 The reference is clearly to the rule of the Asturian king over several peoples, namely Asturians, Galicians and Basques.A surviving charter of 863 refers to Ordoño I as "our lord, residing in the Asturias" ("domno nostro Ordonio residente in Asturias"), qualifying him as a "commanding prince" ("imperante principe").This residential form of title was preferred because the Asturian kingdom at this stage was not ethnically unified or well-defined.