Today inHistory July 25, 2022
Author：Aoran Li the STORYTELLER
On July 25, 1109, the first Kingof Portugal, Afonso I, was born
Afonso Henriques,born on July 25, 1109 and died on December 6, 1185. He was nicknamed theConqueror. He was the first king of Portugal after independence.
Afonso Henriqueswas the son of the French lord Henry. Henry was awarded the title of Count ofPortugal by marrying Teresa, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso VI ofLeón, and was given the fiefdom between the Mondego and Douro rivers. WhenHenry died, young Afonso Henriques succeeded to the title of Count and wasproclaimed lord of the territory. Teresa had since become regent, but she hadfallen in love with the Galician nobleman Fernando Pérez, for whom she seemedto want to deprive Afonso of the inheritance. But in 1128, the adult AfonsoHenriques defeated his mother, forcing her and Perez to leave Portugal. In thisway, he gained undisputed dominion over the territory.
With the supportof the cities, churches and knights in his domain, Afonso I began to struggleto get rid of his vassalship of León. He fought against King Alfonso VII ofLeón and declared himself Prince of Portugal in 1129. After a long period ofbrawl, Afonso I finally achieved his goal of making Portugal an independentkingdom in 1139 and proclaimed himself king. In 1143, Alfonso VII reconciledwith Afonso I and recognized him as king. In order to ensure this status,Afonso I offered Pope Innocent II to make Portugal a vassal of the pope.However, it was not in fact until 1179 that Pope Alexander III recognizedAfonso as king.
On 26 July 1139,Afonso I defeated a Moorish army. Since then his attention has focused onfighting the Moors to expand his dominance. He achieved a series of victories:the capture of Santarém in 1147; With the help of the Second Crusades, whichhad marched to the Holy Land, Lisbon was captured in October of that year. Healso conquered some areas in the south of present-day Portugal. To help withportugal's future expansion, Afonso I managed to get the Knights Templar andKnights Hospitaller to set up divisions in Portugal. Afonso I shared power withhis son Sanshu I in his later years until his death in 1185. If you look at thetime of his succession to the Portuguese Count, he was one of thelongest-reigning rulers in Europe.
