Arista of Pamplona, but the Asturians and Gascons fought against them at the Battle of Albeda. The Asturians lost not only the battle, but also control of La Rioja. Muwallad rebels were joined by Mozarabs after the Emir appointed Hashim ibn 'Abd al-Aziz as vizier. The Mozarabs of Calatrava took control of their castle and petitioned Ordoño for assistance. It was Count Gatón of El Bierzo who responded by defeating the Moorish forces at Andújar in 853. The Emir's forces continued to fight back, suppressing rebellions and seizing the Ebro valley. By appointing Rodrigo as Count of Castile, Ordoño may have been hoping that Rodrigo could achieve in La Rioja and the Ebro valley what Gatón did in Calatrava. At this point, Rodrigo's realm (called Bardulia) was limited to a small territory bordered the Ebro River in the east, Brañosera to the west, the Cantabrian Mountains to the north and a line of fortifications, the largest of which were Merindad de Losa and Valle de Tobalina, to the south. The earliest documentation of Rodrigo as count was the foundation charter of San Martín de Ferrand (in Herrán, Burgos) dating from 852, although this is now believed to be a forgery. There are a number of charters under his name claiming to be from 853–862, but the earliest one that can be dated with certainty is from 862: Reconquistador From the very beginning of his reign, Rodrigo took an active part in the Reconquista. In the year 854, Castillan soldiers participated in the capture of Haro, and a little later captured Muslim fortifications in Cerezo de Río Tirón, Carrias and Grañón. Meanwhile, Ordoño I and Rodrigo conducted extensive construction of new fortresses on the Muslim border, among which were Frias and Lantarón. The first evidence of Count Rodrigo's personal participation in the Reconquista is as one of the participants in the 859 Battle of Monte Laturce. In it, the combined Asturian-Pamplonan army commanded by Ordoño and García Íñiguez of Pamplona defeated the army of Musa ibn Musa, who owned vast territories bordering Asturias and Pamplona. The number of Muslim casualties, according to various sources, ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers. Musa himself was seriously wounded and until his death in 862 did not campaign against the Christians. Albelda, one of the main Moorish fortifications in the Muslim-Christian borderlands, was destroyed. When Musa died, his son Lubb (who had inherited Toledo) swore