Alfonso I of Asturias

Alfonso I, called the Catholic (c. 693–757), was the third king of Asturias, reigning from 739. Son of Duke Peter of Cantabria, he married Ermesinda, daughter of Pelagius, and succeeded her brother Favila.

Exploiting the Berber Revolt of 740, he reconquered Galicia, took León in 754 and raided as far as La Rioja. Lugo and Tui, never occupied by Muslim forces, joined his domain. Frontier populations withdrew north under him, creating the depopulated Desert of the Duero as a buffer against Muslim armies.

He founded the shrine of Covadonga in memory of his father-in-law's victory there and died at Cangas in 757. His sons Fruela and Mauregatus both later became kings.