Afonso_III_of_Portugal

{{Infobox Monarch
| name =Afonso III
| title =King of Portugal and the Algarves (since 1249)
| image =
| caption =17th century painting of Afonso III.
| reign =[[July 24]], [[1245]] (as Regent) [[January 4]], [[1248]] — [[February 16]], [[1279]]
| othertitles =Infante of Portugal ([[1210]]–[[1248]]) [[Count of Boulogne|Count Consort of Boulogne]] ([[1238]]–[[1253]]) Defender/Visitator/Curator of the Kingdom ([[1245]]–1248)
| full name =Afonso of Portugal
| predecessor =[[Sancho II of Portugal]]
| successor =[[Denis of Portugal]]
| suc-type =Heirs first cousin daughter second son third son
| heir = [[Infanta Sancha of León]] (1248–[[1259]]) [[Infanta Branca of Portugal|Infanta Branca]] (1959–[[1260]]) [[Infante Fernando of Portugal (1260)|Infante Fernando]] (1260–[[1262]]) [[Denis of Portugal|Infante Dinis (future Denis I)]] (1262–1279)
| queen =[[Matilda II of Boulogne|Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne]] ([[1248]]–[[1253]]) [[Beatrice of Castile (1242-1303)|Beatrice of Castile]] (1253–1279)
| issue =[[Infante Roberto of Portugal|Infante Roberto]] ([[1239]]) [[Infanta Branca of Portugal|Infanta Branca]] (1259–[[1321]]) [[Infante Fernando of Portugal (1260)|Infante Fernando]] (1260–1262) [[Denis of Portugal|Infante Dinis (future Denis I)]] ([[1261]]–[[1325]]) [[Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre]] ([[1263]]–[[1312]]) [[Infanta Sancha of Portugal|Infanta Sancha]] ([[1264]]–c. [[1302]]) [[Infanta Maria of Portugal (nun)|Infanta Maria]] (1264–[[1304]]) [[Infanta Constança of Portugal (1266)|Infanta Constança]] ([[1266]]–[[1271]]) [[Infante Vicente of Portugal (1268)|Infante Vicente]] ([[1268]]–1271)
| royal house =[[House of Capet|Capetian]] [[House of Burgundy]]
| dynasty =[[House of Burgundy|Affonsine Dynasty]]
| father =[[Afonso II of Portugal]]
| mother =[[Urraca, princess of Castile|Infanta Urraca of Castile]]
| date of birth =[[May 5]], [[1210]]
| place of birth =[[Coimbra]], [[Kingdom of Portugal]]
| date of death =February 16, 1279
| place of death = {{flagicon|Portugal|1248}} [[Alcobaça]], Kingdom of Portugal
| place of burial =[[Monastery of Alcobaça]], [[Alcobaça]], [[Leiria (district)|District of Leiria]], [[Portugal]]
|}}
{{House of Burgundy}}

'''Afonso III''' ({{pronounced|ɐˈfõsu}} in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]; rare [[English language|English]] alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse''), or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' ([[Portuguese-Galician languages|Portuguese-Galician]]) or ''Alphonsus'' ([[Latin]]), the ''Bolognian'' ([[Portuguese language|Port.]] ''o Bolonhês'') or the ''Brave'' ([[Portuguese language|Port.]] ''o Bravo''), the fifth [[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]] ([[May 5]] [[1210]] in [[Coimbra]] – [[February 16]] [[1279]] in [[Alcobaça]], [[Coimbra]] or [[Lisbon]]) and the first to use the title [[King of Portugal|King of Portugal and the Algarve]], since [[1249]]. He was the second son of King [[Afonso II of Portugal]] and his wife, [[Urraca, princess of Castile]]; he succeeded his brother, King [[Sancho II of Portugal]] on [[4 January]], [[1248]].

As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal, Afonso was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother Sancho. He lived mostly in [[France]], where he married Matilda, the heiress of [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]], in [[1238]], thereby becoming [[Count of Boulogne]]. In [[1246]], conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. [[Pope Innocent IV]] then ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king, the order was not hard to enforce; he was exiled to [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]] and Afonso III became king in [[1248]] after his brother's death. To ascend the throne, he abdicated from the county of Boulogne and later ([[1253]]) divorced Matilda.

Determined not to commit the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class, composed of merchants and small land owners, had to say. In [[1254]], in the city of [[Leiria]], he held the first session of the ''[[Cortes Generales|Cortes]]'', a general assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all [[municipalities]]. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favoured part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.

[[Image:EstatuaDAfonsoIIIFaro.JPG|thumb|left|120px|Statue of Afonso III in the city of [[Faro, Portugal|Faro]], in the [[Algarve]].]]

Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the [[Muslim]] communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the [[Algarve]] became part of the kingdom, following the capture of [[Faro, Portugal|Faro]]—Portugal thus becoming the first Iberian kingdom to complete its ''[[Reconquista]]''.

Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation arising from the borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of the Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in [[1267]], a treaty was signed in [[Badajoz]], determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River [[Guadiana]], as it is today.

==Ancestors==
{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Afonso's ancestors in three generations'''
|-
|-
| rowspan="8" align="center"| '''Afonso III of Portugal'''
| rowspan="4" align="center"| '''Father:''' [[Afonso II of Portugal]]
| rowspan="2" align="center"| '''Father's father:''' [[Sancho I of Portugal]]
| align="center"| '''Father's father's father:''' [[Afonso I of Portugal]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Father's father's mother:''' [[Maud of Savoy]]
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| '''Father's mother:''' [[Dulce Berenguer|Dulce Berenguer of Aragon]]
| align="center"| '''Father's mother's father:''' [[Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Father's mother's mother:''' [[Petronila of Aragon]]
|-
| rowspan="4" align="center"| '''Mother:''' [[Urraca, princess of Castile|Urraca of Castile]]
| rowspan="2" align="center"| '''Mother's father:''' [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]]
| align="center"| '''Mother's father's father:''' [[Sancho III of Castile]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Mother's father's mother:''' [[Blanca of Navarre (daughter of Garcia VI)|Blanca of Navarre]]
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| '''Mother's mother:''' [[Leonora of England]]
| align="center"| '''Mother's mother's father:''' [[Henry II of England]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Mother's mother's mother:''' [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]
|}

==Marriages and descendants==
Afonso's first wife was [[Matilda II of Boulogne]], daughter of [[Renaud, Count of Dammartin]], and [[Ida of Boulogne]]. She had two sons (Roberto and an unnamed one), but both died young. He divorced Matilda in [[1253]] and, in the same year, married [[Beatrix of Castile]], illegitimate daughter of [[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X]], [[King of Castile]], and [[Maria de Guzman]].
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|colspan=4|'''By [[Matilda II of Boulogne]]''' (c. [[1202]]-[[1262]]; married in [[1216]])
|-
|Infante Roberto (Robert)||[[1239]]||[[1239]]||  
|-
|colspan=4|'''By [[Beatrix of Castile]]''' ([[1242]]-[[1303]]; married in [[1253]])
|-
|[[Infanta Branca of Portugal|Infanta Branca]] (Blanche)||[[February 25]] [[1259]]||[[April 17]] [[1321]]||Abbess of the Convent of Huelgas
|-
|Infante Fernando (Ferdinand)||[[1260]]||[[1262]]|| 
|-
|[[Dinis of Portugal|Infante Dinis]] (Denis)||[[October 9]] [[1261]]||[[January 7]] [[1325]]||Succeeded him as Denis, 6th [[King of Portugal]]. Married Infanta Isabel of Aragon.
|-
|[[Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre|Infante Afonso]]||[[February 8]] [[1263]]||[[November 2]] [[1312]]||Lord of [[Portalegre]]. Married to Violante Manuel of Castile (daughter of [[Juan Manuel of Castile]]).
|-
|[[Infanta Sancha of Portugal|Infanta Sancha]]||[[February 2]] [[1264]]||c. [[1302]]|| 
|-
|[[Infanta Maria of Portugal (nun)|Infanta Maria]]||[[November 21]] [[1264]]||[[June 6]] [[1304]]||Nun in the [[Santa Cruz Monastery|Convent of Saint John]] in [[Coimbra]].
|-
|Infanta Constança (Constance)||[[1266]]||[[1271]]|| 
|-
|Infante Vicente (Vincent)||[[1268]]||[[1271]]|| 
|-
|colspan=4|'''By [[Madragana|Madragana (Mor Afonso)]]''' (c. [[1230]]-?)
|-
|[[Martim Chichorro|Martim Afonso Chichorro]]||c. [[1250]]||a. [[1313]]||Natural son; Married Inês Lourenço de Valadres.
|-
|[[Urraca Afonso]]||c. [[1260]]||?||Natural daughter; Married twice: 1st to D. Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros
|-
|colspan=4|'''By [[Maria Peres de Enxara]]''' (?-?)
|-
|[[Afonso Dinis]]||c. [[1260]]||a. [[1310]]||Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa.
|-
|colspan=4|'''Other natural offspring'''
|-
|[[Leonor Afonso, Countess of Neiva|Leonor Afonso]]||c. [[1250]]||[[1291]]||Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to D. Estevão Anes de Sousa (without issue), 2nd to D. Gonçalo Garcia de Sousa, Count of [[Neiva]] (without issue).
|-
|[[Gil Afonso]]||[[1250]]||[[December 31]] [[1346]]||Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital.
|-
|[[Fernando Afonso]]||?||?||Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital.
|-
|[[Rodrigo Afonso]]||[[1258]]||about [[May 12]] [[1272]]||Natural son; Prior of the city of [[Santarem]].
|-
|[[Leonor Afonso (nun)]]||?||[[1259]]||Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of [[Santarem]].
|-
|[[Urraca Afonso]]||[[1250]]||[[November 4]] [[1281]]||Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Lorvão.
|-
|[[Henrique Afonso]]||?||?||Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown).
|}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Burgundy]]|5 May|1210|16 February|1279|[[Capetian dynasty]]}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]]|years=1248 – 1279}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Denis of Portugal|Denis]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Moors|Moorish]] rulers}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Algarve|King of the Algarves]]|years=[[1249]] – [[1279]]}}
{{end}}
{{Monarchs of Portugal}}

==References==
*{{1911}}

[[Category:Portuguese monarchs]]
[[Category:House of Burgundy-Portugal]]
[[Category:Reconquista]]
[[Category:1210 births]]
[[Category:1279 deaths]]

[[id:Afonso III dari Portugal]]
[[ca:Alfons III de Portugal]]
[[de:Alfons III. (Portugal)]]
[[et:Afonso III]]
[[es:Alfonso III de Portugal]]
[[fr:Alphonse III de Portugal]]
[[it:Alfonso III del Portogallo]]
[[hu:III. Alfonz portugál király]]
[[nl:Alfons III van Portugal]]
[[ja:アフォンソ3世 (ポルトガル王)]]
[[pl:Alfons III (król Portugalii)]]
[[pt:Afonso III de Portugal]]
[[ro:Afonso al III-lea al Portugaliei]]
[[ru:Афонсу III]]
[[fi:Alfonso III (Portugali)]]
[[zh:阿方索三世 (葡萄牙)]]