Real Crusades History #276. And don't forget the Real Crusades History website!
Once he’d overcome his brothers, Alfonso VI of León and Castile, called by Gregory VII “the glorious king of Spain,” inherited the entire domain of his father, Fernando I. Like his father, Alfonso profited from tribute paid by the taifa states of Seville, Granada, Badajoz, Toledo, and Zaragoza. But Alfonso’s father had greatly expanded the power of León-Castilla, positioning it to annex the 50,000 square kilometer trans-Duero. Alfonso’s ambition was ultimately to further the reconquest. Toledo, once the royal city of the Visigothic kings, was a long cherished desire of his kingdom. Alfonso’s determination to bring Toledo directly under his own power is revealed in a letter he wrote to Gregory VII describing his plans to install an archbishop in that city.
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