Sisnando Davides
Encyclopedia
Mozarab
The Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture...
nobleman and military leader of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, born in Tentúgal
Tentúgal
Tentúgal is a parish of Montemor-o-Velho Municipality, Coimbra District, Portugal. The village is well known in Portugal for its old and unique conventual cakes. Sisnando Davides, Count of Coimbra, was born in Tentúgal in the 11th century....
, near Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
. He was a contemporary and acquaintance of El Cid
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...
, but his sphere of activity was in Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
's southwest.
Much information can be gleaned about Sisnando's life from the detailed narratives that begin the diplomas issued by his Abbadid
Abbadid
The Abbadi comprised an Arab Muslim Dynasty which arose in Al-Andalus on the downfall of the Caliphate of Cordoba . Abbadid rule lasted from about 1023 until 1091, but during the short period of its existence it exhibited singular energy and typified its time...
-influenced Mozarabic chancery
Chancery (medieval office)
Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany,...
at Coimbra, though the authenticity of these has lately come to be doubted.
Service with Seville and León
He was educated in CórdobaCórdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
by Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He was captured during a raid by Abbad II al-Mu'tadid
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid was second ruler of Seville in Al-Andalus, a member of the Abbadid dynasty....
of Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
and taken into the service of the latter. To the Arabs he was known as Shishnando. He served al-Mutadid as an administrator and ambassador, but he left Seville and entered the service of Ferdinand I of León
Ferdinand I of León
Ferdinand I , called the Great , was the Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the King of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have himself crowned Emperor of Spain , and his heirs carried on the tradition...
in an identical capacity.
In the following years the towns of Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
from Guimarães
Guimarães
Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...
down to Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
were captured from the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, the latter on Sisnando's advice in 1064 or 1069, with Sisnando leading the siege and being granted the countship of the region
County of Coimbra
The County of Coimbra was a political entity instituted as a subsidiary county for the prince Ardavast or Sisebuto son of King Wittiza until the fall of Visigothic Hispania by Abderraman III ruler of Al-Andalus. The first counts established a long and great dynasty which were several families and...
south of the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
from Lamego
Lamego
Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants (the catchment of the city of...
to the sea after his success. He took the title aluazir (vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
) de Coimbra.
Sisnando continued in the service of Ferdinand's successor, Alfonso VI
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
. In March 1075 Sisnando was at Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
with the king—his first appearance at court—and El Cid for the opening of the Arca Santa. Later that same month he was one of many judges in a case between the bishop of Oviedo and count Vela Oviéquez concerning the property of the monastery of San Salvador de Tol, though only he and El Cid signed the decision. Later in the year Sisnando was the principal leader of Alfonso's expedition against Seville and Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
. He took part in the expedition against Granada in 1080 as well.
Sisnando thrice (1076, 1080, and 1088) acted as an envoy from Alfonso to the taifa
Taifa
In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...
of Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, and on another occasion to Abd Allah, the last Zirid
Zirid
The Zirid dynasty were a Sanhadja Berber dynasty, originating in modern Algeria, initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. Their capital was Kairouan...
king of Granada. To the latter Sisnando explained that the parias (tributes) that Alfonso exacted from him were intended to weaken him as a prelude to re-conquest
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
.
Rule of Toledo
Sisnando was appointed the first governor (amil) of ToledoToledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
after its fall in 1085 and he implemented the Alfonsine policy of tolerance to the Mozarabs and Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
s (Muslims) of the region. His appointment was probably related to his Mozarabic roots.
Sisnando counselled Alfonso to maintain good relations with al-Qadir of Toledo by acting as the taifa's governor and protector (instead of foreign overlord interfering in its internal affairs), but when this advice was ignored the way was opened for the Almoravid conquest of Toledo, which Alfonso had treated as a tributary state; following that success the Almoravids made several gains against the Castilians. According to Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
, if Sisnando's far-sighted advice had been heeded, the disaster of the Almoravids and the failure of Alfonso's empire
Imperator totius Hispaniae
Imperator totius Hispaniae is a Latin title meaning "Emperor of all Spain". In Spain in the Middle Ages, the title "emperor" was used under a variety of circumstances from the ninth century onwards, but its usage peaked, as a formal and practical title, between 1086 and 1157...
to survive his death could have been averted.
Within a short time of the conquest of Toledo Sisnando fell into disfavour with Constance of Burgundy
Constance of Burgundy
Constance of Burgundy was the daughter of Duke Robert I of Burgundy and Helie de Semur-en-Brionnais. She was Queen consort of Castile and León by her marriage to Alfonso VI of Castile. She was the granddaughter of King Robert II of France, the second monarch of the French Capetian dynasty...
, Alfonso's second queen, and her French court, including Bernard de Sedirac, the archbishop elect of Toledo. Ibn Bassam
Ibn Bassam
Ibn Bassam was a poet and historian from al-Andalus. He was born in Santarém and died in 1147....
records that Sisnando sought to convince Alfonso to spare the mosque of Toledo, though he did not. This, however, is false, as it was not Alfonso, but Queen Constance and the new Archbishop Bernard who reconsecrated the mosque as a Christian church.
Within six months of the conquest of Toledo, Sisnando was back in Coimbra, but he was in Toledo for the consecration of the new cathedral
Cathedral of Toledo
The Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Toledo, Spain, seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toledo....
in December. As Sisnandus Conimbriensis consul ("consul of Coimbra") his signature appears seventh on the document of reconsecration. He had been replaced as governor of Toledo by Pedro Ansúrez
Pedro Ansúrez
Pedro Ansúrez was a Castilian count of Liébana, Saldaña and Carrión in the closing decades of the eleventh century and the opening decades of the twelfth. He is considered the founder and first lord of Valladolid....
(Petrus Ansuriz).
Rule of Portugal
The primary reason for the re-creation of a county around Coimbra, separate from the northern First County of Portugal, ruled by Sisnando, who had not attachments in northern Iberia, was to weaken the independence of the Portuguese magnates and expand central royal Leonese administration into newly conquered territories. Sisnando is first recorded ruling in Coimbra only on 1 May 1070, in a document that has come under suspicion. It is possible that his appointment to the countship was not made by Ferdinand in 1064 but rather was connected with his first appearance at Alfonso VI's court in 1075. In Portugal Sisnando built or rebuilt the castles of Coimbra, Lousã, Montemor-o-VelhoMontemor-o-Velho
Montemor-o-Velho is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It has roughly 30,000 inhabitants.-Demographics:-Parishes:* Abrunheira* Arazede* Carapinheira* Ereira* Gatões* Liceia* Meãs do Campo* Montemor-o-Velho* Pereira...
, Penacova
Penacova
Penacova Municipality is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It has a population of 16,725 and an area of 220 km2. The seat is the town of Penacova.-Parishes:* Carvalho* Figueira de Lorvão* Friúmes* Lorvão* Oliveira do Mondego* Paradela...
, and Penela
Penela
Penela Municipality is located in Coimbra District, in Portugal. It contains the town of Penela. The towns's main tourist attraction is the Penela Castle.-External links:*...
. He also played some role in the foundation of a diocese in central Portugal, precisely at Coimbra.
A judicial document of 1077, in the name of Pelagio Gunsaluizi, an enemey of Sisnando's, refers to Sisnando as domno de tota Sancta Maria et Colimbria ("lord of all Santa María and Coimbra"). In a document dated 25 April 1085, Sisnando made a grant to Pedro, an abbot who had recently fled to Portugal from al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. The document refers to Sisnando as magnum ducem et consulem fidelem domnum Sisenandum ("great duke and faithful consul, lord Sisnando").
Formation of the diocese of Coimbra
The appearance of a second ecclesiastical center on the Mondego River at Coimbra seems to have been a result of the operation of local forces rather than Sisnando's initiative, as an interpolated document of 13 April 1086 suggests. According to a diploma of 1086, when Paternus, Mozarab Bishop of TortosaBishop of Tortosa
The Bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Spain. The bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Tarragona.-List of bishops of Tortosa:*San Rufo 64 - 90?*Macià s. II*Quart c. 156*Eustorqui s.III*Exuperanci ¿ - 369...
, came to Ferdinand I at Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in 1064 on a mission from Moctadir of Zaragoza, he was approached by Sisnando, who offered him the see of Coimbra.
Between 1076 and 1080, while he was at Zaragoza, Sisnando is said to have finally convinced Paterno to come west and take up the see of Coimbra. But the document of 1 March 1088 on which this claim is made is not trustworthy and the notion that the king sent Sisnando to Zaragoza for just such a purpose as recruiting a bishop is false. A Paternus was bishop of Coimbra as early as 20 November 1078. He is last mentioned as bishop on 1 March 1088 and never appears as a confirmant of a royal document.
Apparently part of the royal agenda for the Council of Husillos of 1088 was the enhancing of royal control over Coimbra and its environs. The sole preserved document of the council was confirmed by a Martin, bishop-elect of Coimbra. Later in the same year a private document of Coimbra cited him, although still just as bishop-elect. Pierre David identified him as prior of the cathedral chapter of Coimbra and as the protégé of Sisnando Davides, who opposed the substitution of the Mozarabic rite
Mozarabic Rite
The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...
(also known as Visigothic or Hispanic rite) for the Roman rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
. But if Sisnando had proposed him and Alfonso had accepted him it is difficult to see why he was never consecrated. This obscure dispute continued for in the following year (1089) one Julian appears as bishop and in 1091 a John. They are probably the same person. In the 1091 document the bishop was given permission to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
.
Tuy
Tuy may refer to:Places:*Ocumare del Tuy, a city in the Miranda State in northern Venezuela* The Tuy river in Venezuela*Santa Teresa del Tuy, a city in the state of Miranda, Venezuela...
and was essentially a royal choice. He was consecrated by the archbishop of Toledo with the assistance of the bishops of Túy and Orense. The participation of these latter, as well as later events, suggests that Cresconius would have been acceptable to Raymond of Burgundy
Raymond of Burgundy
Raymond of Burgundy was the fourth son of William I, Count of Burgundy, and was Count of Amous. He came to the Iberian Peninsula for the first time during the period 1086–1087 with Odo I, Duke of Burgundy...
also. But the consecration and installation of the royal candidate at Coimbra may have had to wait on the death of Sisnando.
Last campaign and death
On 15 March 1087 Sisnando dictated a testament in procinctu on the occasion of his leaving for a campaign with Alfonso against Yusuf ibn TashfinYusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa....
, the Almoravid general. Sisnando died on 25 August 1091, after more than twenty years of semi-independent rule at Coimbra. He was buried in the Old Cathedral of Coimbra
Old Cathedral of Coimbra
The Old Cathedral of Coimbra is one of the most important Romanesque Roman Catholic buildings in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique , when Count Afonso Henriques declared himself King of Portugal and chose Coimbra as capital...
and was succeeded by his son-in-law Martín Muñoz (Martim Moniz) de Montemayor.
The County of Coimbra disappeared as an autonomous fief in 1093, having been integrated into the Second County of Portugal at the moment of its restoration in 1095 under Henry of Burgundy
Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...
.