FER'DINAND I. ( ?-10651. King of Castile and Leon. surnamed The Great. He was the sec and son of Sancho III. of Navarre, and in 1033, when Sancho forced Bermudo 111. of Leon. the last direct descendant of Pelayo, in the male line, to surrender Castile, Ferdinand received that kingdom, together with Bermudo's sister Sandia in marriage. Helmuth). shortly after Saneho's death, sought to recover his lost possessions, but was defeated and slain (1037). Ferdi nand, now King of Leon as well as of Castile, by a conciliatory though firm policy, soon es tablished his authority over his conquered sub jects, and when in 1053 his domains were in vaded by his brother, Garcia IV. of Navarre, the attack resulted in the death of the latter on the battlefield of Atapuerca, near Burgos, and the annexation of a large portion of his dominions. At an early period of his reign Ferdinand began to direct his energies against the Moors, and by a series of successful campaigns carried the Christian arms as far as the Mondego, and re duced the emirs of Toledo, Saragossa, and Se ville to subjection. He died at Leon, on Deeem
ber 27, 1065, after having divided his dominions among his children. Ferdinand laid claim to the title of Emperor of Spain, a claim to which the Emperor henry 111. of Germany objected, appealing in 1055 to Rome. Aeeording to a very doubtful tradition, a decision favorable to Ferdinand's Imperial pretentions, so far as they related to the territories which had been con quered from the Moors, was given, chiefly in consequence of the representations made by the famous Cid, Ruy Diaz de Bivar. Ferdinand effected many reforms, both in secular and ec clesiastical matters, and was very liberal to the Church.