Taifa of Granada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the later Andalusian state, see Emirate of Granada.
Taifa Kingdom of Granada
طائفة غرناطة
Reino Taifa de Granada
1013–1145
Taifa Kingdom of Granada, c. 1037.
Taifa Kingdom of Granada, c. 1037.
CapitalGranada
Common languagesArabic, Berber, Mozarabic, Hebrew
Religion
Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism
GovernmentEmirate
Malik (King) 
• 1013–1019/20
Zawi ibn Ziri
• 1019/20–1038
Habbus al-Muzaffar
• 1038–1073
Badis ben Habus
• 1073–1090
Abdallah ibn Buluggin
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Downfall of Caliphate of Córdoba
1013
• To the Almoravids
1090–1145
• Annexion to the Almohads
1145
CurrencyDirham and Dinar
Preceded by
Caliphate of Cordoba

The Taifa of Granada (Arabic: طائفة غرناطة‎, Ta'ifat Gharnata) or Zirid Kingdom of Granada was a muslim Berber[1] kingdom ruled by the Zirids which was formed in al-Andalus in 1013, following the implosion of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1009. Four kings succeeded each other during its 80 years of existence, all of them from the Zirid dynasty, a Sanhadja Berber dynasty originating in present-day Algeria.[2]

Visigoths[]

"Garnata" or "Garnata al-Yahud" (Granada of the Jews) was a settlement next to the town the Christians called "Elvira", after the former Iberian name "Ilbira".

Granada as a polity[]

The nearby Iberian (pre-Roman) town of Elvira became the capital of the Al-Andalus Caliphate of Córdoba province. Civil conflicts that wracked the Caliphate in the early eleventh century led to the destruction of the city in 1010. Zawi ben Ziri, the Zirid, was chief of one of the Berber armies that took part in the Caliphate civil war that destroyed Medina Azahara in Córdoba, and later destroyed Medina Elvira. Under his leadership the Elvira townsmen abandoned the provincial capital and established themselves in the Jewish settlement of Gharnata al-Yahud, thereby founding the city of Granada. He founded the first Taifa of Granada kingdom and moved the capital from Elvira to Garnata al-Yahud.

The Zirid was a Berber Sanhaja family from the region of Kabylia in Algeria whose members became chiefs and kings in many other Islamic regions, such as in Tunisia.

Role of the Jews[]

"The peak of Sephardic Judaism as a political as well as cultural reality is found in eleventh-century Granada. The Zirid state that existed for half a century was a Jewish kingdom in everything but name. The Muslim ruler was a powerless figurehead."[3] Jews did not hold the foreigner (dhimmi) status typical of Islamic rule. A Jew, the rabbi, scholar, and poet Samuel ha-Nagid, commanded an army, something not seen again until the modern state of Israel.[3] It has been said that the power and status of the Granadan Jews was not only unique in al-Andalus, but in the entire Islamic world.[4]: 170 

The Taifa of Granada kingdom ended after conquest by the Berber Almoravid dynasty in 1091, who took the territory and united it with others in their dynasty.

List of Emirs[]

Zirid dynasty[]

Almoravids: 1090–1145[]

Huddid dynasty[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Shoham, Shlomo (2008-12-18). Ark in the Authentic Domain. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781443802673.
  2. ^ Dhina, Amar (1986). Cités musulmanes d'Orient et d'Occident (in French). Entreprise nationale du livre. What makes Gharnata a famous Muslim metropolis is that it was the political capital of two Muslim dynasties: the Algerian Zirids, then the Banú al-Ahmar or Nasrids.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Eisenberg, Daniel (1999). "'La escondida senda': Homosexuality in Spanish history and Culture". In Foster, David William (ed.). Spanish Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes. A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood. pp. 1–21. ISBN 0313284792.
  4. ^ García Sanjuán, Alejandro (2004). "Violencia contra los judíos: el pogromo de Granada del año 459 H/1066". In Fierro, Maribel (ed.). De muerte violenta: política, religión y violencia en al-Andalus. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. pp. 167–206. ISBN 8400082680.

External links[]

Coordinates: 37°10′N 3°35′W / 37.167°N 3.583°W / 37.167; -3.583

Retrieved from ""