Fernando III The Saint

Ferdinand III of Castile, nicknamed "the Saint", was crowned King of Castile in 1217 and King of León in 1230, thus unifying the kingdoms of Castile and León, which had been divided since 1157. He is considered one of the great kings of Spanish history, marking several milestones in the Spanish Reconquest.

Born in Zamora in 1201, Ferdinand III was the son of the Queen of Castile, Doña Berenguela, and the King of León, Alfonso XI. When Ferdinand came to the throne, his kingdom was barely 150,000 square kilometres in size. By annexing the kingdom of León, he managed to extend his power by a further 100,000 kilometres, which he expanded by means of uninterrupted conquests during his reign.

The kingdoms of Jaen, Cordoba, Seville and Badajoz were reconquered during his time as king. At the date of his death in 1252, and thus ending his reign, the Muslims only possessed the kingdoms of Niebla, Tejada and Granada in Spain.

Beginning of the reign

It is no coincidence that Ferdinand III was King of Castile and King of León. Ferdinand III the Saint"s parents were Doña Berenguela and the León king Alfonso XI. In 1203, Pope Innocent III declared the marriage null and void, as he was Berenguela"s maternal uncle. Once this nullity was approved, Berenguela returned to the court of her father, King Alfonso VIII of Castile, with all her children except Ferdinand, who remained with his father in the reign of León.

On the death of the King of Castile, Alfonso VIII (who was the victor at Navas de Tolosa), his son Henry, Berenguela"s brother, acceded to the throne with Berenguela as regent. However, after the sudden death of the king, Berenguela proclaimed her son Ferdinand king of Castile.

With Ferdinand"s appointment as king, several groups emerged in opposition to him: the Lara family and his father, the King of León. Ferdinand did not fight against his father, but sent him messages that, under his reign, Castile would be a friendly kingdom. Thus, in 1218, the Pact of Toro was signed, putting an end to hostilities between Castile and León.

On the death of his father in 1230, Ferdinand III claimed the throne of León, despite his intentions to bequeath it to Sancha and Dulce, daughters of the late King Alfonso IX and therefore sisters on the Castilian king"s father"s side. At that time, the city of León was divided between the supporters of Ferdinand and those of his sisters, although the future king of León always had more followers.

After several disputes, the Concordia de Benavente was signed in 1230, in which the princesses renounced their possible rights to the throne. Ferdinand was thus proclaimed King of León, uniting the kingdoms of León and Castile.

Campaigns in Al-Andalus

While the Castilian-Leonese union was being managed, the proclaimed king supervised the incursions into southern Spain, into Al-Andalus. These war campaigns were mainly carried out by the military orders, nobles and border bishoprics. For example, it was the archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, who in 1231 took the town of Cazorla, in Jaén, after having seized Quesada, Toya and the whole of the surrounding area.

New expeditions against Al-Andalus led to the conquest of the city of Cordoba. Ferdinand III and his army surrounded the city, ravaged the countryside and assaulted the castle of Palma del Río. The warlord Ibn Hud retreated at Jerez, giving a great advantage to the Castilian-Leonese army.

Ferdinand III continued his expeditions: in 1233, he conquered Trujillo; in 1234, Úbeda, Medellín, Alange and Santa Cruz; and in 1235, Magacela and Hornachos. It was in the raids of the latter year that Ferdinand III did not take part due to the death of his wife, Doña Beatriz de Suabia, and because of certain noble uprisings in the north of Castile.

In the following campaigns, which marked the second and final part of his reign, Ferdinand took control of a large part of Andalusian territory, including the great cities of Cordoba, Seville and Jaen.

Conquest of Jaén

Due to its strategic position, which served as a frontier between the kingdoms, the city of Jaén was besieged by the troops of Ferdinand III in 1225. In this first siege, Álvaro Pérez de Castro was in charge. The Muslims tried to protect the city with a fierce defence, which brought together some 3,000 Christian knights and 5,000 Muslim labourers.

In 1230, Ferdinand III laid siege to the city again, although it was not until 1246 that he conquered it. While the Castilian king was in Martos, some 20 kilometres from the city, Pelayo Correa, Master of the Order of Santiago, encouraged him to take Jaén. Ferdinand III set out for Jaén with the company of Alfonso de Molina, his younger brother, and with the help of the Orders of Calatrava and Santiago.

At that time, Jaén belonged to the kingdom of Arjona, whose king was Ahmed ben Yúsuf ben Násar, known as Aben Alhamar. This dispute between King Ferdinand III and King Alhamar went on for seven months, ending in February 1246. Finally, the Muslim king surrendered Jaén and recognised King Ferdinand"s dominion over his lands, including part of the kingdom of Granada.

Castles and fortresses related to Ferdinand III The Saint

• Castle of Villardompardo
• Castle of Torres de Albanchez
• Castle of La Guardia de Jaén
• Tower of Lupión
• Castle of Sabiote
• Castle of Peñas Negras
• Castle, Cistern and Square of Santa María
• Castle of Segura de la Sierra
• Castle of San Esteban
• Castle of Lopera
• Tower of Begíjar
• Arab Tower of Sorihuela
• Tower of Boabdil
• Castle of Trovador Macías
• Castle of Giribaile
• Castle of Santa Catalina
• Castle of Hornos
• Beas de Segura City Walls
• Medieval Walls of Quesada
• Cyclopean City Walls of Ibros
• Castle of Albanchez de Mágina
• Castle of Burgalimar
• New Castle of Bedmar
• Tower of Ero
• Castle of Alburquerque
• Castle of Jimena
• Castle of Cerro de la Virgen de Vilches
• Castle of Jódar
• Castle of El Berrueco
• Castle of La Yedra
• Castle of Canena
• Castle of La Peña de Martos
• Walled Complex of Iznatoraf
• Castle of Torredonjimeno