On this day 746 years ago, on February 16, 1279 (January 4, 1279 lunar calendar), King Alfonso III of Portugal died. Afonso III Alfonso III (Afonso IIIoBravo, May 5, 1210 - February 16, 1279), King of Portugal (reigned 1248-1279). Alfonso III was the youngest son of King Alfonso II of Portugal, and his mother was Uralca, Princess of Castile. He spent most of his youth in France. In 1238, he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne, and thus inherited the title of Count of Boulogne. In 1246, Alfonso's brother, King Sancho II of Portugal, had a serious conflict with the Church. Pope Innocent IV announced the dethronement of Sancho II and appointed Alfonso to take his place. Alfonso did not refuse the pope's favor, and he immediately returned to Portugal to fight Sancho II. He fought a feudal melee with Sancho II for two years, and finally overthrew the and seized the throne in 1248. In order to ascend to the Portuguese throne, Alfonso III gave up the Kingdom of Boulogne and divorced Matilda in 1253. He went on to marry Brittes, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso X of Castile. From 1250 to 1251, Alfonso III conquered the Algarve, the most Moorish kingdom in Portugal, completing the Portuguese campaign to regain lost territory. Alfonso III (866-910), king of León, son of Odono I, known as "the Great". After ascending the throne, he moved the capital south from Oviedo to León, and the kingdom became known as the Kingdom of León. Alfonso III defeated the Moorish attack and expanded the kingdom southward to the lines of Porto, Coimbra, Zamora, and Burgos. He advanced the Christian forces to the line of the Douro River (but Porto and Coimbra were soon recaptured by the Muslims). After his death, he divided the kingdom into three kingdoms of Asturia, León, and Galicia, which were inherited by his three sons, Fruela II, Garcia I, and Odono II.