Rodriguez Diaz De Vivar

Rodriguez Diaz De Vivar
“El Cid” Born and educated as a nobleman in the Royal Court of the Castile, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar became a famous military leader and diplomat. He was King Alfonso VI's greatest general in the war against the Moors and is widely considered to be a National Hero of Spain. Known as El Cid Campeador (or El Cid), this honourable nickname translates as the 'Lord of Military Arts', or 'The Champion', and reflects his innovative techniques on the battlefield.
Rodrigo Diaz was born in 1040 in Vivar, a small town north of Burgos - then the capital city of the ancient Castilian kingdom - to an aristocratic mother and a father in the cavalry. During his youth, he fought with the Castilian troops in military campaigns against the Moors. Legend has it that he killed an Aragonese knight in single combat, beginning his exemplary career as the 'Campeador'.
Although Rodrigo Diaz continued to serve under the new king, his expedition into Granada at the Battle of Cabra (1079) marked the start of Alfonso's animosity and jealousy against El Cid. Only a year later, Rodrigo Diaz was exiled from his homeland by the king. However, this was certainly not the end of El Cid's career. He became a mercenary for the Moors, moving around Spain defeating the armies he had once fought alongside. In 1086, Alfonso suffered a crushing defeat - terrified, he recalled his best general from exile to fight by his side once