Lope Íñiguez

Íñigo died shortly after the assassination of his overlord Sancho IV of Navarre and the subsequent takeover of Biscay, Álava, part of Guipúzcoa and La Rioja by Alfonso VI of Castile.

He accepted Alfonso as his lord and his son followed suit, although after Íñigo's death the tenencia of Nájera, the most important in La Rioja, which he had held was given to García Ordóñez, husband of Urraca, sister of the deceased Navarrese king.

Nevertheless, it was Lope and Diego Álvarez de Oca whom the king had swear to uphold and guarantee the fuero of Nájera which he had granted (1076).

The first record of his simultaneous rule in all three provinces comes from a charter of donation he made to the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in 1082, which he signed as "I, lord Lope Íñiguez, governing Biscay, Guipúzcoa and Álava".

[4] In the spring of 1092 he probably joined with García Ordóñez in defending the Rioja from the depredations of the exile and freebooter Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar.

The monastery of San Millán : patronised by Lope, resting place of his wife, and indicator of his interest and affection for the Rioja.