Sisenand

Sisenand (Spanish, Galician, and Portuguese: Sisenando; Latin: Sisenandus) (c. 605 – 12 March 636) was the Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia from 631 to 636.

[1] Sisenand was the governor of Septimania, when the nobles revolted against the Visigothic king, Suintila, over the latter's confiscations of lands and distribution of privileges between the nobility and clergy.

Sisenand joined the rebellion and overthrew Suintila with the aid of Dagobert I, King of the Franks, to whom Gothic nobles offered a plate of pure gold in return, weighing 500 pounds.

The victory of Sisenand also represented the triumph of the nobility over the common people, although the greatest beneficiary was the clergy, who took advantage of the weariness of the other contenders to enhance their own influence.

[1] Upon assuming the throne, he had Suintila, the previous king, declared a tyrant for his many crimes, iniquity, and accumulation of wealth at the expense of the poor; he also removed all taxes on the clergy.