He was the eldest surviving son of Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Montemayor and María Carrillo y Venegas [1].
As a young man, he participated in the attacks on the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada during the first years of the reign of Henry IV of Castile.
Fulfilling his loyalty to the King, he reconquered the town of Écija in 1466, receiving Bujalance as a reward, although he never occupied it because his relative Alfonso de Aguilar prevented him from doing so.
He kidnapped some of them, such as the young Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and imprisoned them in the castle of Cabra until the intervention of Queen Isabella I of Castile.
In gratitude for the services rendered, the Catholic Monarchs gave him the sword of Boabdil, which is currently on display in the Army Museum in Toledo.