Taifa kingdoms
As Taifa (king) empires (Spanish: reinos de taifas ) or Taifas (from Arabic طائفة, DMG ṭāʾifa 'crowd, group, party'; Plural:طوائف / ṭawāʾif ) denotes those small Muslim kingdoms and principalities in al-Andalus , the Muslim-ruled part of the Iberian Peninsula, which were created by the collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba in the first decades of the 11th century. The Taifas were finally subdued by the Almoravids and Almohads from North Africa and incorporated into their empires. Since al-Andalus fell again after the end of the Almoravid empire in the 12th century and that of the Almohads in the 13th century into spheres of power of various local and regional rulers, historical research sometimes also speaks of the "second Taifas" and the " third Taifas ”. The term “Taifas” was initially applied to the Diadochi empires in Arabic historiography and had a negative connotation.
history
After Caliph Hisham II († 1013) was overthrown in 1009, the rapid decline of the Caliphate of Cordoba began due to ongoing power struggles. In the course of the fighting between the various ethnic groups, above all the Berbers, who immigrated from North Africa as mercenaries in the second half of the 10th century, and the long-established “Arab” population, who were primarily the descendants of the 8th century conquerors and the Hispano-Romans ( Muladíes ) converted to Islam acted, the individual parts of the empire made themselves independent under new dynasties. Initially up to 30 taifas emerged, which fought almost permanently in changing alliances, so that only around 20 of them should last for a long time. In political terms, the Iberian Peninsula looked like a constantly changing patchwork quilt during the taifas.
These taifas can be divided into three subgroups, the Berber taifas, who initially placed themselves under the spiritual leadership of the Hammudids of Malaga and the military leadership of the Zirids of Granada , the Taifas of the Arabs and muladíes, and the Taifas of the Amirids , descendants or ṣaqāliba Almansors , but the latter often had no future because the former generals and officials were often eunuchs . An exception to this was Muğāhid of Dāniya , who was able to found a dynasty with his Christian wife.
The Berber Taifas
The Berbers, especially from the originally warring tribes of the Zanata and Sanhadja , initially supported various Umayyad pretenders to the throne before they gathered under the supreme command of the Hammudids, who claimed the caliphate for themselves for some time. In fact, however, they formed a. independent dominions in Ronda , Medina Sidonia , Algeciras , Málaga and Granada . Under the pressure of the Abbadids , the smaller taifas of the Zanata were weakened more and more, so that Granada quickly became the most important taifa of the Berbers. Finally, the Zirids also got rid of the Hammudid caliphs of Málaga and Algeciras.
The Arabs' Taifas
Of the Arabic-led taifas, the most important are Seville , Saragossa , Badajoz , Córdoba and Toledo , some of which also legitimized subordinate themselves to a shadow caliphate. For a long time the Abbadids of Seville could claim that the Umayyad Hisham had fled to Seville and lived under their protection, for so long the Abbadids did not call themselves kings, but judges. In Cordoba a kind of apparent “republic” established itself.
The Amirid Taifas
The Taifas of the Amirids were ruled by functionaries of the outgoing caliphate, so-called Fata , released military leaders, as in Dénia and Almería, or administrative officials, as in Valencia . In this city, which later fell into the hands of the Cid for a few years , two officials of the water regulation ruled the city until they - allegedly eunuchs - died without having founded a dynasty.
The most important dynasties of this time were the Hūdids of Saragossa, the 'Abbādids of Seville, the Afṭasids of Badajoz, the Dhun-Nunids of Toledo, the Hammudids of Malaga, the Jahwarids of Cordoba and the Zirids of Granada . The Amirids ruled the east coast between Almería and Valencia.
The Abbadids of Seville soon rose to be the most powerful empire in al-Andalus, but in 1064 they too had to recognize the sovereignty of Castile and pay tribute. As Alfons VI. († 1109) conquered Toledo from Castile in 1085, the minor kings turned to the Almoravids in what is now Morocco with requests for help . They defeated the Castilians in 1086 in the battle of Zallaqa near Badajoz. Outraged by the "decadent" lifestyle and the "softening" of religion that they found in al-Andalus, the Almoravids, who advocated radical Islam , began subjugating the Muslim Taifa following the victory over the Christians - Empire that was completed with the fall of the Hudids of Saragossa in 1110. When Ramon Berenguer IV (ruled 1131–1162) finally conquered the Waliat (= viceroyalty) of Siurana in today's Catalonia in 1153 , the last Taifa empire in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula had also disappeared.
After the fall of the Almoravid Empire in the 12th century, Ibn Mardanīsch (ruled 1143–1172) was able to establish an independent empire in the area around Valencia, which was finally subjugated by the Almohads. It was only in the course of the decline of the Almohad Empire after the lost battle at Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), with Ibn Hud († 1238) and the Nasrids, that Andalusian Muslims regained power in the meanwhile shrunken al-Andalus. They were able to assert themselves in the emirate of Granada until the final expulsion of the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century .
Culture
Even if the Taifas were not of great political importance, the competition among their rulers led to a great cultural boom, especially in the fields of poetry, art and science. So lived the important historians al-Udri (1002-1085) from Granada and Ibn Hayyan (987-1076), as well as the geographer al-Bakri († 1094). The lexicographer Ibn Sida (1007-1066) from Murcia wrote two large dictionaries and was supported by the Mujahid of Dénia . The doctors was Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi († 1010; Latinized Abulcasis ) with his textbook on surgery famous, the Kitab al-Tasrif , which is also in the 12th century by Gerard of Cremona was (1114-1187) translated into Latin . Among the astronomers, Ibn az-Zarqala († 1087) from Toledo is worth mentioning, who was also known in Christian Europe under the name Azarquiel . Other important men of this time, the polymath were Ibn Hazm (994-1064), the poet Ibn Zaydun (1003-1071), as well as the poet and philosopher Ibn Gabirol (* around 1021, † around 1058), the author of the Fons Vitae also became known under the name Avicebron .
See also
literature
- Georg Bossong : Moorish Spain. History and culture . Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-55488-9 .
- André Clot : Moorish Spain. 800 years of high Islamic culture in Al Andalus. Translated from the French by Harald Ehrhardt. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-491-96116-5 .
- Ulrich Haarmann, Heinz Halm (Hrsg.): History of the Arab world. 4th, revised and expanded edition. Beck, Munich 2001.
- Wilhelm Hoenerbach (Ed.): Islamic History of Spain: Translation of the Aʻmāl al-a'lām and additional texts. Artemis, Zurich / Stuttgart 1970.
- Martin Kremp (ed.): The small kings of Islamic Spain: Texts on the history of the Taifas of Andalus in the 11th century. Mediterranea, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-00-000464-5 .
- Ralf Ohlhoff: From unity to discord? The history of Islamic Spain in the 11th century with Ibn Bassām (= Arabic texts and studies 13). Olms, Hildesheim et al. 1999, ISBN 3-487-11037-7 , also: Dissertation University of Göttingen 1997.
- David Wasserstein: The Rise and Fall of the Party Kings. Politics and Society in Islamic Spain (1002-1086) . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1985.
Web links
- Literature about the Taifas in the catalog of the Ibero-American Institute in Berlin
- List of the Taifas in Al-Andalus u. a. ( Memento of January 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish-language website of the Centro de Estudios Moriscos de Andalucía )
- Encyclopaedia of Islam : Muluk al-Tawaif ( Memento of April 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (VII: 551a)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralf Ohlhoff: From unity to discord? The history of Islamic Spain in the 11th century with Ibn Bassām (= Arabic texts and studies 13). Olms, Hildesheim et al. 1999, ISBN 3-487-11037-7 , also: Dissertation University of Göttingen 1997.