Banu Dānis
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The Banū Dānis (), also known as ''Banū Abī Dānis'' or ''Banū Adānis'', were a clan of the
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
tribe of Awsāǧa (also Awsaŷa, 'Awsaja, Aussaya). The 'Awsāǧa, in turn, belonged to the tribal confederation of
Masmuda The Masmuda (, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation , one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and the Sanhaja. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Tashelhit lan ...
Helena de Felipe: ''Identidad y onomástica de los Beréberes de Al-Andalus'', pages 89ff, 322-325 and 389f. Editorial CSIC, Madrid 1997J. Bosch-Vilà: ''Andalus - Les Berbères en Andalus''. In: ''Encyclopédie berbère'', Band 5 (Anacutas – Anti-Atlas)
pages 641-647
Edisud, Aix en-Provence 1988
Iván Pérez Marinas: ''Tierra de nadie - Sociedad y poblamiento (siglos VIII-XI) entre el Duero y el sistema central'', pages 159 and 174. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid 2016Abdulwahid Dhanum Taha: ''The Muslim conquest and settlement of North Africa and Spain'', page 173. Routledge, New York 2016 (according to other sources, to the Malzūza). They had come at the beginning of the 8th century during the Islamic expansion with a first Berber immigration from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula and played until the second Berber immigration late 10th century a leading role in the west of al-Andalus, today's southern and central Portugal. Masmuda Berbers had settled between the rivers Tejo and
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
Paulo Manuel Quintas de Almeida Fernandes: ''Matéria das Astúrias - Ritmos e realizações da expansão asturiano-leonesa no actual centro de Portugal séculos VIII-X'', page 189. Universidade de Coimbra 2016 or in the entire area between Beja and
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
. The Banu Dānis settled on the banks of the Sado (near
Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1,499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 y ...
); in Coimbra, in turn, they were next to
Mozarabs The Mozarabs (from ), or more precisely Andalusi Christians, were the Christians of al-Andalus, or the territories of Iberia under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, the Christian ...
the largest population group. Also in Lisbon there were Banu Dānis or Masmuda - as well in
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
(Oporto). The power and influence of the Banū Dānis increased when, after the Viking raids in the mid-9th century, the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
Emirate of Córdoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
developed the port cities on the Atlantic coast into important fortresses, the Banū Dānis became governors of Alcácer and Coimbra. During the rebellions erupting at the end of the 9th century, the Banū Dānis remained loyal to the Umayyads. However, the Mozarabs of Coimbra allied themselves with the Muladí rebels Sāʿḍūn al-Ṣurunbāqī and Ibn Marwan; after fierce battles led by Adānis Ibn 'Awsāǧa, Banu Dānis were expelled from Coimbra in 876. The city then fell to
Alfonso III of Asturias Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great (), was king of Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. After his death, the Kingdom of Asturias was split between his sons, with García inheriting León, ...
. The expelled Banu Dānis withdrew in 877 first to
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, then to Alcácer do Sal (al-Kasr Abī Dānis, i.e. "castle of Banū Abī Dānis"). Then, in 888, they also revolted against the usurpation of the throne by the Emir
Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
(as did the Banū Khalī, another clan of 'Awsāǧa, who rose in the south of Andalusia and joined the rebellion of Umar ibn Hafsun). From Alcácer do Sal, the Banū Dānis under Adānis' son Mas'ūd Ibn Abī Dānis (Mas'ūd Ibn Adānis) were able to expand their power and extend it again over Lisbon. Far away from Córdoba they dominated in the meantime at least the entire Estremadura or approximately the area of today's districts Lisbon and
Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...
. After the suppression of the rebellions, the Banū Dānis were appointed as governors by the caliph Abd al-Rahman III: Mas'ūd's brother Yaḥyā Ibn Abī Dānis (Yaḥyā Ibn Adānis) became governor of Alcácer in 930 and his nephew 'Abd Allāh Ibn' Umar Ibn Abī Dānis became governor of Palmela or Setúbal.
Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...
eventually dismissed the Banū Dānis governors, and made Alcácer do Sal a base for campaigns to the north, in which 987 Coimbra was recaptured.


References

{{Reflist Berber dynasties People from al-Andalus History of al-Andalus