The
taifa of Dénia () was an
Islamic kingdom in medieval
Spain, ruling over part of the Valencian coast and
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...
. With
Dénia as its capital, the taifa included the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital ...
and parts of the
Spanish mainland. It was founded in 1010 by the
Slavic warlord
Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī.
History
The taifa was created in 1010, after the disintegration of the
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...
, by the freed slave
Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī, a former high functionary of the caliphate, who probably had a
Slavic origin. In 1011 Dénia was the first taifa to strike coins. The kingdom had a relatively powerful navy, which in 1015 was used to take control of the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital ...
and thence to
invade Sardinia. The taifa settled a military camp in the north of the island for one year, as a base for the next attack against the
Maritime Republic of Pisa, but it was reconquered by the fleets of Pisa and
Genoa: in the fray Mujahid's heir, Ali Iqbal al-Dawla, was captured, and could be ransomed only in 1032. In that period the taifa's ships launched several other raids against the
Ligurian and
Tuscan coasts. The taifa's army employed many mercenaries from the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
Banu Khazraj
The Banu Khazraj ( ar, بنو خزرج) is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era.
The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia in the Karib'il Watar 7th century ...
tribe. The taifa is best known for its active promotion of piracy against Christian coasts, as well as its failed conquest of
Sardinia. The taifa of Dénia also had a influential
Sephardic Jewish community which contributed greatly in the development of the taifa and was essential to its growth. The Jewish community held top positions in the government of the taifa.
In the 1020s Mujāhid took advantage of the death of the regents of the
taifa of Valencia to capture the southern part of that kingdom, which he held for two years. A few years later he supported the rebellion of
Ibn Jattab against Ibn Tahir of
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
. After the rise of
Abd al-Aziz al-Mansur
Abd-al-Aziz al-Mansur was the king of the Taifa of Valencia between 1021 and 1061. He was the son of Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo. He was two years old at the time of his father's violent death and was taken for safekeeping to Zaragoza, where he grew ...
in Valencia, Mujahid constantly struggled against him, conquering Murcia,
Lorca,
Orihuela and
Elche, extending his power up to the
Segura River
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 begins at Santiago Pontones ( province of Jaén), passes Calasparra, C ...
. Through the mediation of
Sulaymán ibn Hud of Zaragoza, he signed a treaty of peace with Valencia in 1041.
Mujahid, who had been educated as slave in the court of the Andalusian ruler
Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri ( ar, أبو عامر محمد بن عبد الله بن أبي عامر المعافري), nicknamed al-Manṣūr ( ar, المنصور, "the Victorious"), which is often Latiniz ...
, was a patron of several intellectuals, especially writers and
ulemas escaping the chaos ensuing the Córdoban dissolution. He protected Denia's Christian community in exchange for their declaration of loyalty, and worked with the Jewish mercantile community.
At the death of Mujahid al-Muwaffaq in 1045, he was succeeded by Ali Iqbal al-Dawla, a son by a Christian mother. He was able to maintain his father's conquests for some thirty years, starting a period of peace and prosperity, underpinned by a large commercial fleet based in Dénia. In 1050 the Balearic governor, Abd Allah ibn Aglab, gained autonomy for the islands. Dénia's power remained confined to its peninsular possessions until the conquest by the
taifa of Zaragoza in 1076. The Balearic
taifa of Mallorca remained independent until 1116.
List of Emirs
Amirid dynasty
*
Mujahid al-Muwaffaq
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...
(in Valencia 1017–1021): 1010/12–1045
*
'Ali Iqbal ad-Dawla: 1045–1076
** To
Zaragoza: 1060–1081 or 2/3
** To
Tortosa: 1081 or 2/3–1092
** To
Morocco: 1092–1224
*
Abu Zayd 'Abd ar-Rahman (in
Alzira Alzira may refer to:
* ''Alzira'' (opera), an opera by Giuseppe Verdi
*Alzira, Valencia
Alzira ( es, Alcira) is a city and municipality of 45.088 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the ''coma ...
,
Xàtiva also): 1224–1227
** To
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
thereafter.
See also
*
List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taifa Of Denia
1227 disestablishments
Denia
Oriental islands of Al-Andalus