Abbadid
Encyclopedia
- For the BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
dynasty, see Abbasid Caliphate; for the south-west Arabia Muslim sect, see AbāditesAbaditesAbādites or Ibādites are a Moslem sect named after its founder Jaber Ibn Zayd . The Abādites still have a small number of followers in Oman, the island of Djerba, Tripolitania, Tunis and Algeria...
.
The Abbadi (Arabic,بنو عباد) comprised an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
Dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
which arose in Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
on the downfall of the Caliphate of Cordoba (756–1031). Abbadid rule lasted from about 1023 until 1091, but during the short period of its existence it exhibited singular energy and typified its time. The name of the dynasty should not be confused with that of the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
s of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad (ruled 1023–1042)
Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn AbbadAbu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad
Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad was the founder and eponym of the Abbadid dynasty; he was the first independent Muslim ruler of Seville in Al-Andalus ,was deceased in 1042....
(ruled 1023–1042), the qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
of Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, founded the house in 1023. He functioned as the chief of an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
family settled in the city from the first days of the conquest. The Beni-abbad had not previously played a major role in history, though they were of noble pedigree, hailing from Bani Lakhm
Banu Lakhm
Banu Lakhm is a large Arab tribe tracing their lineage backto Qahtan, who among many achievements, created anArab kingdom in Al-Hira, near modern Kufa, Iraq...
, the historical kings of Al-Hira in south-central Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The family also did have considerable wealth.
Al-Qasim gained the confidence of the townsmen by organizing a successful resistance to the Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
soldiers of fortune who had grasped at the fragments of the caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. At first, he professed to rule only with the advice of a council formed of the nobles, but when his power became established, he dispensed with this show of republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an government, and then gave himself the appearance of a legitimate title by protecting an impostor who professed to be the caliph Hisham II
Hisham II
Hisham II was the third Caliph of Cordoba, of the Umayyad dynasty. He ruled 976–1009, and 1010–1013 in the Al-Andalus ....
.
When al-Qasim died in 1042 he had created a state, which, though weak in itself, appeared strong as compared to the little powers about it. He had made his family the recognized leaders of the Andalusian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s against the neo-Berber element arrayed under the king of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
.
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid (ruled 1042–1069)
Abbad II al-Mu'tadidAbbad II al-Mu'tadid
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid was second ruler of Seville in Al-Andalus, a member of the Abbadid dynasty....
(1042–1069), the son and successor of al-Qasim, became one of the most remarkable figures in Iberian Muslim
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
history. He had a striking resemblance to the Italian princes of the later Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and the early Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, of the stamp of Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...
.
Abbad wrote poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and loved literature; he also appears as a poisoner, a drinker of wine, a sceptic, and a man treacherous to the utmost degree. Though he waged war all through his reign, he himself very rarely appeared in the field, but directed the generals, whom he never trusted, from his "lair" in the fortified palace, the Alcázar
Alcázar
An alcázar , alcácer or alcàsser is a type of castle in Spain and Portugal. The term derives from the Arabic word القصر meaning "fort, castle or palace"; and the Arabic word is derived from the Latin word, 'castrum', meaning an army camp or fort...
of Seville. He killed with his own hand one of his sons who had rebelled against him. On one occasion, he trapped a number of his enemies, the Berber chiefs of the Ronda
Ronda
Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...
, into visiting him, and got rid of them by smothering them in the hot room of a bath
Hammam
A Turkish bath is the Turkish variant of a steam bath, sauna or Russian Bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam....
.
He habitually preserved the skulls of the enemies he had killed—those of the meaner men to use as flower-pots, while those of the princes he kept in special chests. He devoted his reign mainly to extending his power at the expense of his smaller neighbours, and in conflicts with his chief rival the king of Granada. These incessant wars weakened the Muslims, to the great advantage of the rising power of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
kings of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
and Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
, but they gave the kingdom of Seville a certain superiority over the other little states. After 1063 Fernando El Magno of Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
assailed him, marched to the gates of Seville, and forced him to pay tribute.
Muhammad al-Mu'tamid (ruled 1069–1091)
The son of Abbad II, Muhammad al-Mu'tamid (1069-1091) — who reigned by the title of Al-Mu'tamid — was the third and last of the Abbadids. A no less remarkable person than his father, and much more amiable, he also wrote poetry and favoured poets. Al-Mu'tamid went, however, considerably further in patronage of literature than his father, for he chose as his favouriteFavourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
and prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
the poet Ibn Ammar
Ibn Ammar
Ibn Ammar 1031–1086) was a Muwallad poet from Silves.Ibn Ammar, descended from a Portuguese Muslim family, became Grand Vizier of the taifa of Seville. Though he was poor and unknown, his skill in poetry brought him the friendship of the young Abbad III al-Mu'tamid, who named him prime...
. In the end, the vanity and feather-headedness of Ibn Ammar drove his master to kill him.
Al-Mu'tamid came even more under the influence of his favourite wife, Romaica (also spelt Rumayqiyya in Seville tradition), even more than that of his vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
. He had met her paddling in the Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
, purchased her from her master, and made her his wife. The caprices of Romaica, and the lavish extravagance of Abbad III in his efforts to please her, form the subject of many stories, like a brief tale on the queen Rumayqiyya appears on the book Libro de los ejemplos del Conde Lucanor y de Patronio
Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio
Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio , also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor or Libro de los ejemplos , is one of the earliest works of prose in...
(Book of the examples of Count Lucanor and Patronio), as the tale XXX, De lo que aconteció al rey Abenabed de Sevilla con su mujer, Ramaiquía (Tell of the story who happened to the king Abenabed of Seville with her wife, Ramaiquía).
In politics, Al-Mu'tamid carried on the feuds of his family with the Berbers, and in his efforts to extend his dominions proved himself capable of as much faithlessness as his father. His wars and extravagance exhausted his treasury, and he oppressed his subjects with taxes.
In 1080, Al-Mu'tamid brought down upon himself the vengeance of Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
. He had endeavoured to pay part of his tribute to the Christian king with false money, but a Jew, one of the envoys of Alfonso, detected the fraud. Abbad, in a moment of folly and rage, crucified the Jew and imprisoned the Christian members of the mission. Alfonso retaliated with a destructive raid.
When Alfonso took Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
in 1085, Abbad called in Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusef ibn Tashfin also, Tashafin, or Teshufin; or Yusuf; was a king of the Almoravid empire, he founded the city of Marrakech and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Zallaqa....
, the Berber Almoravid ruler. During the six years which preceded his deposition in 1091, Abbad behaved with valour on the field, but with much meanness and political folly. He endeavoured to curry favour with Yusuf by betraying the other Muslim princes to him, and intrigued to secure the alliance of Alfonso against the Almoravids. Probably during this period he surrendered his beautiful daughter-in-law Zaida
Zaida of Seville
Zaida of Seville was a refugee Muslim princess who was a mistress and then perhaps queen of Alfonso VI of Castile.She is said by Iberian Muslim sources to have been the daughter-in-law of Al Mutamid, the Muslim King of Seville, wife of his son Abu al Fatah al Ma'Mun, Emir of Cordoba,...
to the Christian king, who made her his concubine—some authorities suggest he married her after she bore him a son, Sancho.
The vacillations and submissions of Abbad did not save him from the fate which overtook his fellow-princes. Their scepticism and extortion had tired their subjects, and the Abbassid Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
(resident in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
) as well as the faqih
Faqih
A Faqīh is an expert in fiqh, or, Islamic jurisprudence.A faqih is an expert in Islamic Law, and, as such, the word Faqih can literally be generally translated as Jurist.- The definition of Fiqh and its relation to the Faqih:...
s (Islamic jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
s) gave Yusuf a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
authorizing him to remove them due to their disloyalty to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
by aiding and assisting the Christians against one another.
- Almoravid dynasty
In 1091, the Almoravid dynasty stormed Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. Muhammad, who had fought bravely, weakly ordered his sons to surrender the fortresses they still held, in order to save his own life. He died in prison in Aghmat
Aghmat
Aghmāt was an important medieval Berber town in southern Morocco which is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". It is situated approximately 30 km east of Marrakech on the Ourika road...
in 1095.