Alfonso X

Alfonso X., "The Wise," of Leon and Castile, came to the throne in 1252. He was invited to contest the imperial crown against Rudolph of Hapsburg, and, whilst thus engaged, he was driven from his own kingdom by a Moorish invasion and by the insurrection of his son, Sancho, 1282. Failing to recover his position, he died of chagrin at Seville in 1284. He was a learned prince, and to him Spain owes the code known as the Siete Partidas. He also caused the Alphonsine Tables to be drawn up for the use of astronomers. His fame chiefly rests, however, upon the remark that if he had been consulted at the Creation, the universe would have been much better than it is.