Yahia Ben Bakr (born in the 9th century) was an important

Mozarab The Mozarabs ( es, mozárabes ; pt, moçárabes ; ca, mossàrabs ; from ar, مستعرب, musta‘rab, lit=Arabized) is a modern historical term for the Iberian Christians, including Christianized Iberian Jews, who lived under Muslim rule in A ...

( Iberian

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

or, in some instances, a Christianized Iberian Jew, living under

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

domination) figure in the al-Gharb al-Andalus. He was a member of a family of ''

muladí ''Muladí'' ( es, muladí, , pl. ; pt, muladi, , pl. ; ca, muladita, or , , pl. or ; ar, مولد, trans. , pl. , or , ) were Muslims of local Iberian descent or of mixed Arab, Berber, and Iberian origin who lived in al-Andalus during th ...

''s who revolted in the year 879 in Xantamarya, Al-Gharb (now the city of Faro in

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, Portugal) against the power of the Emir of Cordoba, remaining independent for about 50 years. The Bakr government spanned three generations, personified by Yahia Ben Bakr, his son

Bakr Ben Yahia Bakr Ben Yahia (born in the 9th century) was an important Marrano ( Iberian crypto-Jew living as a Christian) figure in Gharb al-Andalus, modern-day Algarve in Portugal. Bakr Ben Yahia was the son of Yahia Ben Bakr. Both Ben Bakr and Ben Yahia he ...

, and later Calafe Ben Bakr. Yahia Ben Bakr was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent, the son of a

(not to confuse with Yahia Ben Bakr's son, also called

) and an ancestor of

Yahia Ben Yahi III Yahia Ben Yahi III, also known as Jahia Negro Ibn Ya'isch, was a Sephardi Jew born in Cordoba, Al-Andalus, also known as Yahya Ha-Nasi, Yahya Ibn Yaish or Dom Yahia "o Negro", (known as Lord of the ''Aldeia dos Negros'', Portugal – en, Village ...

, a

Sephardi Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

who would be later entrusted by King

Afonso I of Portugal Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

, in 12th century, with the post of supervisor of tax collection and was nominated the first Chief-

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Yahia Ben Bakr was succeeded in office by his son,

. Both Ben Bakr and Ben Yahia held political office and executed important construction in Faro. Bakr Ben Yahia is credited with constructing the walls, as well as the iron gates around the perimeter of Faro. It is during this time that he brought the image of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as it would be stated much later in the songs by King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

(1221 – 1284).História de Faro (montejunto.net) "Ao revoltoso Yahia Ben Bakr sucede seu filho Bakr Ben Yahia, que executa importantes melhoramentos na cidade. Constroem-se as actuais muralhas, guarnecidas por portas em chapa de ferro, aumentando-se o perímetro da Vila-a-Dentro. Terá sido nesta altura colocada entre as ameias a imagem de Santa Maria, como nos canta Afonso X de Castela, o Rei Sábio. É de crer que neste período a cidade tenha adoptado o nome de Santa Maria do Ocidente ou simplesmente Santa Maria Xanta Maria." http://www.montejunto.net/historia-de-faro

References

Portuguese Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Medieval Portuguese Jews 9th-century Jews 9th-century Portuguese people {{Portugal-bio-stub