ALFONSO I d'ARAGONA, called the BATALLADOR. - Having succeeded his brother Pietro I in 1104, he ruled the Aragonese throne until his death in 1134. As a result of his marriage to Urraca, daughter and heiress of Alfonso VI of Castiglia and León, the union of the two crowns also took place. But both the marriage and the political union had negative results. There arose conjugal dissensions (attributed by some to Urraca’s licentious life, by others to the tyranny of A.) and political conflicts between Castiglia and Aragona, caused by the predominance of the Aragonese element in the administration of Castiglia. Peace returned only after Urraca’s death, when the two kingdoms again became divided.
The fame of A. is connected with the wars against the Muslims of Spain, which made the Aragonese ruler a hero of the reconquest. In 1118 Saragozza fell into his hands, followed by Calatayud and Taroca. Later (1125), he responded to the invitation of the Andalusians and advanced as far as Valenza and Murcia, pushing beyond Granata to the sea; but these conquests were not lasting. Death overtook him while he was besieging Fraga near the border of Catalogna.