Alfonso VIII of Castile, My 24th great-grandfather, DEATH 5 OCTOBER 1214 • Burgos, Burgos, Castilla-Leon, Spain 24th great-grandfather
El Noble or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarcos against the Almohads in 1195, he led the coalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders who broke the power of the Almohads in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, an event which marked the arrival of a tide of Christian supremacy on the Iberian peninsula. His reign saw the domination of Castile over León and, by his alliance with Aragon, he drew those two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection.