Navarre was one of medieval Spain's powerhouse kingdoms. Its location, straddling the Pyrenees and containing the only pass through those mountains, gave it influence over affairs in both France and the Iberian Peninsula. As well, that location made Navarre a target for incursions and intrigues from its neighbors.

Navarre claimed a Basque heritage. In the 8th Century, what is now Navarre was the Kingdom of Pamplona. That kingdom encircled the ancient city of the same name, founded by the Roman consul and general Pompey in 75 B.C. The Romans named the area Vasconia. The city and kingdom survived for many years despite pressure from both the Franks and the Moors. An early highlight was a victory over Charlemagne and his troops in 778, at the Battle of Roncesvalles.

One of the first well-known leaders was Sancho Garcés, who proclaimed himself King Sancho I in 905. He ruled for two decades; succeeding him were a number of relatives, such as uncles, sons, and grandsons. As well, a series of marriages established and then strengthened links with the neighboring Kingdom of Castile. Sancho II struggled to keep pace with victories by the Moors, ever pushing northward. Sancho III, known as the Great, had greater success with that because by the time he came to the throne, in 1004, the Moors had splintered into warring tribes. Sancho III took advantage of the chaos to enlarge his holdings, through marriage and other arrangements. His wife was Muriadona of Castille, and so Sancho was, in effect, ruler of Castile. He gained possession of Leóon in 1034. His enjoyment of such matters was short-lived because he died the very next year. His son and then grandson succeeded him.

In the mid-1110s came the first reference to the Kingdom of Navarre. By that time, the kingdom was secure in its borders, having held off repeated incursions from above and below. In fact, Navarre had extended its borders to their furthest extent under Alfonso the Battler, who ruled for three decades in the early 12th Century. Among the seizures was the important city of Bayonne.

The Battler's successor and the first ruler to use the title King of Navarre was García Ramírez (left), known as the Restorer because his 16-year rule coincided with the independence of Navarre from a political arrangement with Aragon. (The assassination of the teenage ruler Sancho IV in 1076 had created a succession crisis that Aragon had exploited.) Castile, too, looked to expand its influence in Navarre, invading in 1173. The Castile forces were superior in numbers and seized a number of key parts of Navarre's coastal districts. In desperation, Navarre appealed to England's King Henry II for mediation; that ruler, whose involvement stemmed from his daughter's marriage to the King of Castile, helped produce a seven-year truce that stopped the fighting but gave to Castile a significant portion of what used to be Navarre.

Succeeding the Restorer as King of Navarre and ruling from 1150 to 1194 was Sancho Garcés VI, known as the Wise. He married Blanche of Castile in an attempt to keep the peace with her homeland. His reign is known for continued struggle against his wife's countrymen and against Aragon. Sancho the Wise's one well-known daughter was Berengaria S#225;nchez, who became Queen of England when she married King Richard I in Cyprus in 1191. The one well-known son of Sancho the Wise was his son and successor, Sancho Sánchez, known as the Strong. He lived up to his appellation, ruling Navarre for 40 years.

Under the leadership of Sancho the Strong (right), the various Christian kingdoms put aside their differences in order to engage a resurgent Almohad force, defeating them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Sancho the Strong had no successor, however; and when he died, in 1234, the reign of Navarre passed over the Pyrenees to his nephew, Theobald I of Champagne.

Four members of the House of Champagne ruled Navarre, the last being Joan I, who was the daughter of Theobald I's grandson, Henry I. Joan I married King Philip IV of France (left) in 1284, technically bringing Navarre under French regency. There it stayed when Joan died, in 1305, the throne passing to Philip's oldest son, Louis X, to Philip's second son, Philip V in 1316, and to Philip's youngest son, Charles IV in 1322. The last Capetian ruler of Navarre, assuming the throne in 1328, was Joan II, daughter of Louis X.

The crown stayed in French hands for another century, through the auspices of the House of Évreux, until 1425, when the last of that house, Charles III died. Succeeding him was Blanche, who was Queen of Navarre until 1441, ruling together with her husband, John II of Aragon. When Blanche died, John, spurning a promise that he had made when marrying Blanche, claimed the throne of Navarre for himself but found an enemy in his own son, Charles IV. Father and son fought each other for 14 years, then agreed to a truce. When John II died, in 1479, his daughter, Eleanor, ruled for a brief period. When she died, the throne passed to her grandson, Francis of Foix, in France. His daughter Catherine and, in turn, her husband, John III, French both, ruled for a few more decades.

The end of the Kingdom of Navarre came in 1512 at the hands of Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Castile (right), whose invasion of Upper Navarre was successful. Ferdinand and his wife, Isabella, consolidated their hold on the Iberian Peninsula and ruled for many well-known years.

Lower Navarre retained its identity for another century. Queen Joan III took an active role in the French Wars of Religion, fighting on the side of the Huguenots, as did her son, who was known as Henry of Navarre and, later, King Henry IV of France. It was during the reign of that king's son, Louis XIII, that France officially enfolded Lower Navarre. That occurred in 1620.