The Cortes of León from year 1188 was a parliamentary body in the medieval Kingdom of León. According to UNESCO was the first sample of modern parliamentarism in the history of Western Europe. After coming to power, King Alfonso IX, faced an attack by his two neighbors, Castile and Portugal, decided to summon the "Royal Curia". This was a medieval organisation composed of aristocrats and bishops but because of the seriousness of the situation and the need to maximize political support, Alfonso IX took the decision to also call the representatives of the urban middle class from the most important cities of the kingdom to the assembly.