The unity of the Basques through the Duchy of Vasconia gradually faded out until its northern and southeastern lands fell under Frankish control, along with its southwestern lands under the Asturians and the Arabs to south. Around the 9th century, a new leadership will arise among the Vascones, which will replace progressively the Duchy of Vasconia as a Basque independent entity: the Kingdom of Pamplona.
In connection to that same century, we can find toponyms both in the Arabian writings and in the chronicles of Alphonse III of Asturias (17) that are well known by us: Bizcai (Biscay, which means 'summit', 'peak') and Alaban (Alava, which comes from the medieval term Laba or 'the plain' that comes in turn from the latin word 'planus'. Today, it is said laua, instead of laba). However, the first documentary evidence for the term Guipúzcoa ('borderland') will not appear until 1025, which was initially written as Ipuçcoa and that later was transcribed as Ipuzcaia.
(17) «Alabanque, Bizcai, Alaone et Urdunia, a suis reperitur semper esse possessas, sicut Pampilona, Deeius est atque Berroza» [...]
«Álava, Biscay, Alagón and Orduña were always possessed by their people, the same way as Pamplona, Deyo and Berrueza» [...]
Eneko Enekoitz, known in Spanish as Iñigo Iñiguez and that received the Romance nickname of 'Arista' due to his warlike mettle (the term means 'beard', in reference to how fast that the wheat beards 
catch fire) became the first Lord and King of Pamplona / Iruña (18) in 824. He gave rise to the first Navarrese dynasty, the 'Enekoiztarrak' or the Iñiguez dynasty.
His father was Eneko Xemenoitz (Iñigo Jiménez), who was a native of Bigorra (the lands of Bigorre are located in the opposite slope of the Aragonese Pyrenees which currently belong to France), a territory that was populated by Basques in the past. His mother, Oneka, was from Pamplona and had at least three children. Two of them were sons of Iñigo Jiménez (Eneko [Iñigo], as referred above and Orti [Fortún] ). After the death of Iñigo Jiménez, Oneka married Musa ibn Fortún, with whom she had her son Musa ibn Musa.
Therefore, Iñigo Arista and Musa ibn Musa, the famous Banu-Qasi leader, were both sons of the same mother. This collaboration, as well as the geographical location of the territory in the far south of the Pyrenees, where the Frankish control was rather weak, contributed to the birth and consolidation of the Kingdom of Pamplona.
(18) Iruñea: the Basque forms to designate Pamplona, such as Iruñea or Iruña, come from the archaic Euskara term *ilon. This ancient term means 'city' or more precisely, 'the place where the city is located', is made up of the word 'ili' ['city', which is said 'hiri' today] + the particle 'on' [locative suffix with the meaning of 'place' or 'location']. In the Middle Ages, the final '-a' of the article was added to the word (masculine and feminine) by the influence of the Romance languages because Euskara did not have any article in the Roman period. The toponym *Ilon was very common in the different territories of Basque speech in ancient times, the main Basque towns had this name. The biggest cities of the Roman times that were also called *Ilon together with Pamplona, were: Veleia (the current Iruña de Oka, Álava) and Oiasso (the current Irún, Guipúzcoa). The Romance toponym 'Pamplona' (Pompaelo > Pampilona > Pamplona) arose as a consequence of the mixture of the name 'Pompaelo ('city of Pompey', the Roman name of Pamplona) with the Basque medieval form that denominates the city: *Ilona.
The Navarrese leadership of the Vascones, who rebelled against the domination of Franks, Asturians and Arabs, entailed the fact that the Frankish writings began to use the term 'Navarrese' centuries before the Navarreses themselves did it officially. The purpose of this denomination was to differentiate the Vascones that were independent from the Frankish power, while the term 'Vascones' was only used to designate the ones that remained under its control.
The term 'Vascon' fell gradually into disuse and was replaced by the word 'Gascon', while the denomination 'Navarrese' will be used from then on to designate the Basques. The territories of Álava, Guipúzcoa and Biscay will start to build their current personality and foral institutions under the influence and subsequent belonging to the Navarrese Crown, unique features that will be finally consolidated under the Castilian Crown.
Saint Leo of Carentan, who was sent to evangelise the Basques, was beheaded around 892 in Bayonne, occupied by the Normans at that time.
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