on May 1, 985 . Ramiro died of illness on June 26 this year in the monastery of San Miguel de Destrian and was buried there.

Family

King Ramiro III married no earlier than January 979 with Sancha (or Urraca) (died after 983 ), daughter of Count Saldania Gomez Diaz. From this marriage the only son was born, Ordogno Ramirez ( 980/984 - 1017/1024 ). He was blind, so he could not claim the throne of the kingdom of Leon . Married to Christine (died 1051 before), daughter of King Bermudo II , Ordogno became the ancestor of the Asa and Lerma families.

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• Piskorsky V.K. ,. Ramiro // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Historia de Leon. 3.5 (Spanish) . Date of treatment January 8, 2012. Archived February 26, 2012.
• Reconquista. Leon (neopr.) . Date of treatment January 8, 2012.
• Asturias & Leon, kings . Date of treatment January 8, 2012. Archived February 26, 2012.
• Ramiro III. (German) . Date of treatment January 8, 2012. Archived February 26, 2012.
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