ALFONSO I OF PORTUGAL (1128-1185). Coin. (Ve. 0.74g/16mm). (Gomes 04.02 var). Obv: Tree surmounted by a cross within a circular pearl-coloured border, legend around: ALFO REX. Reverse: Cross cantoned with dots in the 1st and 4th quadrant, within a pearl-coloured border, legend around: PORTVGA. VF+. Very rare.
The first king of Portugal, Afonso I was the son of Henry, Burgundian count of Portugal, and Teresa, the illegitimate daughter of Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile. After Henry's death in 1112, Teresa ruled alone, as Afonso was a child. Teresa's political ambitions allied her with Fernando Pérez de Traba, a powerful Galician nobleman, who became de facto ruler of Portugal. This arrangement angered the Portuguese nobility, who sided with Afonso. Between 1127 and 1128, Afonso successfully campaigned against his mother and her ally, his nephew Alfonso VII, King of León and Castile. Defeating Fernando Pérez de Traba, Afonso exiled his mother and proclaimed himself prince of Portugal. Afonso then turned his attention to the Almoravids, who controlled the southern Iberian Peninsula—including Lisbon and the southern districts of southern Portugal—for nearly a century. At the Battle of Ourique on 25 July 1139, he defeated the Almoravids and was proclaimed king of Portugal. However, the kingdom of León and Castile continued to regard Afonso as a rebel, and the Almoravids refused to cede their lost territories. For most of his reign, Afonso was embroiled in wars with his nephew, Alfonso VII, and his successor, Ferdinand II (who captured Afonso at Badajoz). Following the unsuccessful siege of Santarém by the Almohad Caliphate (which replaced the Almoravids) in 1184 - during which Ferdinand II came to the aid of the Portuguese and the Almohad Caliph subsequently perished from his wounds - Afonso himself died on 6 December 1185.
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