Near the end of his reign, King Alfonso III of Asturias (866-910) reorganized these easternmost lands and divided them into counties, appointing as governors of each of these his most trusted counts.
Besides Vela Jiménez and Gonzalo Téllez, and until 992 when Count Fernán González of Castile began to govern Álava, three other counts were tenentes of the Álava region: Munio Vélaz, Fernando Díaz and Álvaro Herraméliz.