Rodrigo of Castile facts for kids

Rodrigo (who died between October 4 and November 5, 873) was a very important noble in the Kingdom of Asturias. He is best known by his Spanish name, Rodrigo. He was likely the first Count of Castile from about 850 to 873. He also served as the Count of Álava from 867 to 870.

Rodrigo played a big part in the Reconquista, which was the Christian effort to retake land from the Moors in Spain. He was a loyal helper to King Ordoño I and King Alfonso the Great of Asturias. Rodrigo helped expand the County of Castile to the south by conquering new lands from the Moors.

Who Was Rodrigo?

We don't have many clear records about Rodrigo's parents. Some old writers from Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) mentioned a brother or brother-in-law of King Ordoño I who was active in Castile. Other writers simply called him "Ruderick" without saying how he was related.

It seems very likely that Rodrigo was close to the royal family. This is because he was given many important tasks by the kings. Some historians thought he might be King Ordoño I's brother and the son of Ramiro I of Asturias. However, this is unlikely because Ramiro and his second wife, Paterna, married too late for Rodrigo to be old enough for his role.

Count of Castile

King Ordoño I made Rodrigo the governor of the eastern border area. This region was called al-Qila by the Arabs, which later became the County of Castile. The name "Castile" comes from the word castillos, meaning "castles." This area had many castles because it didn't have natural defenses.

Rodrigo probably became governor around 850, when Ordoño became king. The king wanted to improve how the eastern parts of Asturias were managed. These areas were very important for defending against the Moors. It was also key for Ordoño to have his relatives, especially close family, control these lands. In return for their loyalty, these new counts were given a lot of freedom.

Around this time, there was a rebellion against the Emir (the Muslim ruler). Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi, a rebel leader, teamed up with Íñigo Arista of Pamplona. The Asturians and Gascons fought them but lost control of La Rioja. Later, Christian people called Mozarabs in Calatrava asked Ordoño for help. Count Gatón of El Bierzo helped them. King Ordoño might have hoped Rodrigo could do the same in La Rioja.

At first, Rodrigo's area (called Bardulia) was small. It was bordered by the Ebro River to the east and the Cantabrian Mountains to the north. The earliest certain record of Rodrigo as count is from 862.

A Leader in the Reconquista

From the start of his time as count, Rodrigo actively joined the Reconquista. In 854, soldiers from Castile helped capture Haro. Later, they took Muslim forts in Cerezo de Río Tirón, Carrias, and Grañón. King Ordoño I and Rodrigo also built many new forts on the border, like Frías and Lantarón.

Rodrigo first personally fought in the 859 Battle of Monte Laturce. In this battle, the armies of Asturias and Pamplona, led by Ordoño and García Íñiguez of Pamplona, defeated Musa ibn Musa. Musa ruled large areas next to Asturias and Pamplona. Many Muslim soldiers died, and Musa himself was badly hurt. The important Moorish fort of Albelda was destroyed.

Peña Amaya, an ancient capital of the duchy of Cantábria.

When Musa died, his son Lubb promised loyalty to King Ordoño. This allowed the Christians to expand south peacefully. They repopulated an area called the Desert of the Duero. Christian cities that were under Muslim rule also welcomed them. Priests mostly led these repopulation efforts. Rodrigo also helped King Ordoño in this effort, repopulating Amaya in 860. Amaya was once a very important city, the capital of eight provinces of the Visigothic kingdom. It had been empty since the Muslim conquest in 711-712.

Rodrigo's reconstruction of Amaya

Many of Rodrigo's new settlers were Mozarabs who had fled from persecution in the Emirate of Cordoba. After settling Amaya, Rodrigo got ready to expand Castile further south. He built new forts along the border. These forts became the basis for towns like Úrbel del Castillo and Castil de Peones.

In 863, Count Rodrigo captured and raided Somosierra, which belonged to the Cordobans. The Castilians took the fort of Talamanca de Jarama. They captured the local governor Murzuk and his wife, but soon let them go. At the same time, King Ordoño attacked Coria. One old record says that in 863, Ordoño's "brother" fought Muslim troops.

Military Challenges

Rodrigo's victories made Muhammad I of Córdoba, the Emir, respond. In 863, Muhammad sent his son Abd ar-Rahman and commander Abd al-Malik ibn Abbas to Álava and Castile. They attacked the borderlands of Asturias, destroying forts and killing many people. Count Rodrigo tried to stop them near Pancorbo. However, Abd ar-Rahman and Abd al-Malik heavily defeated the Castilians. Many Christians died, including 19 counts. Only a few Castilians, including Rodrigo, survived.

In 865, a large Moorish army of 20,000 soldiers, again led by Abd ar-Rahman and Abd al-Malik, invaded Rodrigo's lands. The Moors captured Castilian border forts that had survived the 863 campaign. After this, Abd ar-Rahman and Abd al-Malik defeated the Count of Castile again in a bloody battle near Añana. Even though the Christian soldiers attacked first, they had to retreat and many died. The Moors then left their soldiers in forts like Pancorbo and Grañón before returning to Cordoba.

These defeats weakened Castile and Álava so much that when Abd ar-Rahman attacked Rodrigo's lands again in 866, the Christians could not even gather enough soldiers to fight back. The Moorish attacks on Rodrigo's castles stopped the Christian efforts to retake and repopulate the area for a while.

In 867, another son of Emir Muhammad I, al-Hakam, led another raid against Count Rodrigo's lands. However, they did not fight a battle. In the same year, the Cordobans faced big problems within their own lands for about 15 years. This allowed the Castilians under Rodrigo to regain control of the forts of La Bureba and Pancorbo (in 870). The people of Álava took control of Cellorigo.

Helping the King

King Ordoño died on May 27, 866. His oldest son, Alfonso III of Asturias, who was about 18, became king. Alfonso was in Santiago de Compostela at the time. Almost immediately, a rebellion started against him, led by Count Fruela Bermudez. Fruela captured Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, and became king. Alfonso was overthrown and went to Castile for safety.

Count Rodrigo quickly gathered an army and went into Asturias to support the young king. Alfonso was crowned in Oviedo on Christmas Day. Rodrigo was there for the crowning and, like all other lords, promised his loyalty. Because he helped the king, Rodrigo became one of Alfonso's closest advisors.

Rodrigo stayed in Oviedo for the winter of 866-867. But he had to go back to Castile to fight off Moorish raiders. Between 867 and 868, he helped stop a rebellion in Álava by a Basque noble named Eglyón. Old records don't say exactly how Rodrigo did this, but by the end of 868, the rebels had made peace with the king without Rodrigo having to fight. For this service, Rodrigo was made Count of Álava. Rodrigo appointed a man named Sarrasin Muñez to govern Álava for him. Sarrasin governed until 870, when Vela Jiménez became count. Even after he was no longer Count of Álava, Rodrigo still controlled many properties there.

Rodrigo's last known document is from April 18, 873. He is believed to have died on either October 4 or November 5 of the same year. His son, Diego Rodríguez, took over as count. This happened with the king's approval. It was the first time a count's son inherited his father's position in Asturias.

Rodrigo's Importance

Rodrigo is seen as the likely first count of Castile. Because of this, his actions have sometimes been made to seem even bigger than they were. Some old documents that claim to be from his time are actually fakes. These fakes tried to make his rule seem to start a decade earlier.

Rodrigo is remembered as a protector of Christianity. He used the weaknesses of his enemies and made his own defenses stronger. He helped create the County of Castile and then expanded it. He added new forts and the city of Amaya. He also secured rights for his county that were passed on to his son Diego and future leaders. This made Castile very important for many generations to come.

Sources

• Barrau-Dihigo, L. Recherches sur l'histoire politique du royaume Asturien (718-910). Revue Hispanique. 52: 1-360 (1921).

• Pérez de Urbel, Justo. "Los Primeros Siglos de la Reconquista (Años 711-1038)" in España Christiana: Comienzo de la Reconquista (711-1038), vol. 6 of Historia de España [dirigida por Don Ramón Menéndez Pidal] (1964), 204–210.

See also

In Spanish: Rodrigo de Castilla para niños