Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Encyclopedia
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba known as The Great Captain, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria
, Montalto and Sessa
, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian
: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova (September 1, 1453 – December 2, 1515) was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars
. He reorganized the emerging Spanish army and its tactics and came to be known as "the Father of Trench Warfare
". He was admired by the generation of conquistadors that followed and many influential men fought under him such as the father of Francisco Pizarro
.
, in what is now the province of Córdoba, a younger son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Aguilar
, and his wife Elvira de Herrera.
He and his elder brother, Alonso, became orphans while very young boys. The counts of Aguilar carried on an hereditary feud with the rival house of Cabra, in spite of both family branches coming from the same family tree. As a cadet child within the family, he could not expect much on the way of inherited wealth or titles, having, as nearly always then, to try a church or a military career, the latter being more satisfactory to his wishes.
He was first attached to the household of Don Alfonso, the king's half brother, and upon his death devoted himself to Prince Alfonso's uterine half-sister, Isabel of Castile, who later, mediating a civil war, had proclaimed herself successor queen in 1474, disputing the right of her niece, Juana, to ascend the throne.
During the ensuing civil war between the followers of the daughter of deceased King Henry IV of Castile
, Juana la Beltraneja, and the king's half sister Princess Isabella of Castile, there were also conflicts with Portugal as king Afonso V of Portugal
sided during the war with his 13 year old niece, Juana. Córdoba fought under the grand master of the Order of Santiago
, Alonso de Cárdenas. After the battle of Albuera
, the grand master gave him special praise for his behavior.
, he completed his apprenticeship under his brother Alonso, the grand master of Santiago, Alonso de Cardenas, and the counts of Aguilar and of Tendilla, of whom he spoke always as his masters. It was a war of sieges and the defence of castles or towns, of skirmishes, and of ambushes in the defile
s of the mountains. The skills of a military engineer and a guerilla fighter were equally employed. Córdoba's most distinguished feat was the defence of the advanced post of Íllora
. Able to speak Berber Arabic, the language of the emirate, he was chosen as one of the officers to arrange the capitulation, and, with the peace of 1492, was rewarded with a grant of land in the town of Loja
, near the city of Granada.
, namely, Luisa Manrique de Lara, on 14 February 1489, when he was already aged 36 . His only surviving daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
, would inherit all their titles on his death in 1515. In order to keep her father's name, she married within the close family, with someone from a long time antagonistic branch but bearing also her own family name, "Fernández de Córdoba".
When the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Aragon
ese house of Naples
against Charles VIII of France
, Gonzalo, in his mid forties, was chosen by the influence of the Queen, and in preference to older men, to command the Spanish expedition. In Italy, he won the title of the Great Captain.
Italian historian Francesco Guicciardini
says that it was given him by the customary arrogance of the Spaniards.
He held the command in Italy twice. In 1495 he was sent with a small force of little more than five thousand men to aid Ferdinand I of Naples
, by then brother in law of king Ferdinand II of Aragon
to recover his kingdom.
in 1495, ended in defeat at the hands of Bernard Stewart d'Aubigny. The following year, he captured the rebel county of Alvito for the King and avoiding a major pitched battle, used his highly mobile forces to drive the French back to Calabria
.
He returned home in 1498. After a brief interval of service against the conquered Moors who had risen in revolt, he was back to Italy in 1501. Ferdinand II of Aragon had entered into his apparently iniquitous compact with Louis XII of France
for the spoliation and division of the kingdom of Naples. The Great Captain was chosen to command the Spanish part of the coalition. As general and as viceroy of Naples he remained in Italy till 1507.
During his first command he was mostly employed in Calabria
in mountain warfare
which bore much resemblance to his former experience in Granada. There was, however, a material difference in the enemy. The French forces under d'Aubigny consisted largely of Swiss mercenary pikemen, and of their own men-at-arms, the heavily armoured professional cavalry, the gendarmes
. With his veterans of the Granadine war, foot soldiers armed with sword and buckler, or arquebuses and crossbows, and light cavalry, who possessed endurance unparalleled among the soldiers of the time, he could carry on a guerrilla-like warfare which wore down his opponents, who suffered far more than the Spaniards from the heat.
His experience at Seminara
showed him that something more was wanted on the battlefield. The action was lost mainly because Ferdinand, disregarding the advice of Gonzalo, persisted in fighting a pitched battle with their more lightly equipped troops. In the open field, the loose formation and short swords of the Spanish infantry put them at a disadvantage against a charge of heavy cavalry and pikemen. Gonzalo therefore introduced a closer formation, and divided the Spanish infantry into the battle or main central body of pikemen, and the wings of shot, called a colunella - the original pike and shot
formation.
The French were expelled by 1498 without another battle, king Charles VIII of France dying in April 1498. When the Great Captain reappeared in Italy he had first to perform the congenial task of driving the Turks
out of Kefalonia
, together with such condottieri
as Pedro Navarro, helping the Venetian
navy to reconquer the Castle of Saint Georges, 25 December 1500, killing there over 300 people including the Albanian
born leader of the garrison Gisdar, to aid in the campaign against Frederick IV of Naples
.
by the French. The war was divided into two phases very similar to one another. During the end of 1502 and the early part of 1503 the Spaniards were besieged in Barletta
near the Ofanto
on the shores of the Adriatic. Cordoba resolutely refused to be tempted into battle either by the taunts of the French or the discontent of his own soldiers. Meanwhile he employed the Aragonese partisans in the country, and flying expeditions of his own men, to harass the enemy's communications and distracted his men with a tournament between Italian knights under Ettore Fieramosca
and French prisoners.
When he was reinforced, and the French committed the mistake of spreading out their forces to forage for supplies, he took the offensive and pounced on his enemies supply depot in the Cerignola
. There he took up a strong defensive position (he was still outnumbered three to one), threw up hasty field works and strengthened them with wired entanglements. The French made a headlong front attack, were repulsed, assailed in the flank, and routed in only half an hour by the combination of firepower and defensive measures. Later operations on the Garigliano
against Ludovico II of Saluzzo
were very similar, and led to the total expulsion of the French from the Kingdom of Naples.
The best generals of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
and Philip II of Spain
were either the pupils of the Great Captain or were trained by them.
Córdoba's influence upon military tactics was profound. Wellington's
Torres Vedras
campaign has a distinct resemblance to Córdoba's campaign at Barletta
and the Battle of Assaye
is easily compared with that at Garigliano
.
It is noted that Cordoba directed the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms in the battle of Cerignola
. Additionally at the end of the same battle of Cerignola
occur for the first time a "call to prayer" (toque de oracion) adopted later for all western armies, when the Great Captain seeing the fields full of french bodies (Christian like the Spaniards) ordered to play three long tones and had his troops pray for all the fallen.
He left no sons, so he was succeeded in his dukedoms by his daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
.
His burial place, Monastery of San Jerónimo, Granada, was built in Renaissance style
by his wife and daughter. It was desecrated by French Napoleonic troops under the command of Corsican General Sebastiani at the beginning of the 19th century. Stone from the tower was used to build the "Puente Verde" bridge over the river Genil
. The monastery was fully restored at the end of the 19th century.
during his conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Andria
-Places:Italy*Andria, a city in the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani*Roman Catholic Diocese of Andria, a Roman Catholic diocese...
, Montalto and Sessa
Duque de Sessa
Duke of Sessa is a Spanish noble title awarded in 1507 to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Herrera by Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V of Castile. Its territorial designation refers to an Italian municipality....
, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova (September 1, 1453 – December 2, 1515) was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
. He reorganized the emerging Spanish army and its tactics and came to be known as "the Father of Trench Warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
". He was admired by the generation of conquistadors that followed and many influential men fought under him such as the father of Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
.
Early life
He was born at MontillaMontilla
Montilla a town and municipality of southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba, 32 miles south of the provincial capital, Córdoba, by the Córdoba-Bobadilla railway. , the town had a population of 23,245. The olive oil of the district is abundant and good, and it is the peculiar flavour of the pale...
, in what is now the province of Córdoba, a younger son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Aguilar
Aguilar de Campoo
Aguilar de Campoo is a town in the province of Palencia, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is close to the River Pisuerga.-History:In 1255 Alfonso X the Wise declared it Villa Realenga...
, and his wife Elvira de Herrera.
He and his elder brother, Alonso, became orphans while very young boys. The counts of Aguilar carried on an hereditary feud with the rival house of Cabra, in spite of both family branches coming from the same family tree. As a cadet child within the family, he could not expect much on the way of inherited wealth or titles, having, as nearly always then, to try a church or a military career, the latter being more satisfactory to his wishes.
He was first attached to the household of Don Alfonso, the king's half brother, and upon his death devoted himself to Prince Alfonso's uterine half-sister, Isabel of Castile, who later, mediating a civil war, had proclaimed herself successor queen in 1474, disputing the right of her niece, Juana, to ascend the throne.
During the ensuing civil war between the followers of the daughter of deceased King Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
, Juana la Beltraneja, and the king's half sister Princess Isabella of Castile, there were also conflicts with Portugal as king Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...
sided during the war with his 13 year old niece, Juana. Córdoba fought under the grand master of the Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
, Alonso de Cárdenas. After the battle of Albuera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
, the grand master gave him special praise for his behavior.
Role in the conquest of Granada
During the ten-year long conquest of Granada under the Catholic monarchsCatholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
, he completed his apprenticeship under his brother Alonso, the grand master of Santiago, Alonso de Cardenas, and the counts of Aguilar and of Tendilla, of whom he spoke always as his masters. It was a war of sieges and the defence of castles or towns, of skirmishes, and of ambushes in the defile
Defile (geography)
Defile is a geographic term for a narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills. It has its origins as a military description of a pass through which troops can march only in a narrow column or with a narrow front...
s of the mountains. The skills of a military engineer and a guerilla fighter were equally employed. Córdoba's most distinguished feat was the defence of the advanced post of Íllora
Íllora
Íllora is a municipality in the province of Granada, Spain. As of 2010, it has a population of 10386 inhabitants.- External links :...
. Able to speak Berber Arabic, the language of the emirate, he was chosen as one of the officers to arrange the capitulation, and, with the peace of 1492, was rewarded with a grant of land in the town of Loja
Loja, Granada
Loja is a town in southern Spain, situated at the western limit of the province of Granada. It is surrounded by the so-called Sierras de Loja, of which the highest peak, Sierra Gorda, stands 1,671 metres above sea-level....
, near the city of Granada.
Marriage
He married, as a widower, one of the ladies in waiting to Queen Isabella I of CastileIsabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
, namely, Luisa Manrique de Lara, on 14 February 1489, when he was already aged 36 . His only surviving daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique , was a Spanish noblewoman, the only daughter of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, a Spanish general involved with the Italian Wars and Viceroy of Naples in 1503–1507....
, would inherit all their titles on his death in 1515. In order to keep her father's name, she married within the close family, with someone from a long time antagonistic branch but bearing also her own family name, "Fernández de Córdoba".
In Italy
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
ese house of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
against Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
, Gonzalo, in his mid forties, was chosen by the influence of the Queen, and in preference to older men, to command the Spanish expedition. In Italy, he won the title of the Great Captain.
Italian historian Francesco Guicciardini
Francesco Guicciardini
Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance...
says that it was given him by the customary arrogance of the Spaniards.
He held the command in Italy twice. In 1495 he was sent with a small force of little more than five thousand men to aid Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I , also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was the natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon by Giraldona Carlino.-Biography:...
, by then brother in law of king Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
to recover his kingdom.
Path to Italian success after failure
Ordered to pit his light infantry and cavalry against the heavy French forces, his first major battle in Italy, at SeminaraBattle of Seminara
The Battle of Seminara, part of the First Italian War, was fought in Calabria on June 28, 1495 between a French garrison in recently conquered southern Italy and the allied forces of Spain and Naples which were attempting to reconquer these territories...
in 1495, ended in defeat at the hands of Bernard Stewart d'Aubigny. The following year, he captured the rebel county of Alvito for the King and avoiding a major pitched battle, used his highly mobile forces to drive the French back to Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
.
He returned home in 1498. After a brief interval of service against the conquered Moors who had risen in revolt, he was back to Italy in 1501. Ferdinand II of Aragon had entered into his apparently iniquitous compact with Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
for the spoliation and division of the kingdom of Naples. The Great Captain was chosen to command the Spanish part of the coalition. As general and as viceroy of Naples he remained in Italy till 1507.
During his first command he was mostly employed in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
in mountain warfare
Mountain warfare
Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, named after the Alps mountains...
which bore much resemblance to his former experience in Granada. There was, however, a material difference in the enemy. The French forces under d'Aubigny consisted largely of Swiss mercenary pikemen, and of their own men-at-arms, the heavily armoured professional cavalry, the gendarmes
Gendarme (historical)
A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods of European History...
. With his veterans of the Granadine war, foot soldiers armed with sword and buckler, or arquebuses and crossbows, and light cavalry, who possessed endurance unparalleled among the soldiers of the time, he could carry on a guerrilla-like warfare which wore down his opponents, who suffered far more than the Spaniards from the heat.
His experience at Seminara
Battle of Seminara
The Battle of Seminara, part of the First Italian War, was fought in Calabria on June 28, 1495 between a French garrison in recently conquered southern Italy and the allied forces of Spain and Naples which were attempting to reconquer these territories...
showed him that something more was wanted on the battlefield. The action was lost mainly because Ferdinand, disregarding the advice of Gonzalo, persisted in fighting a pitched battle with their more lightly equipped troops. In the open field, the loose formation and short swords of the Spanish infantry put them at a disadvantage against a charge of heavy cavalry and pikemen. Gonzalo therefore introduced a closer formation, and divided the Spanish infantry into the battle or main central body of pikemen, and the wings of shot, called a colunella - the original pike and shot
Pike and shot
Pike and shot is a historical method of infantry combat, and also refers to an era of European warfare generally considered to cover the period from the Italian Wars to the evolution of the bayonet in the late seventeenth century...
formation.
The French were expelled by 1498 without another battle, king Charles VIII of France dying in April 1498. When the Great Captain reappeared in Italy he had first to perform the congenial task of driving the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
out of Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
, together with such condottieri
Condottieri
thumb|Depiction of [[Farinata degli Uberti]] by [[Andrea del Castagno]], showing a 15th century condottiero's typical attire.Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military free companies contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages...
as Pedro Navarro, helping the Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
navy to reconquer the Castle of Saint Georges, 25 December 1500, killing there over 300 people including the Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
born leader of the garrison Gisdar, to aid in the campaign against Frederick IV of Naples
Frederick IV of Naples
Frederick IV , sometimes known as Frederick I or Federico d'Aragona, was the last King of Naples of the House of Trastámara, ruling from 1496 to 1501...
.
Franco-Spanish battles after deposing Frederick IV of Naples
When the king of Naples had been deposed, the French and Spaniards engaged in a guerilla war while they negotiated the partition of the kingdom. The Great Captain now found himself with a much outnumbered army besieged in BarlettaBarletta
Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...
by the French. The war was divided into two phases very similar to one another. During the end of 1502 and the early part of 1503 the Spaniards were besieged in Barletta
Barletta
Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...
near the Ofanto
Ofanto
The Ofanto, known in ancient times as Aufidus, from the Greek Ophidus, Ωφιδους, meaning snake, is a 170 km river in southern Italy...
on the shores of the Adriatic. Cordoba resolutely refused to be tempted into battle either by the taunts of the French or the discontent of his own soldiers. Meanwhile he employed the Aragonese partisans in the country, and flying expeditions of his own men, to harass the enemy's communications and distracted his men with a tournament between Italian knights under Ettore Fieramosca
Ettore Fieramosca
Ettore Fieramosca or Ferramosca was an Italian condottiero and nobleman during the Italian Wars. His father was Rainaldo, baron of Rocca d'Evandro, and it is thought that his mother was a noble woman from the Gaetani family of Aragon.Ettore served as a page to Ferdinand I of Naples and later...
and French prisoners.
When he was reinforced, and the French committed the mistake of spreading out their forces to forage for supplies, he took the offensive and pounced on his enemies supply depot in the Cerignola
Battle of Cerignola
The Battle of Cerignola was fought on April 28, 1503, between Spanish and French armies, in Cerignola, next Bari, Southern Italy. It is noted as the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms....
. There he took up a strong defensive position (he was still outnumbered three to one), threw up hasty field works and strengthened them with wired entanglements. The French made a headlong front attack, were repulsed, assailed in the flank, and routed in only half an hour by the combination of firepower and defensive measures. Later operations on the Garigliano
Battle of Garigliano (1503)
The Battle of Garigliano was fought on December 29, 1503 between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquis of Saluzzo.-Preliminary phase:...
against Ludovico II of Saluzzo
Ludovico II of Saluzzo
Ludovico II del Vasto was marquess of Saluzzo from 1475 until his death. Before his accession ar marquis he held the title of Count of Carmagnola....
were very similar, and led to the total expulsion of the French from the Kingdom of Naples.
Later life
Cordoba was appointed Viceroy of Naples in 1504. However, his fame aroused the jealousy of so typical a renaissance monarch as Ferdinand II of Aragon. Furthermore, Cordoba was profligate in using the public treasury to reward his captains and soldiers. The death of queen Isabel I in 1504 deprived him of a friend and protector and in 1507 he was recalled. Ferdinand loaded him with titles and fine words, but left him unemployed till his death.Legacy
Córdoba was first among the founders of modern warfare. As a field commander, Córdoba, like Napoleon three centuries later, saw his goal in the destruction of the enemy army. He systematically organized the pursuit of defeated armies after a victory in order to destroy the retreating enemy. Córdoba helped found the first modern standing army and the nearly invincible Spanish infantry that dominated the battlefields of Europe for most of the 16th and 17th centuries.The best generals of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
were either the pupils of the Great Captain or were trained by them.
Córdoba's influence upon military tactics was profound. Wellington's
Duke of Wellington
The Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...
campaign has a distinct resemblance to Córdoba's campaign at Barletta
Barletta
Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...
and the Battle of Assaye
Battle of Assaye
The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company...
is easily compared with that at Garigliano
Battle of Garigliano (1503)
The Battle of Garigliano was fought on December 29, 1503 between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquis of Saluzzo.-Preliminary phase:...
.
It is noted that Cordoba directed the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms in the battle of Cerignola
Battle of Cerignola
The Battle of Cerignola was fought on April 28, 1503, between Spanish and French armies, in Cerignola, next Bari, Southern Italy. It is noted as the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms....
. Additionally at the end of the same battle of Cerignola
Battle of Cerignola
The Battle of Cerignola was fought on April 28, 1503, between Spanish and French armies, in Cerignola, next Bari, Southern Italy. It is noted as the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms....
occur for the first time a "call to prayer" (toque de oracion) adopted later for all western armies, when the Great Captain seeing the fields full of french bodies (Christian like the Spaniards) ordered to play three long tones and had his troops pray for all the fallen.
He left no sons, so he was succeeded in his dukedoms by his daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique
Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique , was a Spanish noblewoman, the only daughter of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, a Spanish general involved with the Italian Wars and Viceroy of Naples in 1503–1507....
.
His burial place, Monastery of San Jerónimo, Granada, was built in Renaissance style
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
by his wife and daughter. It was desecrated by French Napoleonic troops under the command of Corsican General Sebastiani at the beginning of the 19th century. Stone from the tower was used to build the "Puente Verde" bridge over the river Genil
Genil
The Genil River is the main tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. The Roman Singilis, its modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: Sinyil, Sannil, and Sinnil. The source of the Genil is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of its highest peak Mulhacén....
. The monastery was fully restored at the end of the 19th century.
Renown
Gonzalo's renown was great and his extensive knowledge was passed on to the next generation through the men that served under him. A few men such as Amador de Lares, who was steward to the Great Captain, accompanied Hernán CortésHernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
during his conquest of the Aztec Empire.