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Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman. He led military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars, after which he served as Viceroy of Naples. For his extensive political and military success, he was made Duke of Santángelo (1497), Terranova (1502), Andría, Montalto and Sessa (1507), and earned the nickname El Gran Capitán ("The Great Captain").
Held as one of the greatest generals in history, he became the first European to decisively employ firearms on the battlefield, and among the first to reorganize infantry with pikes and firearms. His extensive combined arms doctrine, which led to the formation of the tercios after his death, were instrumental in making the Spanish army the dominant land force in Europe for over a century and a half. He has been credited with marking the transition between medieval and modern warfare, leaving a lasting influence in military thinking up to the 20th century.
Córdoba rose to international prestige during his career in the Italian Wars, maintaining active relationships not only with the crowns of Castile and Aragon, but also with France, the Papal States, the Italian city-states and the Holy Roman Empire, all of which sought out his services. Chronicler Jerónimo Zurita went to consider him "...the most esteemed person that lived in these times, for such princes, either desired to have him for a friend, or were wary that he might become their enemy."
Early life
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba was born on 1 September 1453 at Montilla in the province of Córdoba. He was the younger son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Aguilar (himself the son of
Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, 1390–1424 and of Leonor de Arellano)
and of Elvira de Herrera (daughter of Pedro Núñez de Herrera y Guzmán, d. 1430, and Blanca Enríquez de Mendoza). In 1455, when Gonzalo was two years old, his father died. His older brother, Alonso, inherited all of their father's estates, leaving Gonzalo to seek his own fortune. In 1467, Gonzalo was first attached to the household of Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, the half-brother of King Henry IV of Castile. After Alfonso died in 1468, Gonzalo devoted himself to Alfonso's sister, Isabella of Castile.
When King Henry IV died in 1474, Isabella proclaimed herself a successor as queen, disputing the right of Juana la Beltraneja (the king's 13-year-old daughter and her niece) to ascend the throne. During the ensuing civil war between the followers of Isabella and Juana, there was also conflict with Portugal since King Afonso V of Portugal sided with his niece Juana. Gonzalo fought for Isabella under Alonso de Cárdenas, grand master of the Order of Santiago. In 1479, he fought in the final battle against the Portuguese by leading 120 lancers. Cárdenas praised him for his service. When the war ended, Isabella and her husband Ferdinand were the rulers of Castile and Aragon.
Conquest of Granada
thumb|left|El Gran Capitán battling the [[Emirate of Granada|Moors at the Siege of Montefrío by José de Madrazo, 1838]]
Once the Catholic Monarchs had consolidated their rule, they embarked in 1481 on a ten-year campaign to conquer Granada, the last remaining Muslim stronghold on the Iberian peninsula. Fernández de Córdoba was an active participant in the fighting and distinguished himself as a brave and competent military leader. He gained renown for participation in the sieges of several walled towns including Loja, Tajara, Illora, and Montefrío. At Montefrío he was reported to be the first attacker over the walls. In 1492, Fernández de Córdoba captured the city of Granada, bringing an end to the war. The skills of a military engineer and a guerilla fighter were equally useful. Because of his knowledge of Arabic and his familiarity with Boabdil, Gonzalo was chosen as one of the officers to arrange the surrender.
For his service he was rewarded with an Order of Santiago, an encomienda, the manor of Órgiva in Granada as well as silk production rights in the region.
Italian campaigns
Gonzalo was an important military commander during the Italian Wars, holding command twice and earning the name "The Great Captain".
First Italian War
thumb|alt=Multicolored map of Italy, showing duchies and kingdoms|Italy in 1494, when [[Frederick IV of Naples took power as the second inheriting son of Ferdinand I of Naples]]
The Italian Wars began in 1494 when Charles VIII of France marched into Italy with 25,000 men to make good his claim to the Kingdom of Naples ruled by Ferdinand II, a cousin to Ferdinand of Aragon. The French easily overwhelmed the Neapolitan defenses and on 12 May 1495 Charles had himself crowned Emperor of Naples. The Catholic Monarchs were anxious to reverse French success in Naples and selected Fernández de Córdoba to lead an expeditionary force against Charles. Fernández de Córdoba landed in Naples shortly after Charles' coronation with a force of about 5,000 infantry and 600 light cavalry. Fearful of being trapped in Italy, Charles installed Gilbert de Bourbon as Viceroy of Naples and returned to France with about half of the French forces.
Initially, the light infantry and cavalry under Fernández de Córdoba command were no match against the heavily armed French. A lack of training and poor coordination between Spanish and Italian forces compounded the problem. In their first major engagement on 28 June 1495, Fernández de Córdoba was defeated at the Battle of Seminara against French forces led by Bernard Stewart d'Aubigny. After the defeat, Fernández de Córdoba withdrew to implement a rigorous training program and reorganize his army. The Spanish employed effective guerrilla tactics, striking quickly to disrupt French supply lines and avoiding large-scale battles. Gradually Fernández de Córdoba regained a foothold in the country and then assaulted the French-occupied Italian cities. Within a year, Fernández de Córdoba achieved a decisive victory at Atella, capturing the French viceroy and expelling the remaining
French forces from Naples. He also recovered the Roman port of Ostia and returned the captured territories to the Italians by 1498.
Although Fernández de Córdoba was awarded the additional title, Duke of Sessa, he never received the promised appointment to lead the Santiago military order. Ferdinand continued to praise him but gave him nothing else to do; he eventually retired to one of his country estates. Fernández de Córdoba died of malaria on 2 December 1515 at his villa near Granada at age 62. The school included eminently Prospero Colonna and Fernando d'Ávalos, as well as Francisco Pizarro, Antonio de Leyva, Ferrante Gonzaga, Andrea Doria, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo and Alexander Farnese. Niccolò Machiavelli also showed influence from Córdoba in his 1515 work The Art of War. In the 19th century, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington cited Córdoba's craft as an inspiration to build the Lines of Torres Vedras.
His tomb in the Monastery of San Jerónimo of Granada, was decorated with some 700 captured enemy banners as war trophies. In 1810, during the Peninsular War, Córdoba's tomb was desecrated by Napoleonic troops, under the command of the Corsican General Sebastiani, mutilating the remains and burning the banners. Stone from the tower was used to build the Puente Verde bridge over the Genil. The monastery was fully restored at the end of the 19th century.
Marriage and family
Fernández de Córdoba first married in 1474 to his cousin María de Sotomayor; about a year later she died giving birth to a stillborn son. On 14 February 1489 he married María Manrique de Lara y Figueroa (also known as María Manrique de Lara y Espinosa, d. 1527) from a powerful and wealthy noble family. His only surviving daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique, would inherit all his titles upon his death in 1515.