page_title: Rodrigo González de Lara
section_title: Frontier rule (1131–1137)
hierarchical_section_title: Rodrigo González de Lara / Frontier rule (1131–1137)
context_page_description: Rodrigo González de Lara was a Castilian nobleman of the House of Lara. Early in his career he ruled that half of Asturias allocated to Castile. He was faithful to the crown throughout the reign of Queen Urraca, during which time he was married to the queen's half-sister and ruled a large part of the old County of Castile. He and his elder brother, Pedro González, led the opposition to Alfonso VII early in his reign. He led a revolt in 1130 and was exiled in 1137. He was a leader in the Reconquista—about which the contemporary Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris has much to say—and also took part in the military activities of the Crusader states on two occasions. He travelled widely throughout Spain, but ended his days in Palestine.
context_section_description: Rodrigo "waged numerous wars against the Moors. He killed many and took many prisoners. He also carried away large quantities of booty from their lands." The author of the Chronica twice states that only a fraction of his military actions are recorded: "He had fought many battles in Moorish territory. The military experiences of Rodrigo González and Rodrigo Fernández against the Moors were indeed great, but they have not been described in this book." And "The other battles which the Consul Rodrigo fought with the king of the Almoravides are not recorded in this book."
  Rodrigo's government in Toledo can be traced in the documents between 1132 and 1136, and he was also governor of Segovia in 1133. The Chronica Adefonsi (I, §23) records that Alfonso "entrusted Toledo to him and extensive territories on the frontier and in Castile" and (II, §119) "he was made commander of all troops in Toledo and leader of Extremadura." In June 1132 he gathered the militias of Ávila, Segovia, Toledo, and "the other cities under Toledo's jurisdiction" and combined this force of both cavalry and infantry with an even larger army drawb from Castile and Extremadura. He then led them in a raid into Muslim territory, down the valley of the Guadalquivir, devastating the environs of Seville. The Chronica Adefonsi notes that he "cut down the fruit trees". He took many captives and a large booty. The Almoravid governor (or king) of Seville, Umar, raised a large army from among his allies and fought Rodrigo in a pitched battle. Rodrigo divided his infantry into two groups, archers and slingers, and placed his bravest men at the front. The second line was composed of the militia of Ávila, which engaged an Arab wing, and the third of the militia of Segovia, which faced an Almoravid and Andalusion (native) wing. The militia of Toledo and the troops from the Trans-Sierra and Castile were left in reserve at the rear, under the personal command of Rodrigo "to reinforce the weak and to bring medical aid to the wounded." Umar was captured and ultimately beheaded. So important was this battle that it was recorded in three chronicles: the Chronica Adefonsi, the Anales toledanos primeros, and the Arabic chronicle of Ibn Idhari (who errs in dating it to 1130). The author of the Chronica, probably bishop Arnaldo of Astorga, quotes from I Maccabees 9 in describing an encounter he evidently considered of biblical proportions (II, §121):
  The battle began as the Saracens shouted and sounded their brazen trumpets and drums. They uttered cries and invoked Mohammed. The Christians called out with all their heart to the Lord, to Mary and to Saint James. They prayed that they would show them mercy and forget the sins of the king and of their forefathers. Many on both sides fell wounded shortly after the battle had begun. Rodrigo realized that the King of Sevilla's army was the stronger. Consequently, all of the bravest warriors joined with Rodrigo and they attacked. The King of Sevilla fell in the field and died, as did many of his officers. Rodrigo González pursued the survivors all the way to the gates of Sevilla. After picking up the spoils, he began his march back to the camp.
  The victory of Rodrigo inspired a contingent from Salamanca to go raiding in the region around Badajoz. Some muladíes, Muslims living under Christian rule, that had fled Rodrigo's camp had given away the Salamancans' position to the Almoravid sultan, Ali ibn Yusuf ben Tashfin, who promptly attacked and defeated it.
  In late May 1133 Rodrigo commanded half of the royal army marching out from Toledo. The army was divided "because there was not enough drinking water ... nor was there enough grass to feed the animals." Rodrigo led his forces through the Despeñaperros Pass. The two armies traversed uninhabited territory for fifteen days before meeting before the enemy castle at Galledo. Thereafter the army followed same route as in the previous year: the Guadalquivir valley as far as Seville, but then continued on to Jerez de la Frontera, which was sacked, and Cádiz, whose countryside was terrorised. Th
caption: Despeñaperros Pass, through which Rodrigo led half the king's army in 1133.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E3200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "E3200v1.1", "Image DateTime": "2006:03:11 10:44:04", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "284", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4596", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4109", "EXIF ExposureTime": "10/3039", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:03:11 10:44:04", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:03:11 10:44:04", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2048", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1536", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1026", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}