Afonso IV of Portugal

Afonso IV (1291–1357), called the Brave, was the only legitimate son of King Denis and Elizabeth of Aragon, but not his father's favourite: the old king preferred his bastard Afonso Sanches, and the half-brothers' rivalry several times ended in civil war. On succeeding in 1325 he exiled Sanches to Castile; after Sanches' failed invasions, their mother Elizabeth arranged a peace.

In 1340 Afonso joined Alfonso XI of Castile in defeating the Marinids at Salado. His long reign was mostly peaceful, and he funded a commercial fleet and ordered Portugal's first maritime explorations.

It ended in family tragedy. Alarmed by Castilian influence, as the brothers of his son Peter's mistress Inês de Castro gained influence at court, he had her murdered at Coimbra in 1355. Peter ravaged the north before father and son made peace in early 1357, and Afonso died that May.