Not to be confused with Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig

Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig

Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig was a Prince of Gwynedd.On the death of Llywelyn ap Seisyll in 1023, the rule of Gwynedd returned to the ancient dynasty with the accession of Iago, who was a great-grandson of Idwal Foel....

Iago ab Idwal (ruled 950–979) was a King of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

 and possibly Powys, also referred to as "King of the Britons

King of the Britons

The Britons or Brythons were the Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons...

" by the Annals of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...

.

Iago was the son of Idwal Foel

Idwal Foel

Idwal Foel ap Anarawd was a King of Gwynedd, referred to as King of the Britons by William of Malmesbury in his Gesta Regum Anglorum. William spells his name as Judwalum in the original Latin ; the Annales Cambriae spell it Iudgual.Idwal inherited the throne of Gwynedd on the death of his...

, and on his father's death in battle in 942 would have expected to succeed to the rule of Gwynedd together with his brother Ieuaf ab Idwal

Ieuaf ab Idwal

Ieuaf ap Idwal was a king of part of Gwynedd and possibly part of Powys .Ieuaf was the son of Idwal Foel...

. However Hywel Dda

Hywel Dda

Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...

 King of Deheubarth took the opportunity to invade Gwynedd and dispossess the young princes.

On Hywel's death in 950 Iago and Ieuaf were able to claim the throne of Gwynedd, driving out the sons of Hywel. Fighting continued between the two dynasties, with Iago and Ieuaf raiding as far south as Dyfed

Dyfed

Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales. It was created on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of Deheubarth, although excluding the Gower Peninsula and the area west of the River Tawe...

 in 952 and the sons of Howell raiding as far north as the Conwy valley in 954 before being defeated in battle at Llanrwst

Llanrwst

Llanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....

 and chased back to Ceredigion

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

.

The sons of Idwal quarreled and Iago took Ieuaf prisoner in 969. Despite a temporary defeat in 974 Iago ruled Gwynedd until 979 when he in turn was taken prisoner by Ieuaf's son, Hywel ab Ieuaf

Hywel ab Ieuaf

Hywel ap Ieuaf was a King of Gwynedd in north-west Wales from 979 to 985.Hywel was the son of Ieuaf ap Idwal who had ruled Gwynedd jointly with his brother Iago ab Idwal until 969. In that year the sons of Idwal quarrelled and Iago took Ieuaf prisoner...

, who took over his kingdom. There appears to be no record of Iago's fate.