SANCHO I

died 966/967 byname Sancho The Fat, Spanish Sancho El Craso king of the Spanish state of Leon from 956, a younger son of Ramiro II. After succeeding his brother, Ordoo II, Sancho was overthrown by a revolt of his nobles and replaced by his cousin Ordoo IV. Sancho sought help from the Umayyad caliph 'Abd ar-Rahman III, who helped him regain his throne in 960. born 1154, Coimbra, Port. died March 26, 1211 byname Sancho The Founder, or The Populator, Portuguese Sancho O Funador, or O Povoador second king of Portugal (11851211), son of Afonso I. Sancho's reign was marked by a resettlement of the depopulated areas of his country, by the establishment of new towns, and by the rebuilding of frontier strongholds and castles. To facilitate his plans, he encouraged foreign settlers and enlisted bishops, religious orders, and nobles in his colonization projects, granting vast territories to the military orders (the Hospitalers, the Templars, the Orders of Calatrava and Santiago). After an invasion by the Almohad prince Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur, Sancho used the help of a passing crusader fleet to capture Silves from the Moors (1189), but lost it (1191) and other lands south of the Tagus River when al-Mansur again attacked. Sancho quarreled both with his bishops and with Rome over the payment of tribute.