Sancho I of Pamplona

The Kingdom of Pamplona at the death of Sancho I

Sancho I Garcés (c. 860 – December 11, 925) was king of Pamplona from 905 to 925. He was a son of García Jiménez, who was king of "another part of the kingdom" of Pamplona and Dadildis de Pallars, his second wife. In 905, a coalition of enemies of the king, Fortún Garcés: Lubb ibn Muhammed of the Banu Qasi, King Alfonso III of Asturias, Galindo Aznar II of Aragon and Sancho's uncle, Raymond I of Pallars and Ribagorza, deposed the king, and put Sancho on the throne in his place. Throughout his reign, he involved himself in the squabbles among the Muslim lords to the south with repeated success. In 907, he turned on his former ally Lubb ibn Muhammad, killing him in battle. Four years later, another former ally, Galindo Aznar, joined with his brother-in-law Muhammad al-Tawil and Abd Allah ibn Lubb ibn Qasi to attack Sancho, but they were crushed: al-Tawil was killed, the power of the Banu Qasi was severely crippled, and Galindo forced into vassalage to Sancho, leading to the incorporation of the County of Aragon into Pamplona. In 920, he teamed with Bernard I of Ribagorza and Amrus ibn Muhammed, son of Muhammad al-Tawil, to attack Monzón. He joined Ultra-Puertos, or Basse-Navarre (Baja Navarra), to his own dominions, also extending his territory as far as Nájera. As a thanksgiving offering for his victories, he founded, in 924, the convent of Albelda.

Perhaps to legitimize the succession, Sancho married Toda Aznárez, daughter of Oneca Fortúnez, (who was a daughter of former king Fortún Garcés) and Aznar Sánchez, lord of Larraun. Thus, Sancho and Toda's children were also descendants of the Arista dynasty of Navarrese monarchs, but likewise akin to Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordoba, a grandson of Oneca by a former husband. When Sancho died in 925, his only son was still quite young. Thus Sancho was succeeded by his brother, Jimeno Garcés, upon whose death Sancho's son García would succeed. The family would be called the Banu Sancho (Arabic: بنو شانجه‎) by Al-Andalus chroniclers, in his memory.

The Codex of Roda gives Sancho and Toda six children:

• Oneca (d.931), married Alfonso IV the Monk of León in 926
• Sancha, married firstly Ordoño II of León, secondly Count Alvaro Herraméliz of Álava, and thirdly Fernán González, Count of Castile
• Urraca, married Ramiro II of León
• Velasquita (or Belasquita), married firstly Munio, count of Vizcaya, secondly Galindo, son of Bernard count of Ribagorza, and third, nobleman Fortún Galíndez.
• Orbita
• García, king of Pamplona, married firstly Andregota Galíndez and secondly Teresa

Sancho also had an illegitimate daughter:

• Lupa, mother of Raymond I, Count of Bigorre