Ahmad II. Al-Musta'in

Ahmad II. Al-Musta'in , Arabic أحمد المستعين, DMG aḥmad al-musta'īn , was the fourth emir of the Hudid dynasty in the Taifa of Saragossa between 1085 and 1110 (years 478 to 503 in the Islamic calendar ) . Ahmad ibn Yusuf, Arabic أحمد بن يوسف, DMG aḥmad ibn yūsuf , was constantly fought by other taifas during his reign . Faced with the threat of the kings of Castile and Aragon , who benefited from his weakening, he received very little help and eventually fell in battle in 1110.

The Zaragoza Taifa around 1080 at the height of its power

Childhood and youth

Ahmad II. Al-Musta'in or Ahmad II. Al-Musta'in II, with full name in Arabic أبو جعفر أحمد بن يوسف بن هود المستعين بالله, DMG abū-ǧa'far aḥmad ibn yūsuf ibn hūd al-musta'īn bī-llāh , was the son of Yusuf al-Mutaman , an educated ruler and scientist. Ahmad was probably born in Saragossa , but his exact date of birth is unknown. He inherited the Saragossa Taifa from his father in 1085. Like Sulaiman ben Hud al-Musta'in before him, Ahmad also accepted the honorary title of al-Musta'in - who prays to God ( Arabic المستعين, DMG al-musta'īn ). He also wore the laqab Saif ad-Daula - the sword of the dynasty .

Difficult succession to the throne

In his succession to the throne, Ahmad II was soon confronted with the ambitions of his neighboring Christian rulers, including the kings of Castile , Pamplona ( Navarre ) and Aragon . From the other Muslim taifas he received compared to that of Alfonso VI. and Sancho I. very little support, especially after the fall of Toledo to Alfonso VI. on May 25, 1085. Moreover, in 1086 he lost his ally Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar , better known as El Cid , who had served his father faithfully for a long time. Nevertheless, he managed to throw back Sancho I, who had besieged Huesca , in the same year .

Intervention of the Almoravids

In 1086, al-Mu'tamid , the Taifa of Seville , called on the Taifas of Badajoz and Granada to assist him in his request for help from the Emir of the Almoravids Yusuf ibn Tashfin . He followed the call for help, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with his army , landed in Algeciras on July 30, 1086 and defeated Alphons VI's armies in the battle of Sagrajas that same year . and Sancho I. This defeat of his Christian neighbors freed the Taifa of Saragossa a little from the onslaught of the Christian armies. For example, Alphons VI, for whom El Cid was now fighting, had to disband his army's siege ring around Saragossa that same year.

However, Yusuf ibn Tashfin suddenly turned against the two taifas that had called him into the country. He conquered Seville , Granada, Almería and Badajoz. Already in 1090 he had gained complete control of Al-Andalus . Ahmad II al-Musta'in, who was able to maintain good relations with the Almoravids, was the only taifa who escaped deposition. On condition that his empire served as the starting point for the resistance movement against the Christian rulers, Ahmad II was able to maintain its independence.

Things to do in Valencia

In the first half of 1087 Ahmad II had apparently come to terms with El Cid again, as both marched together to Valencia to come to al-Qadir 's aid. This was threatened by al-Mundir , the Taifa of Lérida , who had allied themselves with the Count of Barcelona Berengar Raymond II in order to conquer the rich Valencia. El Cid succeeded in stopping al-Mundir's attack on Valencia, but could not prevent the loss of the fortress of Murviedro to al-Mundir.

Ahmad II and the Cid fell out again because the latter refused to hand over Valencia to Ahmad II. In 1088 El Cid moved to Castile to live with Alfonso VI. To get help. In the meantime, however, Ahmad II had allied himself with Berengar Raimund II in order to then besiege the Valencia held by the Cid together. El Cid was able to negotiate a peace treaty with the attackers, so that they withdrew without result.

Resumption of the fighting against Aragón

The King of Aragon did not rest and continued to strive to expand his sphere of influence. In 1089 Sancho I. had conquered Monzón and Estadilla and in 1091 Belaguer , but then fell off Huesca in 1094 . His son Peter I continued the offensive and, after the great victory of Alcoraz , conquered Huesca in 1096. In 1100, Ahmad II lost Barbastro , which had been besieged since 1099, and then Sariñena .

In 1104, with the death of the King of Aragón and the associated end of the siege of Zaragoza, Ahmad II was able to breathe again. Peter I was followed by his half-brother Alfons I , who had to turn to other problems than the fight against the Muslims. Because of his marriage to the heir to the throne Urraca of Léon and Castile, there had been upsets from which Ahmad II thought he would benefit. So he forged an alliance with Alfonso VI, the adversary of Alfonso I of Aragón, at high tribute (pariah). In 1110 he then invaded the lands of the King of Aragón and destroyed his estates around Pamplona. In the ensuing battle of Valtierra near Tudela against Alfonso I, who had taken Ejea and Tauste , Ahmad II was defeated and killed on January 24th.

Ahmad II al-Musta'in was succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik ibn Musta'in as heir to the throne.

Offspring

A son of Ahmad II al-Musta'in is known who succeeded him to the throne after his death:

• Abd al-Malik ibn Musta'in . Ruled with the honorary title of Imad ad-Daula ( the pillar of the dynasty ) in 1110 as the Taifa of Saragossa and died in 1130.

literature

• José Cervera Fras: El reino de Saraqusta . CAI, Saragossa 1999, ISBN 84-88305-93-1 .
• JL Corral Lafuente: Zaragoza musulmana (714-1118) . In: coll. “Historia de Zaragoza” (no 5) . 1998, ISBN 84-8069-155-7 .
• Alberto Montaner Frutos: "Introducci ón hist Orica" to the section "El palacio Muslim" . In: Bernabé Cabañero Subiza et al. (Ed.): La Aljafería . vol. I. Cortes de Aragón, Saragossa 1998, ISBN 84-86794-97-8 , p. 35-65 .
• Maria Isa's Viguera Molins: Arag ón Muslim . Mira editores, Saragossa 1988, ISBN 84-86778-06-9 .
• Maria Isa's Viguera Molins: El islam en Arag ón . CAI, (Mariano de Pano in Ruata, 9), Saragossa 1995.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Lévi-Provençal, Évariste and García Gómez, Emilio: El Siglo XI en primera persona. Las memorias de Abd-Allah, último rey Zirí de Granada . Alianza Editorial, 1980, ISBN 84-206-3057-8 , pp. 200 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Yusuf al-Mutaman	Emir of Saragossa 1085–1110	Abd al-Malik Imad ad-Daula