Sancho II, called the Strong, was King of Castile, Galicia and León.
Background
Born at Zamora, Sancho was the eldest son of Ferdinand the Great and Sancha of León. He was married to Alberta, a possible daughter of William I, king of England. When the kingdom was divided following Ferdinand"s death in 1065, Sancho succeeded his father as King of Castile, while Sancho"s younger brother Alfonso become King of León and his youngest brother García became King of the reestablished Kingdom of Galicia (partitioned from León).
Career
Each of the brothers was also assigned a sphere of influence among the Taifa states. This expanded his Kingdom of Castile with the reconquered land of Bureba, Alta Rioja, and Álava, which his father had given to Sancho IV"s father, García, for his support in defeating Bermudo III of León. In 1068, Alfonso invaded the Taifa of Badajoz, a client state of brother Garcia"s Kingdom of Galicia.
Sancho would develop his own appetite for his youngest brother"s kingdom.
Teaming up with Alfonso in 1071, Sancho marched across León to conquer García"s northern lands at the time that Alfonso was in the southern part of the Galician realm issuing charters. Sancho soon turned on Alfonso.
In 1072, with the aid of his alférez El Cid, he defeated Alfonso at the Battle of Golpejera, who fled into exile in the Taifa of Toledo. Toro, the city of Sancho"s sister Elvira, fell easily in 1072.
A Zamoran noble, Vellido Adolfo (also known as Bellido Dolfos), entered Sancho"s camp pretending to be a deserter, seeking a private conference with Sancho to tell him the weaknesses in the Zamoran defence.
Once before Sancho, Vellido assassinated him, using Sancho"s own sword to impale him in the back. Vellido was chased back to Zamora by El Cid, but escaped into the town through a gateway since called Portillo del Traidor ("Gateway of the Traitor"). Sancho was succeeded in his kingdoms by the brother he had previously deposed, Alfonso.
Sancho was buried in San Salvador de Oña.
Views
But in a siege of sister Urraca"s better-defended city of Zamora, Sancho was stalled.