Antso IV of Navarre

Antso IV
King of Navarre
Reign	1 September 1054 - 21 July 1104
Predecessor	Gartzia III
Successor	Fernando I
King of Aragon
Reign	27 May 1073 - 21 July 1104
Predecessor	Inès
Successor	Fernando I
Born	Circa 1039 Pampalona
Died	21 July 1104 (aged 65) Zaragoza
Spouse	Adehlaid of Hungary Estefania Jimena
Issue	Fernando I of Navarre Ramiro Antsez, duke of Murcia
Dynasty	Jimena
Father	Gartzia III
Mother	Estefania de Foix
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Antso IV (Castillian: Sancho IV), known as Antso the Quarreller (c. 1039 - 21 July 1104), was king of Navarre from 1054 and king of Aragon from 1073 until his death. He expanded the weak and reduced kingdom of Pampalona inherited from his father into a strong kingdom of Navarre, reigning for fifty yeas. Antso's campaigns to absorb the crown of Aragon and duchy of Barcelona left him a reputation as one of the greatest Navarrese kings.

Early life and reign

Antso was born probably in 1039, the eldest legitimate son of Gartzia III, king of Pampalona. On 1 September 1054 his father was killed at the battle of Atapuerca fighting Fernando, king of Castile and León. Antso, who had accompanied the campaign, was proclaimed king of Pampalona by his father's defeated soldiers in camp. Until his eighteenth birthday in 1057 the young king was heavily under the influence of his mother Estefania de Foix. In the late 1050s he applied pressure on the Hudid emir of Zaragoza in concert with his uncle Ramiro, king of Aragon.

On 26 December 1062 the legacy of Gartzia III's reign was crystallized by a treaty between kings Antso and Fernando that saw the former's kingdom reduced to a small strip of land in Navarra and Nájera. Fernando's death in 1065 removed the threat he posed to Antso's kingdom. His three kingdoms, Castile, and Galicia, were split between his three sons. In 1066 Antso concluded an alliance with his cousin Alfonso VI, the new king of León. Their pact was finalized with Alfonso's marriage to Antso's half-niece Estefania on 15 January 1069.

Expansion

In 1067 kings Antso and Alfonso invaded the Hudid emirate in concert with their cousin Sancho, king of Aragon. By the treaty of Teruel, signed in November 1067, Antso's lordship over the entire emirate was recognized. From this point onwards he began to style himself "king of Navarre" rather than king of Pampalona. In 1070 Antso conquered the sheikhdom of Larida. In 1078 Antso confronted and defeated a major Dhunnunid invasion. At a battle at Piedra in October 1078 the king was victorious against the Muslims but his brother Prince Ramiro Gartzez was slain.

The year 1069 brought the death of two kings, Sancho of Castile and Sancho of Aragon. Alfonso VI of León inherited Castile while the infant princess Inès Sanchez became queen of Aragon. In 1071 Pope Alexander II granted Antso the right to claim the crown of Aragon. In 1072-73 Antso invaded Aragon and conquered it after a difficult campaign. On 27 May 1073 he was crowned king of Aragon at Barbastro. In 1076-77 Antso waged a successful war to absorb the duchy of Barcelona and force the submission of its duke, Ramon-Berenguer de Barcelona.

El Peleador

Antso's wife Adelhaid of Hungary was assassinated in the spring of 1080. The king blamed Duke Ramon-Berenguer for her death, and from 1080-83 a civil war raged between the Navarrese crown and the duchy of Barcelona. Antso captured Barcelona in March 1081 but was unable to force the duke's surrender. Finally in 1083 he was brought to heel, amidst a Dhunnunid attack on his exposed duchy. Antso removed the de Barcelona family from power and installed his brother Prince Fernando Gartzez as duke of Barcelona, but he died unexpectedly in 1084.