ALPHONSO III. the Great, king of Asturias, was born in 847, and succeeded his father Ordoño in 865. In consequence of the rebellion of Don Froila, not long after his accession to the throne, he was forced to leave his kingdom; but that usurper being assassinated, with universal applause he returned to his throne. In many successful enterprises against the Moors, in which he greatly enlarged his territories, he soon displayed the talents of a warlike and able prince. He formed a powerful alliance against the Moors, by marrying Ximene or Chimene, descended from the house of Navarre, which paved the way for a long series of victories. The great attention which he paid to the comfort and welfare of the common people, greatly disgusted his haughty nobles; which excited them to revolt against him in the advanced part of his life. Enjoying a small interval of tranquillity from the distraction and tumults of war, he called a general council of the clergy and nobility, enacted some useful regulations, and directed their attention to several other subjects, which contributed to the honour and happiness of his kingdom. Whilst he was busily occupied in repairing some of those towns which he had taken from the Moors, he was suddenly interrupted by them, and was under the necessity of defending himself with a considerable army, which he did with such success, that they were defeated with great loss. The unnatural rebellion of his son Don Garcias, at this time, greatly disturbed his government; but by the diligence of the father, this unnatural rebellion was soon quelled. The confinement of Garcias, and the new imposition of taxes, produced general murmurs among the people; which induced Alphonso, now worn out with years and incessant contentions, to assemble the states, and resign the reins of government into the hands of his son Don Garcias. He gave to his other son Don Ordoño the province of Galicia. The ambitious and military spirit which Don Garcias discovered in his father's reign, soon displayed itself in an attack on the Moors. By the advice of his father, to which he prudently listened, he was taught that these new conquests tended more to enrich the soldiers, than to the advantage of the crown. Alphonso, although far advanced in years, took upon himself the command of the army raised for new operations, and returned to Zamora loaded with spoils, and with increased reputation and fame, in the year 912. He died December 20th, 912, two years after his abdication, 49 years from the time of his being associated with his father in the government, and when he was about 63 or 65 years of age. His great learning, and the patronage he gave to literature, his distinguished piety and virtue, and other princely qualities, raised this king high in the estimation of mankind. Some writers affirm that he composed a chronicle of the Spanish affairs, from the death of Reccefainto, to that of his own father Don Ordo-
no, which has been incorrectly published by Sandovel, Alphonso, and the later editions has sustained considerable injury. The bishop of Orensa, at whose request it was originally composed, published it in his own name to the world. (Gen. Biog.)
ALPHONSO X the Wise, king of Leon and Castile, succeeded his father Ferdinand in the year 1252. He obtained the appellation of wise, not for his political knowledge as a king, but his erudition as a philosopher. In consequence of the general opinion of his princely qualities, and his uncommon generosity, he ascended the throne with universal approbation. The ill-concerted projects of his ambition, however, disturbed the prosperity of his reign. Pretending a better right than Henry III of England to that territory, he directed his first attempt against Gascony. The arms of England, however, proved too formidable; and he was compelled to renounce his claim, on condition that Henry's son, afterwards King Edward I. should marry his sister Eleonora. At an expence which drained his treasures, and obliged him to debase his coin, he prepared for an expedition against the Moors in Barbary; but his maternal right to the duchy of Swabia, which he was called to defend, diverted him from it. Thus he formed a connexion with the German princes; and became a competitor, with Richard earl of Cornwall, for the imperial crown, in quest of which they both expended immense sums of money. The claims of several of the princes of the blood, gave exercise to his military talents; and he was successful both in opposing and defeating them. He formed the romantic design of visiting Italy in the year 1268; but the states firmly remonstrating, he was obliged to relinquish it. But, although he abandoned the design, yet it produced such discontents both among the common people and conspiracy among the nobles, that it required considerable exertion before the king could allay the ferment. Alphonso, still anxious of ascending the imperial throne, attempted it after the death of Richard earl of Cornwall, and even after Rodolph of Hapsburg was actually elected emperor of Germany, and for that purpose took a journey to Beaucaire to obtain an interview with the pope, in order to prevent him from confirming the election. The Moors, ever ready to draw the sword against him, took this opportunity of entering his dominions for the purpose of ravaging them. This ambitious journey, undertaken at so vast an expence, and productive of so much confusion in his kingdom, proved unsuccessful; for the pope would not realize his claim, or alter the former election. But his excessive ambition was soon punished by domestic calamity; for his eldest son died in this interval, and his second son Don Sanchez, having obtained great reputation in opposing the infidels, to the prejudice of his brother's children, laid claim to the crown. This claim was admitted by the states of the kingdom; but Philip king of France, supporting the cause of the children, whose mother was his sister Blanche of France, involved Alphonso in a war; and it occasioned the retreat of his own queen Yolande or Violante to the court of her father, the king of Arragon. While thus harassed with dissensions, he proclaimed war against France, and by the authority of the pope he renewed the war with the Moors, which proved so unfortunate, that he reluctantly concluded a truce with them, and engaged in a contest with
Alphonso with the king of Granada. These various measures exhausted his treasure, taxes were multiplied, and the affairs of the kingdom were in such confusion, that he was under the disagreeable necessity of calling an assembly of the states, which was held at Seville in the year 1281, where, on the king's proposal, the states consented to give a currency to copper money. In consequence of the intrigues of Don Sanchez his son, another assembly of the states was held at Valladolid A. D. 1282, which deprived Alphonso of the regal dignity, and appointed Sanchez regent. Reduced to almost insurmountable difficulties, Alphonso solemnly cursed and disinherited his son, and by his last will, in the year 1283, confirmed the act of exclusion, and appointed, for the succession, the infants de la Cerda, and upon the failure of their heirs the kings of France; and at the same time supplicated the assistance of the king of Morocco against the power of his son. At the commencement of the next year, when Alphonso received information, from Salamanca, that Sanchez was dangerously ill, his heart relented. He pardoned his son, revoked his curses, and then died on the 4th of April 1284 in the 81st year of his age. His remains were interred in the cathedral of Seville; and he left behind him the character of a learned man, but a weak king. Alphonso has been charged with irreligion and impiety, chiefly on account of a well known saying of his, viz. "if he had been of God's privy-council when he created the world he could have advised him better." The various contradictory accounts, given by different writers render the truth of this doubtful; but if ever such a horrible saying dropped from his lips, it must unquestionably be declared inconsistent with the character of an enlightened philosopher; and that reverence of the Creator, which an enlarged contemplation of his works naturally inspires.
"An indevout astronomer is mad." YOUNG.
He was an eminent proficient in science, and a patron of literature. He concluded that book of laws, known by the title of Las Partidas, which his father had begun; and in that work displayed the abilities of a politician as well as those of a legislator. By obliging his subjects to use their own language, he redressed the confusion in law proceedings occasioned by intermixing Latin with the vulgar tongue. Under his patronage a general history of Spain was composed, which he took great pains in polishing; he also corrected many errors in the statutes of the university of Salamanca. Astronomy being his favourite study, he chiefly directed his attention to the improvement of that science; so that, even during the life of his father, he assembled at Toledo a number of the most celebrated astronomers of his time, Christians, Jews, and Arabians, from all parts of Europe, for the purpose of examining the astronomical tables of Ptolemy, and correcting their errors. The completion of these tables employed them about four years, and in 1282, the first year of Alphonso's reign, they were completed; and they were called Alphonine Tables from the name of this prince, who encouraged the construction of them by his unbounded liberality. It is reported that 400,000 ducats were expended on them, or, according to others, 40,000. Some have ascribed the principal management of this work to the Jewish Rabbi Isaac
Aben-Said; others, pretending to derive information from the MSS. of Alphonso, refer it to Aben-Ragee and Alcabitus. The other astronomers who were employed on this occasion were Aben-Musa Mohamed, Joseph Ben-Ali, and Jacob Abuna, Arabians: if there were any Christians, their names are unknown. The 30th of May 1252, which was the day of his accession to the throne, was fixed as the epoch of these tables. A book, entitled "The Treasure," is also ascribed to him, containing treatises of rational philosophy, physics, and ethics. He is likewise said to have been well acquainted with astrology and chemistry; in which last science, he is said to have compiled two volumes in cipher, which are extant, and to be found still in his Catholic Majesty's library. But this work must be more curious than useful, if we consider the state of this science at that period. (Gen. Biog.)