ALFONSO VIII

THE VICTOR OF LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA 1155-1214 CASTILE

Aged only two years old when he succeeded to the Castilian throne, Alfonso grew up surrounded by competing factions. Nevertheless, he soon asserted control of his throne when he reached his majority at just 15. Despite his diplomatic skills, Alfonso was decisively defeated by the Almohads at the Battle of Alarcos in July 1195, with Castilian forces abandoning Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.

Navarre and León invaded Castile in the same year but Alfonso was able to defeat them thanks to a strong alliance with Aragon. After many years of stalemate, he achieved a great reversal of fortune when Pope Innocent III called for a Crusade against the Almohads. Alfonso led a coalition consisting of Castile, Aragon, Navarre and several crusading orders to victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. This decisive clash swiftly led to a decline in Almohad power in Iberia and is considered a critical turning point of the Reconquista.

LEFT: Alfonso VIII founded the first university in Spain at Palencia, although it was short-lived