Ferdinand and Isabella: The Marriage That Unified Spain | TheCollector
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Ferdinand and Isabella: The Marriage That Unified Spain | TheCollector
How could Philip have no superior but be paralyzed by constraints? One reason is that his family, the ubiquitous Hapsburgs, had long privileged dynastic ties over geographic, economic, or cultural affinities: they conquered, it was said, by marrying. As a result, Philip ruled—and depended on revenues from—a patchwork of peoples owing him little loy
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
Henry IV of Castile (Enrique IV; 1425–1474), nicknamed "the Impotent," was King of Castile and León from 1454 to 1474. He was Isabella I's older half brother. His reign was marked by instability and weakening of royal power, as noble factions grew stronger and the kingdom became less centralized. Henry’s inability to produce a male heir, as well as
... See morePedro Girón Acuña Pacheco.
He was a powerful noble and the Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava, one of the most influential military orders in Castile. In 1466, Isabella’s half-brother, King Henry IV, arranged her betrothal to Pedro Girón as a political move to secure loyalty from the powerful Girón family.
However, just days after the betrothal a
... See moreIsabella was the daughter of John II of Castile and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal
Isabella I | Biography, Reign, & Facts | Britannica
Fourteen centuries later, Cleopatra was not so lucky. After three years of joint rule with her brother, she was deposed and sent into exile. Instead of taking this tamely, she assembled an army and turned to the most accessible powerful Roman for help.