page_title: Ferdinand III of Castile
section_title: Unification of Castile and León
hierarchical_section_title: Ferdinand III of Castile / Unification of Castile and León
caption_attribution_description: English: Equestrian seal of Fernando III, King of Castile and León, 1237
context_page_description: Ferdinand III, called the Saint, was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. Ferdinand III was one of the most successful kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive campaign of Reconquista yet.
  By military and diplomatic efforts, Ferdinand greatly expanded the dominions of Castile into southern Spain, annexing many of the great old cities of al-Andalus, including the old Andalusian capitals of Córdoba and Seville, and establishing the boundaries of the Castilian state for the next two centuries.
  Ferdinand was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X. Places such as the cities of San Fernando, Pampanga and San Fernando, La Union; the Diocese of Ilagan and the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila in the Philippines; and in California, United States, the City of San Fernando and the San Fernando Valley, were all named after him and placed under his patronage.
context_section_description: When Ferdinand's father died in 1230, his will delivered the kingdom to his older daughters Sancha and Dulce, from his first marriage to Teresa of Portugal.  But Ferdinand contested the will, and claimed the inheritance for himself.  At length, an agreement was reached, negotiated primarily between their mothers, Berengaria and Teresa, and signed at Benavente on 11 December 1230, by which Ferdinand received the Kingdom of León, in return for a substantial compensation in cash and lands for his half-sisters, Sancha and Dulce.  Ferdinand thus became the first sovereign of both kingdoms since the death of Alfonso VII in 1157.
  Early in his reign, Ferdinand had to deal with a rebellion of the House of Lara.
caption: Equestrian seal (1237) of Ferdinand III, quartering the arms of Castile and León.
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