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Alfonso VII's empire was divided on his death in 1157 between his sons, Sancho III receiving Castile and Ferdinand II receiving León. Sancho III died in 1158 and was succeeded by his son, Alfonso VIII, who was a small child. Ferdinand took the opportunity of his nephew's minority to assert his dominance, using the title "king of the Spanish" ("rex Hispanorum") from 1163 until 1164 and then "king of the Spains" ("rex Hispaniarum") from 1165 until 1175. He did not explicitly take an imperial title, but his choice of title demonstrates that the "imperial idea" was still alive at León after Alfonso VII.