1. El Cid was born in Vivar, a village near the city of Burgos.
48 Facts About El Cid
1. 2.
The epithet El Cid meant "the Lord", probably from the original Arabic, and was a title given to other Christian leaders.
3.
The combination of Cid Campeador is documented from 1195 in in Navarro-Aragonese which form part of the written as ; and in.
4.
El Cid rose to become the commander and royal standard-bearer of Castile upon Sancho's ascension in 1065.
5.
El Cid went on to lead the Castilian military campaigns against Sancho's brothers, Alfonso VI of Leon and Garcia II of Galicia, as well as in the Muslim kingdoms in al-Andalus.
6.
El Cid became renowned for his military prowess in these campaigns, which helped expand the territory of the Crown of Castile at the expense of the Muslims and Sancho's brothers' kingdoms.
7.
When conspirators murdered Sancho in 1072, El Cid found himself in a difficult situation.
8.
Since Sancho was childless, the throne passed to his brother Alfonso, whom El Cid had helped remove from power.
9.
El Cid found work fighting for the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, whom he defended from its traditional enemy, Aragon.
10.
El Cid was repeatedly victorious in battle against the Muslim rulers of Lerida and their Christian allies, as well as against a large Christian army under King Sancho Ramirez of Aragon.
11.
El Cid gradually increased his control over Valencia; the Islamic ruler, Yahya al-Qadir, became his tributary in 1092.
12.
Valencia finally fell in 1094, and El Cid established an independent principality on the Mediterranean coast of Iberia.
13.
El Cid ruled over a pluralistic society with the popular support of Christians and Muslims alike.
14.
El Cid inflicted upon them their first major defeat in 1094, on the plains of Caurte, outside Valencia, and continued opposing them until his death.
15.
El Cid probably gained it during the campaigns of King Sancho II of Castile against his brothers, kings Alfonso VI of Leon and Garcia II of Galicia.
16.
The whole combination Cid Campeador is first documented c 1195 in the Navarro-Aragonese Linage de Rodric Diaz included in the Liber Regum under the formula mio Cid el Campeador.
17.
El Cid was born Rodrigo Diaz circa 1043 in Vivar, known as Castillona de Bivar, a small town about ten kilometers north of Burgos, the capital of Castile.
18.
El Cid's father, Diego Lainez, was a courtier, bureaucrat, and cavalryman who had fought in several battles.
19.
Al-Muqtadir, accompanied by Castilian troops including El Cid, fought against the Aragonese.
20.
One legend has said that during the conflict, El Cid killed an Aragonese knight in single combat, thereby receiving the honorific title "Campeador".
21.
When Sancho learned that Alfonso was planning on overthrowing him in order to gain his territory, Sancho sent El Cid to bring Alfonso back so that Sancho could speak to him.
22.
El Cid was deeply suspected of having been involved in Sancho's murder.
23.
In 1081, El Cid went on to offer his services to the king of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, and served both him and his successor, al-Musta'in II.
24.
El Cid was given the title El Cid and served as a leading figure in a diverse Moorish force consisting of Muwallads, Berbers, Arabs, and Malians within the respective Taifa.
25.
El Cid entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza against the assaults of al-Mundhir, Sancho I of Aragon, and Ramon Berenguer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082.
26.
In 1082, the army of the Taifa of Zaragoza under El Cid defeated the Taifa of Lleida at the Battle of Almenar.
27.
Terrified after his crushing defeat, Alfonso recalled El Cid, rewarding him lavishly with lands and lordships, such as the fortress of Gormaz.
28.
El Cid returned to Alfonso, but now he had his own plans.
29.
El Cid only stayed a short while and then returned to Zaragoza.
30.
El Cid was content to let the Almoravid armies and the armies of Alfonso fight without his help, even when there was a chance that the Almoravids might defeat Alfonso and take over all of Alfonso's lands.
31.
El Cid chose not to fight because he was hoping that both armies would weaken themselves.
32.
Along the way to Valencia, El Cid conquered other towns, many of which were near Valencia, such as El Puig and Quart de Poblet.
33.
El Cid gradually came to have more influence in Valencia, then ruled by Yahya al-Qadir, of the Hawwara Berber Dhulnunid dynasty.
34.
El Cid rode into the town with her retinue and the body of El Cid.
35.
El Cid's army had a novel approach to planning strategy as well, holding what might be called "brainstorming" sessions before each battle to discuss tactics.
36.
One well-known legend about El Cid describes how he acquired the stallion.
37.
Pedro's coming-of-age gift to El Cid was his pick of a horse from an Andalusian herd.
38.
Babieca is mentioned in several tales and historical documents about El Cid, including The Lay of El Cid.
39.
El Cid married Jimena Diaz, who was said to be part of an aristocratic family from Asturias, in the mid-1070s.
40.
Tradition states that when El Cid first laid eyes on her, he was enamoured of her great beauty.
41.
The figure of El Cid has been the source for many literary works, beginning with the Cantar de mio Cid, an epic poem from the 12th century which gives a partly-fictionalized account of his life, and was one of the early chivalric romances.
42.
El Cid is one of the few examples of knight errantry formally recognized by the priest in Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote.
43.
El Cid was a popular source of inspiration for Spanish writers of the Romantic period, such as Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch, who wrote La Jura de Santa Gadea, or Jose Zorrilla, who wrote a long poem called La Leyenda del Cid.
44.
Herman Melville references El Cid when introducing the character of Samoa in Chapter 21 of Mardi : "He alighted about six paces from where we stood, and balancing his weapon, eyed us bravely as the Cid".
45.
El Cid is portrayed by American actor Charlton Heston in a 1961 epic film of the same name directed by Anthony Mann, where the character of Dona Ximena is portrayed by Italian actress Sophia Loren.
46.
In 1980, Ruy, the Little Cid was an animated series based on El Cid's childhood made by Nippon Animation.
47.
In both the first and second Medieval: Total War games, El Cid appears as a powerful independent general in the castle of Valencia.
48.
El Cid is a playable character in Crusader Kings II and Crusader Kings III in start dates corresponding to his historical rule over Valencia.