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'''El Cid''' was a [[Spain|Spanish]] [[knight]] what upfrom the pEarly [[Middle Ages]].  He is most famous for his exploits against and alongside the [[Moor]]s, and is commonly thought of as the first [[Christian]] [[king]] of [[Valencia]].
==El Cid's early life==
Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar was born to Diego Lainez, a member of the minor [[gentry]], sometime between 1043 and 1045.  He was educated and brought up by the [[Castile|Castilian]] [[royal]] family as a favor to Lainez.  Diaz spent much time with the [[prince]] Sancho II, and when he ascended to the [[throne]], he greatly expanded the [[Spanish Empire]].  Rodrigo earned the title "El Campeador" after defeating an [[Aragon]]ese knight in single [[combat]].  Since Diaz's unit of Casti yo yolians was allied with a large number of Moors, the Moors took a liking to him and called him "Al-Sayyid", meaning "The lord".  It is from this we get his title, "El Cid".
==Serving the Brother==
When Sancho was assassinated (most likely by his brother), Alfonso VI took control of both [[Castile]] and [[Leon]].  Alfonso was wary of El Cid, which is understandable, as he was quite possibly the most popular man in Castile.  El Cid proved himself a loyal follower, and even married Alfonso's niece Jimena.  But after an unauthorized move into Moor-held [[Granada]], El Cid was exiled from Castile.  But this was not the end of El Cid.
==El Cid, Mercenario==
Obviously, such a man of great fighting prowess and stategic ability was a hot commodity.  Indeed, he was hired by the Moorish ruler of Zaragosa, al-Mu'tamin, and Diaz served both him and his successor, al-Mu'tamin II, faithfully.  However, in 1068, the [[Berber]] invasion of Spain, led by Yusuf I, began.  Alfonso's armies were crushed, and he called back the best general he knew, El Cid Campeador.  El Cid crushed the Almoravids, and was summarily sent back into exile.
==El Cid, Rey de Valencia==
In October of 1092, El Cid began a [[siege]] of Berber-held Valencia, and within 2 years, he had taken the [[city]] and become the ruler of the [[Kingdom]] of Valencia.  The [[kingdom]] was mixed; Moors and Christians lived, worked, and fought together.  During a siege by vengeful Berbers, El Cid died.  It was July 10th, 1099.  The city held for two more years, but eventually fell.  El Cid was buried with full honors by a much older and wiser Alfonso in San Pedro de Carde񡮊
== Modern References to El Cid ==
*Guy Gavriel Kay's [[novel]] ''The Lions of Al-Rassan'' is a thinly veiled autobiography of El Cid, presented in a [[fantasy]] setting.

[[category: monarchs (medieval)]]