Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAmmār al-Quḍā'ī ( ar, أبو بكر محمد بن عمّار;1031–1086), known as Ibn Ammar, in Spanish sources found as Abenámar, was an Arab poet from Silves. Ibn Ammar became

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

to the ''

taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

'' of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. Though he was poor and unknown, his skill in poetry brought him the close friendship of the young Abbad III al-Mu'tamid. However, Al-Mu'tamid's father,

Abbad II al-Mu'tadid Abu ʿAmr ʿAbbad II al-Muʿtadid (; died 28 February 1069), a member of the Abbadid dynasty, was the second independent emir of Seville (reigned 1042–1069) in Al-Andalus. His father, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad, had established the Taifa o ...

disapproved of the relationship and sent him into exile. Al-Mu'tamid named him prime minister some time after the death of his father. Ibn Ammar was reputed to be unbeatable at chess; according to

Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī al-Tamīmī al-Marrākushī (; born 7 July 1185 in Marrakech, died 1250) was a Moroccan historian who lived during the Almohad period. Abdelwahid was born in Marrakech in 1185 during the reign of Yaqub al-Mansur, in ...

, his victory in a game convinced

Alfonso VI of Castile 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. ...

to turn away from Seville. He engineered the annexation of the

taifa of Murcia The Taifa of Murcia () was an Arab '' taifa'' of medieval Al-Andalus, in what is now southern Spain. It became independent as a ''taifa'' centered on the Moorish city of Murcia after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (11th centur ...

to the kingdom of Seville, and convinced al-Mu'tamid to name him as its governor. He proclaimed himself its king and cut off relations with al-Mu'tamid. He soon fell from power, was captured in an ambush, and was imprisoned in Seville. Al-Mu'tamid was initially inclined to forgiveness, but was later incensed by something he read in an intercepted letter sent by Ibn Ammar from his prison cell. The king then killed the poet with his own hands.Ibn-Ammar
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References

Bibliography

* Hitti, Philip K. '' History of the Arabs: From the Earliest Times to the Present'' (London: Macmillan, 1956) *Sordo, Enrique ''Moorish Spain: Cordoba, Seville, Granada.'' (London: Elek Books, 1963) * Watt, W. Montgomery ''A History of Islamic Spain'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1965) {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad Ibn Ammar 1031 births People from Silves, Portugal 1086 deaths 11th-century Al-Andalus writers 11th-century Arabic poets Ammar 11th-century writers Assassinated people in the medieval Islamic world Taifa of Seville Viziers of the medieval Islamic world Shatranj players