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Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mardanīsh, called al-Judhāmī or al-Tujībī (born AD 1124×25 AH_518.html" ;"title="Anno_Hegirae.html" ;"title="small>Anno Hegirae">AH 518">Anno_Hegirae.html" ;"title="small>Anno Hegirae">AH 518 died AD 1172 [AH 568]) was the king of Murcia from AD 1147 (AH 542) until his death. He established his rule over the cities of Murcia, Valencia, Spain, Valencia and Dénia as the power of the Almoravid emirate declined, and he opposed the spread of the
Almohad caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...
. Christian sources refer to him as the "Wolf King" (Latin ''rex Lupus'', Spanish ''rey Lobo'' or ''rey Lope''). Ibn Mardanīsh's full name was Abu ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mardanīsh al-Juḍāmī (or at-Tuȳībī), indicate he was the son of Saʿd, son of Muḥammad, son of Aḥmad, son of Mardanīsh. His tribal ''
nisba The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **c ...
''s are no secure indication of Arab ancestry. He was a '' muwallad'', a descendant of a native Iberian convert to Islam, and the name Mardanīsh is not of
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
origin. The thirteenth-century Islamic scholar
Ibn Khallikān Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
derived it from an
Ibero-Romance The Iberian Romance, Ibero-Romance or sometimes Iberian languagesIberian languages is also used as a more inclusive term for all languages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula, which in antiquity included the non-Indo-European Iberian language. are a ...
term for dung (via Latin ''
merda Merda may refer to: * The Latin word for ''excrement'', used as a swear word in various languages * Marda, Salfit, old Western name of this West Bank village * Charles-André Merda Général de brigade Charles André Merda, baron Meda (10 January ...
''), perhaps because of Ibn Mardanīsh's friendly relations with the Christians. It is more likely a corruption of Merdanix (today Merdancho), the name of a tributary of the river Najerilla, which was on the border between Christian and Islamic Spain in the early tenth century. This hydronym in turn derives from the Latin for dung, indicating dirty waters. This is consistent with Ibn Mardanīsh's family emigrating from the ''aṭ-Ṭaḡr al-Aʿlā'' (
Upper March The Upper March (in ar, الثغر الأعلى, ''aṯ-Tagr al-A'la''; in Spanish: ''Marca Superior'') was an administrative and military division in northeast Al-Andalus, roughly corresponding to the Ebro valley and adjacent Mediterranean coa ...
) around the Rioja, as told in Arabic sources. In the first year of his rule (1147/8), Ibn Mardanīsh faced the rebellion of his relative, Yūsuf ibn Hilāl, based in the castle of Montornés. Yūsuf conquered the castles of ''al-Ṣujayra'' and ''al-Ṣajra'', and defeated Ibn Mardanīsh before the walls of
Moratalla Moratalla is a small town and the center of a large municipality of the same name in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain. In 2018, the population of Moratalla was 7,944: some 5,600 in the town of Moratalla itsel ...
, which he occupied. With a reduced following he attacked the fortress of Peñas de San Pedro and was captured. Ibn Mardanīsh threatened to gouge out his eyes unless he ordered the surrender of Moratalla. He refused and his right eye was removed. Ibn Mardanīsh then ordered Yūsuf's wife to surrender the castle or else see her husband blinded. She refused and Yūsuf's other eye was removed. Ibn Mardanīsh then sent his prisoner to
Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...
, where he died shortly thereafter in 1148 or 1149. In June 1149, after the
republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
had established colonies at both
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
and
Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...
, Ibn Mardanīsh signed a ten-year truce with the republic, agreed to pay 15,000 Almoravid
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s (''murābiṭūn'') in tribute, exempted the Genoese from tariffs and permitted the establishment of Genoese ''
funduq A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
s'' at Valencia and Dénia. A payment of 5,000 ''murābiṭūn'' was due immediately: 3,000 in cash and 2,000 in equivalent silks. The remaining 10,000 was owed over two years. This treaty is preserved in the Genoese '' Liber iurium''. According to the contemporary historian Caffaro, a similar treaty was signed in 1161. In January 1150, Ibn Mardanīsh signed a treaty with the
republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...
, promising ''funduqs'' and a general safe-conduct for Pisan merchants, but requiring no payment of tribute. During ''Dhū l-Qaʿdah'' 560 (September–October 1165), Ibn Mardanīsh led a large army from Murcia to defend Lorca from an Almohad force advancing from the castle of Vélez. His troops were flanked by the Almohad force at a place called ''al-Fundūn'' in the valley of the
Guadalentín Guadalentín is a river in Spain. It is a tributary of the Segura Segura (, ; la, Thader; ar, شقورة, Shaqūrah, or ) is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura. Course The river begi ...
. In the ensuing
battle of Faḥṣ al-Jullāb The Battle of Faḥṣ al-Jullāb was fought on Thursday 15 October 1165 between the invading Almohads and the king of Murcia, Ibn Mardanīsh. An Almohad army under ''sayyid''s Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar and Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān, the brothers of the ...
they were routed.


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Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sad ibn Mardanis 1172 deaths Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Taifa of Valencia 12th-century Al-Andalus people Muwallads