HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Taifa of Toledo () was an islamic polity ('' taifa'') located in the centre of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
in the high middle ages. It was ruled by the Dhulnunids, a Hawwara Berber clan. It emerged after 1018 upon the fracturing of the
Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and part ...
, when the Dhulnunids, already strong in the lands of Santaver, Cuenca, Huete and Uclés, seized control over the city of Toledo, the capital of the Middle March of Al-Andalus. Upon later territorial conquest, the taifa also expanded to the land of Calatrava. It lasted until the Christian conquest of Toledo in 1085.


History

Toledo had been the capital of the
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
shattered by the Islamic conquest of Iberia in the 8th century. Despite the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
capital being established in Córdoba, Toledo kept a strategic importance as capital of the Middle March, maintaining a relative autonomy under Cordobese rule in spite of repeated rebellion. When the caliphate failed, the ensuing civil wars of the early 11th century allowed Toledo increasing autonomy. Power remained in the hands of local leaders, including Abu Bala Ya'is ibn Mubammad, Ibn Masarra, Abd al-Rahman and Abd al-Malik ibn Matiyo. These Toledans offered the city to the lord of Santaver (Santabariyya), Abd al-Rahman ibn Dil-Nun, who, around 1035, sent his son Ismail al-Zahir to Toledo to take control. The Banu Dil-Nun (from Banu Zenun) were a family of the Berber tribe Hawwara, that had arrived in the peninsula during the Islamic conquest. They settled in the area of Santaver in the 8th to the 10th centuries. Throughout that time Banu Dil-Nun kept on rising up against the Emirate. They regained their autonomy with the decline of the Caliphate during the first decade of the eleventh century: then, possibly, Abd al-Rahman ibn Dil-Nun was made the lord of Santaver, Huete, Uclés and Cuenca obtained by Caliph Sulayman al-Hakam (1009–10 and 1013–16), carrying the title of "Nasir al-Dawla". Abd al-Rahman entrusted his son Ismail with government of Uclés in 1018. In 1018, Ismail expelled the governor of the city of Toledo, establishing a de facto independence. Already by 1036,
Ismail al-Zahir Ismail b. Abd al-Rahman b. Di-l-Nun (died 1043 in Toledo), also known as Ismaíl al-Zafir, Ismaíl az-Záfir or simply “Al-Zafir” (the victor) was the first ruler of the Taifa of Toledo from the Dhulnunid dynasty. He reigned from 1032 until his ...
appears as sovereign king of the taifa. At its largest extent the taifa controlled land now apportioned between the Spanish provinces of Toledo,
Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founded ...
, Cuenca, the northern part of
Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...
, Cáceres, Guadalajara (to the frontier with the taifa of Zaragoza in
Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba del Moral. Etymology Its name derives from the Arabic 'madīnat salīm', which was named aft ...
) and
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
(to the Sierra de Guadarrama). The disintegration of the taifa of Toledo occurred piecemeal over a number of years. Ismail al-Zahir held the throne until 1043, fighting for his independence against Córdoba. He was succeeded by Al-Mamun, who asked
Ferdinand I of León and Castile Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
for assistance against
Al-Mustain I Sulayman ibn Muhammad ibn Hud al-Judhami ( ar, سليمان بن محمد بن هود الجذامي), known by the regnal name al-Mustaʿin bi-Illah ( ar, المستعين بالله, , He who looks for help to God), was the first member of the Ba ...
of the taifa of Zaragoza; twenty years later Toledo was attacked by Ferdinand himself, and was forced to pay tribute to escape the menace. When in 1061 Abd al-Malik ben Abd al-Aziz al-Mansur, ruler of the taifa of Valencia, was attacked by Ferdinand, he sued for support from Al-Mamun, but the latter took advantage of the situation to annex Valencia (1064) with the approval of the Christian king. The taifa of Toledo and the
taifa of Seville The Taifa of Seville ( ''Ta'ifat-u Ishbiliyyah'') was an Arab kingdom which was ruled by the Abbadid dynasty. It was established in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain and Portugal. It gained independence from the Cali ...
both aimed to annex the former capital of Córdoba to their lands; this ended with the city being captured by Seville in 1070. The new King of León,
Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, pursued a policy of playing the Muslim rulers against each other for his benefit. With the help of
al-Mu'tamid of Seville Al-Mu'tamid Muhammad ibn Abbad al-Lakhmi ( ar, المعتمد محمد ابن عباد بن اسماعيل اللخمي; reigned c. 1069–1091, lived 1040–1095), also known as Abbad III, was the third and last ruler of the Taifa of Sevi ...
he defeated
Abdallah ibn Buluggin Abdallah ibn Buluggin (), full name:ʿAbd Allāh ben Buluggīn ben Bādīs ben Ḥabūs ben Zīrī (1056–after 1090), also known as "Al-Muzaffar" (the conqueror), was the grandson of Badis ben Habus and the last Zirid ruler of the Taifa of Gra ...
of Granada, but at the same time helped Al-Mamun of Toledo in conquering the taifa of Córdoba in 1075. At this point Al-Mamun was the most powerful lord of southern Iberia, his lands including Toledo, Córdoba and Valencia, but he was poisoned the same year, being succeeded by his grandchild
Al-Qadir of Toledo Yahya ibn Ismail ibn Yahya, known by the regnal name al-Qadir bi-llah (died 28 October 1092) was the Dhulnunid ruler of the Taifa of Toledo in Spain between 1075 until the fall of Toledo 1085 and of the Taifa of Valencia from 1086 until his death ...
. Al-Qadir expelled the exponents of the pro- Castilian party from Toledo causing a revolt in Valencia, which proclaimed its independence. The Cordoban lands were lost in 1077, as well as the southernmost provinces of the kingdom, and Al-Qadir also found himself attacked by Al-Mutawakkil of the taifa of Badajoz. He was therefore forced to ask again for help from Castile, in this way losing the support of many of his subjects. Al-Mutawakkil occupied Toledo in 1080, while Al-Qadir took refuge in Cuenca. He was able to regain the throne the following year, the agreement including the acquisition of Toledo by the Castilian kingdom, while al-Qadir would keep ruling Valencia. Much of the population, tired by the endless series of wars, accepted Alfonso's entrance into Toledo (though with a simulated siege in order to escape a loss of prestige in the Muslim world), but a faction solicited an alliance between
Al-Muqtadir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Ahmad al-Muʿtaḍid ( ar, أبو الفضل جعفر بن أحمد المعتضد) (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name Al-Muqtadir bi-llāh ( ar, المقتدر بالله, "Mighty in God"), w ...
of Zaragoza, Al-Mu'tamid of Seville and Al-Mutawakkil of Badajoz against Alfonso. The latter responded by attacking his enemies and, after four years of "siege", Toledo officially and peacefully fell into Christian hands on 6 May 1085.


Emirs of the Taifa

*
Ismail al-Zahir Ismail b. Abd al-Rahman b. Di-l-Nun (died 1043 in Toledo), also known as Ismaíl al-Zafir, Ismaíl az-Záfir or simply “Al-Zafir” (the victor) was the first ruler of the Taifa of Toledo from the Dhulnunid dynasty. He reigned from 1032 until his ...
- c. 1036–1043 *
Yahya I al-Ma'mun Yahya ibn Ismail al-Mamun () (died 1075) was the second ruler of the Berber Hawwara Dhulnunid dynasty who was king of the Taifa of Toledo between 1043 and 1075. Biography Yahya ibn Ismail succeeded his father Ismaïl ibn Dhi 'l-Nun in 1043. In 1 ...
- 1043–1075 * Yahya al-Qadir (in Valencia 1086–1092) - 1075–1080, d. 1092 **To
Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...
- 1080–1081 * Yahya al-Qadir (restored) - 1081–1085, d. 1092


See also

* List of Sunni Muslim dynasties *
Ibrahim ibn Said al-Sahli Ibrahim Ibn Saîd al-Sahlì () (11th century) was an Andalusian globe-maker, active from 1050 to 1090. Ibrahim Ibn Saîd al-Sahlì worked in Valencia and Toledo in what is now Spain, and was mentioned in a list of mathematics students in Andalu ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taifa Of Toledo 1085 disestablishments States and territories established in 1010 Toledo