as count. Even when he was not Count of Álava, Rodrigo retained control of many possessions in the county. Rodrigo last appears in a document dated 18 April 873, and is said to have died either on 4 October or 5 November of the same year, and was succeeded by his son Diego Rodríguez. This happened with the approval of the king, and is the first example of a count inheriting his possessions in Asturias. Legacy Rodrigo's role as probable founding count of Castile has led to an amplification of his actual activities, with forged charters pushing his rule in the county a decade earlier than it can reliably be traced. This process has also led to the duplication of himself and his son, in the form of an invention of earlier counts Rodrigo (supposed brother of Aurelius and Vermudo I) and Diego. He is remembered as a shield of Christendom, who took advantage of the weakness of his enemies and reorganised his own defences. He formed the County of Castile and then expanded it, adding a number of fortresses and the city of Amaya. He also secured rights for his county which were passed on to his son Diego and his successors, ensuring the importance of Castile in future generations. Notes References Sources Barrau-Dihigo, L. Recherches sur l'histoire politique du royaume Asturien (718-910). Revue Hispanique. 52: 1-360 (1921). Pérez de Urbel, Justo. "Los Primeros Siglos de la Reconquista (Años 711-1038)" in España Christiana: Comienzo de la Reconquista (711-1038), vol. 6 of Historia de España [dirigida por Don Ramón Menéndez Pidal] (1964), 204–210. Counts of Álava Counts of Castile 9th-century births 9th-century Asturian nobility 9th-century Visigothic people People of the Reconquista 873 deaths