Jimeno of Pamplona

Who was Jimeno of Pamplona?

Jimeno I was the 9th century father of García Jiménez of Pamplona. In spite of various biographical details having been created, there are no unambiguous records of his existence except in the patronymics of his sons, García and Íñigo Jiménez, indicating a father named Jimeno. In 850, the French court received envoys from Induo and Mitio, "dukes of the Navarrese", and it has been supposed that these names represent those of Íñigo Arista and Jimeno, but Sánchez Albornoz argued against the latter identification. Likewise it has been suggested that, like his son, he may have been ruler of "another part of the kingdom" of Pamplona, or even that he was regent of the entire kingdom. The location of his hypothetical principality has been placed around Álava, where a count Vela Jiménez, traditionally thought to have been his son, held sway.

He has sometimes been described as Jimeno the Strong, but this results from confusion with a much earlier man of that name. Likewise, he sometimes appears as Jimeno Garcés due to hypotheses about his origins.