Ferdinand González (
930–
970) was the first independent
count of Castile, son of
Gonzalo Fernández de Lara, who had been named
count of Arlanza and the
Duero around the year
900, a descendant of
Nuño Rasura, one of the two judges from
Castile, and perhaps of
Rodrigo, the first of the counts from Castile. His mother
Muniadona Ramírez was so well remebered that the later Counts of Castile would sometimes be recorded by
Iberian Muslim scholars as
Ibn Māma Duna (descendant of Muniadona).
Ferdinand González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberia and a member of the influential Lara family. In the year 930, Ferdinand's name appears with the title of count inside the administrative organization of eastern the Kingdom of León.
He grew up in the castle of Lara and inherited his father's title after the capture and death of his uncle, Nuño Fernández.
In 931, Ferdinand gathered under his control a strong military force composed of troops from the counties of Burgos, Asturias, Santillana, Lantaron, Álava, Castile, and Lara. His military prowess came to prominence in the Battle of Simancas in 939 and then at Sepulveda, where he wrested the region from the Moors and repopulated it. As his power increased, so did his independence from León. During this period he married Sancha, the sister of the king of Navarre, García Sánchez I. Sancha was a daughter of Sancho I of Pamplona, and Toda of Navarre.
