Captain of the militias of Ávila, he distinguished by his unrelentless attacks and plundering expeditions in Muslim-controlled territory.
[3] These plundering expeditions by Christian town councils were typically led by local leaders and consisted of reduced contingent of cavalry, that—if successful—obtained the likes of cattle and slaves as booty.
[4] His figure has been sometimes likened to that of a successor to Muño Alfonso, governor of Toledo who also came to lead the militias of Ávila.
[6][7] In 1173 in the battle of Calatrava, he was defeated at the hands of an Almohad party led by Ghanim ben Muhammad and his brother Hilăl in the vicinity of Caracuel.
[8] He was returning from a razzia carried out in territories controlled by Seville, in which the Ávila militias had reportedly obtained a booty of 50,000 sheep, 1,200 cows and 150 Moorish slaves.