RAMIRO II

died 1154 byname Ramiro The Monk, Spanish Ramiro El Monje king of Aragon from 1134 to 1137. He was the third son of Sancho V Ramirez. His elder brother, Alfonso I the Battler, left no issue and bequeathed his kingdom to the military orders. Ramiro, who had entered a monastery and was bishop-elect of Barbastro, renounced his vows, married, and received the crown. His daughter Petronila was betrothed to the son of Count Ramn Berenguer IV of Barcelona. Ramiro abdicated in 1137 in favour of his daughter and son-in-law. In 1164 the crown of Aragon was united with the county of Barcelona under their son, Alfonso II. died 951, Len, Leon king of Leon and Asturias in Christian Spain from 931 to 951. The second son of King Ordoo II, he became king on the abdication of his elder brother, Alfonso IV. Ramiro was an exceptional general who scored several major victories (e.g., the Battle of Simancas, 939) over the caliphate of Crdoba in Muslim Spain. In 944 he negotiated a five-year truce with the caliph 'Abd ar-Rahman III. He failed, however, to suppress the Castilian separatist movement led by Fernn Gonzlez, the first count of unified Castile, a region that eventually came to dominate Spain militarily, politically, and linguistically.