Ferdinand III of Castile
| Title: | Monarch of Castile |
| Term in office: | 1217–1252 |
| Predecessor: | King Alfonso VIII |
| Successor: | King Alfonso X |
| Title: | Monarch of Leon |
| Term in office: | 1230–1252 |
| Predecessor: | Alfonso IX |
| Successor: | King Alfonso X |
| Birth: | |
| Date: | 1198 |
| Place: | |
| Death: | |
| Date: | 1252 |
| Place: | |
| Profession: | ... |
| Relgious Affiliation: | Catholic |
Fernando III, "El Santo", (1198/99 - May 30, 1252) was a king of Castile (1217 - 1252) and Leon (1230 - 1252). He was the son of Alfonso IX and Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII.
In 1231 he united Castile and Leon permanently.
Ferdinand spent much of his reign fighting the Moors. He captured the towns of Córdoba in 1236, Jaén in 1246, and Seville in 1248, and occupied Murcia in 1243, thereby completing the reconquest of Spain excepting Granada, whose king nevertheless did homage to Ferdinand.
In 1219, Ferdinand married the daughter of the German king Philip of Swabia, Elizabeth, called Beatriz in Spain. Their children were:
- King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon (1221-1284)
- Infante Fadrique (1224-1277)
- Infante Fernando (1227-1243)
- Infante Enrique, "el Senador" (1230-1304)
- Infante Felipe (1231-1274)
- Infanta Leonor (1232-died young)
- Infante Sancho, Archbishop of Toledo and Seville (1233-1261)
- Infante Juan Manuel (1234-1283)
- Infanta Berenguela, a nun, died 1273.
- Infanta Maria, died before 1275.
After Elizabeth died in 1235, he married Jeanne de Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu, before August 1237. They had two sons and one daughter:
- Infante Fernando, Count d'Aumale (1239-1269)
- Infante Luis (1243-1269)
- Eleanor of Castile (1246-1290), wife of King Edward I of England.
He founded the University of Salamanca and the Cathedral of Burgos.
Ferdinand was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671.
| Preceded by: Alfonso VIII |
King of Castile | Succeeded by: Alfonso X |
| Alfonso IX | King of Leon |
