Perhaps no other legendary figure rouses the Spanish consciousness quite like the man known as El Cid. Widely considered a national hero, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was born in 1043 as a member of the minor nobility, in a small town six miles north of Burgos. Raised and educated in the court of Ferdinand I, “Emperor of all Spain”, he rose to prominence as commander and royal standard-bearer for the king’s oldest son and heir, Sancho II.A loyal warrior of the Kingdom of Castile, El Cid took part in successful campaigns against Moorish lands to the south, and the neighbouring kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. When Ferdinand died, his realm was divided between his three sons; Castile was given to Sancho, León to the middle son Alfonso, and Galicia to the youngest, García. The results proved disastrous; Christian Spain was soon entangled in a bloody family feud. The two eldest brothers joined forces to invade Galicia, ousting García, before turning on each other. Led by El Cid, the Castilian army emerged victorious at the Battle of Golpejera, taking Alfonso prisoner and driving him from the Leonese throne. Sancho’s next step was laying siege to Zamora, then held by his sister Urraca.