Silo was the king of Asturias from 774 to 783. He succeeded Aurelius

Aurelius of Asturias

Aurelius was the King of Asturias from 768 to his death.Born in León, he was the son of Fruela and nephew of Alfonso I of Asturias. He was thus a cousin of his predecessor Fruela the Cruel...

, having married Adosinda

Adosinda

Adosinda was the queen of Asturias during the reign of her husband, Silo, from 774 to 783. She was a daughter of Alfonso I and Ermesinda, daughter of the first Asturian king, Pelayo. She was a sister of Fruela I....

, daughter of Alfonso I

Alfonso I of Asturias

Alfonso I , called the Catholic , was the King of Asturias from 739 to his death in 757.He was son of Duke Peter of Cantabria and held many lands in that region. He may have been the hereditary chief of the Basques, but this is uncertain...

.

He transferred the capital from Cangas de Onís

Cangas de Onis

Cangas de Onís is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the northwest of Spain. The capital of the municipality is also Cangas de Onís....

 to the village of Pravia

Pravia

Pravia is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias. It is bordered on the north by Cudillero and Muros de Nalón, on the east by Candamo and Soto del Barco, on the west by Cudillero and Salas, and on the south by Candamo and Salas.Since 774, when King Silo...

, which was closer to the centre of the kingdom. He was a local magnate of the region around Pravia. The strategic benefits were that Pravia was located in the valley of the Nalón River

Nalón River

The Nalón is a 153km long river and the longest river in the autonomous community of Asturias, Spain. It joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay in San Esteban de Pravia. Its tributaries include the Narcea River.-See also :* List of rivers of Spain...

 and at the terminus of the Roman Asturica Augusta.

Silo extended the frontiers of the realm to Galicia. He had to endure a Galician rebellion at Monte Cubeiro in the province of Lugo

Lugo

Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...

. On Silo's death, Adosonda's nephew Alfonso

Alfonso II of Asturias

Alfonso II , called the Chaste, was the king of Asturias from 791 to his death, the son of Fruela I and the Basque Munia.He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the monastery of...

 was named as successor, but the throne was seized by Mauregatus

Mauregatus of Asturias

Mauregatus the Usurper was the king of Asturias from 783 to 788 or 789. He was an illegitimate son of Alfonso I, supposedly by a Moorish serf. He usurped the throne on the death of Silo, his brother-in-law...

, an illegitimate son of Alfonso I.