Alfonso X of Castile

Alfonso X, called the Wise (1221–1284), ruled Castile, León and Galicia from 1252. In the 1240s he helped his father conquer Muslim strongholds including Murcia. Through his Hohenstaufen mother he claimed the German crown and was elected king of the Romans in 1257, though he never went to Germany and abandoned the claim in 1275.

A patron of learning, he sponsored the astronomical Alfonsine Tables, introduced the vernacular law code Siete Partidas, and founded the Mesta sheep-owners' guild. His later reign was torn by civil war with his son Sancho, who succeeded him as Sancho IV.