The Mediterranean and Its Borderlands By Joel Cook

On this date in our family history . . . the 10th day of July . . . in the year 1099 . . . El Cid dies in Valencia, Spain . . . aka Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid is a 26th great-grandpa of Josephine Wingfield Henry nee Davis (1842-1899) . . . who is a 2nd great-grandma to the Keeper of this blog . . .

The Mediterranean and Its Borderlands By Joel Cook: ". . . another now under the Christian banner and now for the Moslem but always for his own hand He was bold and courageous yet cruel and vindictive and in many wars and contests he finally captured Valencia after nine months siege in 1094 the richest prize that had been taken from the Moors down to that time Upon this he founded an extensive kingdom in southeastern Spain composed of Valencia and Murcia which he ruled successfully for about four years until the Moors came in great force and inflicted a crushing defeat which had such an effect upon the war worn and aged Cid that he died of grief in July 1099 His widow Ximena maintained her power in the city which has since . . .