Zāwī ibn Zīrī
al-Mansur Zawi ibn Ziri ibn as-Manad as-Sinhaji ( Arabic المنصور بن زيري بن الزاوي مانادو; died 1019 ), also written Zawi ben Ziri , was one of the leaders of the Sanhajah of the Zirid dynasty . He reached Spain around 1000 (391), took part in the rebellion against the Caliphate of Cordoba , founded the Taifa of Granada and started the Zirid dynasty of Granada, of which he became the first king ( emir ). He ruled the Taifa of Granada from 1013 to 1019.
Early Zirid dynasty and departure to Europe
Zawi's father Ziri ibn Manad (Ziri) founded the Zirid dynasty in the Maghreb and established the city of El Achir, where his son Zawi was born around 953. In the course of the revolt of some Berber tribes against the rule of the Fatimids , Ziri ibn Manad marched against the insurgents in 970. After a bloody battle, his army was defeated, captured and beheaded. His severed head is said to have been taken to the Emir of Córdoba.
In the year 1000 Zāwī ibn Zīrī went to Spain with his son, nephew and other followers; possibly he followed the call of the Caliphate of Cordoba to fight the Christians in the north. Other sources say that he was a mercenary supporting Suleiman al-Mustain, who had intentions on the throne of Cordoba.
Al-Andalus
In the caliphate of Cordoba in al-Andalus , Almansor , the hajib (chamberlain) of the caliphate, had military power. After his death in 1002 the empire slowly fell apart; In 1009, a coup d'état caused the Fitna , a civil war. Internal disputes among the Berber tribes increased, Berber leaders and warrior chiefs plundered cities and provinces. Around 1013 Zāwī ibn Zīrī and his mercenary army were also involved in the destruction of the Medina Azahara and the storming of Cordoba.
Elvira / Granada
Around 1013 Zāwī ibn Zīrī established his own independent kingdom, the Taifa of Granada , with Elvira (formerly Illiberis) as the capital; possibly Zawi had received the rule of the area for the support of Suleiman al-Mustain, possibly the inhabitants of this city expected a certain security from the military presence of the army of Ziri in the unrest of the times. However, the place was relatively inconvenient and difficult to defend in today's Vega de Granada. Although the Sanhajah succeeded in asserting themselves against various attacks by other Moorish groups, due to the recurring attacks by competing groups, Zawi ben Ziri soon relocated the entire city and population to an easier-to-defend, nearby hill in the area of today's Granada. Due to this relocation, Zāwī ibn Zīrī can be regarded as the founder of today's city of Granada; the Granada of the Zirids had some fortifications, some of which may have existed before, on today's hill of the Alhambra, and the area of today's Albayzin as its center. More precisely, one calls the first settlement area of the Ziriden / the inhabitants coming from Elvira Alcazaba Cadima ("old fortress"). Some remains of the wall around the city of the Ziri can still be seen in the Albayzin.
Convinced that his future does not lie in Spain, Zāwī ibn Zīrī returned to the Maghreb around 1019 after declaring his nephew Habbus ibn Maksan to be his successor.
al-Andalus under the Umayyads
Puerta de Elvira in Granada
Maghreb
Zawi is said to have had ambitions for power in Ifrīqiya on his return ; It is also asserted on various occasions that he took his father's head in Córdoba and now transferred it to the grave with the rest of his body. However, he died shortly after his return. The reason for his death is variously described; either he was poisoned at the instigation of his related king Mahdia, or he died of the plague.
Aftermath
Habbus al-Muzaffar organized the Taifa and built Granada during his reign.
References
- Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad Ibn Jaldún: Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Sepentrionale. 1854, Imprimerie du Gouvernement, ( here in the Google book search).
- Idris El Hareir , Ravane Mbaye: The Spread of Islam throughout the World. UNESCO, 2011 ( here in the Google book search).
- Ricardo Villa-Real: Historia de Granada . Bibloiteca de Escritores y Temas Granadinos, 1991.
- Seco de Lucena, L .: Plano de Granada Árabe . Granada, 1910, reprinted 1982.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reino taifa de Granada (<h.1013-1090>) in Reyes medievales de España
- ↑ Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad Ibn Jaldún: Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Sepentrionale. 1854, Imprimerie du Gouvernement, p. 8. ( here in the Google book search).
- ↑ alhambradegranada.org
- ↑ historiadegranada.com
- ↑ academia.edu
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zāwī ibn Zīrī |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zawi ben Ziri as-Sinhayi; Al-Mansur Zawi Ibn Ziri Ibn al-Manad Sanhaji |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Leader of the Sanhajah of the Zirid dynasty |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1019 |