'García III Sánchez' (c.
919–
970) was the
king of Pamplona from 925 until his death in 970. He was the son of King
Sancho I and
Toda Aznárez. His father was very old at his birth and died in 925, leaving the kingdom to his six-year-old son. García's mother took over as
regent and García's uncle Jimeno became king-regent. Jimeno died in 931, and a couple of years later, García's first cousin Caliph
Abd-ar-Rahman III intervened on his behalf, and he ruled as sole king.
Through his mother, García was a great-grandson of King
Fortún Garcés who had ceased to reign in 905 when imprisoned by enemies, but lived on until Garcia's own reign as a monk in
Leyra.
With the support of his energetic and diplomatic mother, García, like his father, engaged in a number of conflicts with the
Moors. He married his first cousin,
Andregota Galíndez, daughter and coheiress of
Galindo II Aznárez, Count of
Aragón, having one son and heir,
Sancho, before divorced her. He then married
Teresa, thought to be from
León.
García was succeeded by his son
Sancho II Garcés, nicknamed ''Abarca''. He also created a novel kingdom centered at Viguera for his son by Teresa,
Ramiro Garcés. By her he also had a daughter, Urraca, married firstly
Fernán González of Castile and secondly
William II Sánchez of Gascony.
García is also sometimes called García I or García II. The numbers were assigned by later historians using different systems. Some take patronymics into account, he being the first García Sánchez to reign. Likewise, there is no agreement on whether to number his grandfather,
García Jiménez, a regent and subregulus, and/or
García I Íñiguez, of an earlier dynasty.
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