Sancho I, king of Leon in the north of Spain, was overthrown...

By: vivian on segunda-feira, dezembro 19, 2016

Sancho I, king of Leon in the north of Spain, was overthrown by rebel nobels in 958 CE. In what is likely a never-before-and-never again accusation in history, the nobles accused Sancho of being unable to rule because he was too fat. His grandmother, Queen Toda Aznar of Navarra, sought help from the Muslim caliphate Cordoba in southern Spain. Again, extremely oddly, Queen Toda asked for two things: military aid to regain the throne, and medicinal aid to “cure” her grandson’s morbid obesity. Jewish physician Hisdai ibn Shaprut put ex-king Sancho on a strict diet. Once he was slim enough to ride a horse properly, Sancho reclaimed his throne with Muslim troops’ aid. (The portrait above is probably based on his post-diet look.) In short: a king was deposed because he was too fat, and got his throne back because he lost enough weight! Truth is stranger than fiction.

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