On this day in 1126, Queen Urraca of Castile and Leon, nowadays Northern Spain, died, leaving her kingdoms to her son, Alfonso VII. Already the king of Galicia, when he ascended to the throne of his mother he was able to lay claim to all three of the early Medieval Spanish Kingdoms, save for Aragon and Navarra. Although he was briefly able to vassalize them, he quickly lost control of their joint might and eventually severed his connection with them. He called himself Emperor of all Spain, but when he died in 1157, his kingdom was split up once again, this time between Castile and Leon, with Portugal having declared its independence during his reign and taking over much of Galicia.
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