Portuguese Monarch. He reigned as the first King of Portugal from 1128 to 1185. The son of Count Henry of Burgundy, who was Count of Portugal and Teresa of Leon, daughter of Alfonso VI King of Castile and Leon and Zaida of Dania (a descendant of the prophet Muhammad, also called Ximena), he became Count of Portugal at his father's death Nov. 1, 1112, under regency of his mother. He was exiled by his mother from 1120 to 1128, when he defeated her lover's army at the Battle of Sao Mamade and took his mother prisoner, exiling her to a convent. He took the title of Dux on becoming sole ruler. On April 6, 1129, he declared himself in a writ Prince of Portugal. In 1139 after winning the Battle of Ourique against the Moors he was declared King by his soldiers. He declared himself to be the liegeman of Pope Innocent II, and gave the Catholic Church many privileges. His first cousin King Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon fought against his independence, but later recognized it at the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. He conquered Lisbon from the Moors in 1147, along with other territory. He married Maud of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III Count of Savoy and was succeeded by their son Sancho I.
Portuguese Monarch. He reigned as the first King of Portugal from 1128 to 1185. The son of Count Henry of Burgundy, who was Count of Portugal and Teresa of Leon, daughter of Alfonso VI King of Castile and Leon and Zaida of Dania (a descendant of the prophet Muhammad, also called Ximena), he became Count of Portugal at his father's death Nov. 1, 1112, under regency of his mother. He was exiled by his mother from 1120 to 1128, when he defeated her lover's army at the Battle of Sao Mamade and took his mother prisoner, exiling her to a convent. He took the title of Dux on becoming sole ruler. On April 6, 1129, he declared himself in a writ Prince of Portugal. In 1139 after winning the Battle of Ourique against the Moors he was declared King by his soldiers. He declared himself to be the liegeman of Pope Innocent II, and gave the Catholic Church many privileges. His first cousin King Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon fought against his independence, but later recognized it at the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. He conquered Lisbon from the Moors in 1147, along with other territory. He married Maud of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III Count of Savoy and was succeeded by their son Sancho I.
Bio by: Michael Schwing
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