July 26, 1139-Alfonso I achieves a great victory over the Moors and declares himself king, becoming the first King of Portugal.

Afonso I Henriques(nicknamed Afonso O Conquistador; probably July 25, 1109-December 6, 1185) was the first king of independent Portugal (reigned 1139 - 1185).

Alfonso Enriquez was the son of Henry of Burgundy, the French feudal lord. Henry was awarded the title of Count of Portugal by marrying Theresa of Castile, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon, and was given the land between the Mondego and Douro rivers as a fief. When Henry died in 1112 (or 1114), the extremely young Alfonso Enriquez inherited the title of count and was declared lord of the territory. Theresa of Castile served as regent for her son, but she fell passionately in love with the Galician aristocrat Fernando Perez, and for this lover she seemed to want to disinherit Alfonso. But in 1128, the adult Alfonso Enriquez defeated his mother and forced her and Perez to leave Portugal. In this way, he gained undisputed rule over the territory.

With the support of the cities, churches, and knights in the territory, Alfonso I began to fight to get rid of his vassal status to Leon. He fought against his cousin Alfonso VII, king of Castile and Leon (he was an ally of Alfonso I's mother) and declared himself Prince of Portugal in 1129. After a long period of war and conspiracy, Alfonso I finally achieved his goal of making Portugal an independent kingdom in 1139 and claimed to be king. In 1143, Alfonso VII reconciled with Alfonso I and recognized him as king. In order to ensure this status, Alfonso I also took the initiative to propose to Pope Innocent II that Portugal be a vassal of the Pope. However, in fact, it was not until 1179 that Pope Alexander III recognized Alfonso as king.

On July 26, 1139, Alfonso I defeated an army of Moors. From then on, his attention focused on fighting the Moors to expand his rule of territory. He achieved a series of victories: he captured Santarem in 1147 and captured Lisbon in October of that year with the help of the Second Crusade to the Holy Land. He also conquered areas of what is now southern Portugal. In order to help Portugal's future expansion, Alfonso I managed to have the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospital establish branches in Portugal.

Alfonso shared power in his later years with his son Sancho I until his death in 1185. If you look at the succession to the Portuguese count, he was one of the longest-reigning rulers in Europe.