Afonso I of Portugal

Afonso Henriques was born sometime between 1106 and 1111, son of Henry of Burgundy and Theresa of León, who ruled the County of Portugal under the crown of León. When his father died in 1112, his mother governed alone, but her romance with Galician nobleman Fernando Pérez de Traba alienated the Portuguese nobility. In 1128, Afonso led a revolt and defeated Theresa at the Battle of São Mamede, seizing control of the county. Eleven years later, in 1139, he renounced León's suzerainty and declared himself king after a decisive victory over the Moors at Ourique. He took Santarém and Lisbon in 1147 with the aid of Second Crusade warriors bound for the Holy Land, beat León again at Valdevez, and won papal recognition through Manifestis Probatum. He doubled Portugal's territory before his death on 6 December 1185, passing the crown to his son Sancho I.