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