Zirids

Zirids of Granada

After the rebellion of Buluggin's brothers failed in 999, Zawi ibn Ziri sought to move to al-Andalus, which was under Umayyad control. The hajib of Caliph Hisham II (r. 976–1009) and de facto ruler of the Caliphate of Córdoba at the time, Ibn Abi ʿAmir al-Mansur (also known as Almanzor), initially refused to allow Zawi's immigration to al-Andalus, believing his reputation as a troublemaker. However, his son and successor, 'Abd al-Malik al-Muẓaffar (r. 1002–1008), seeking able military commanders, granted Zawi and his followers permission to come to Cordoba, where they subsequently became an important part of al-Muzaffar's army. The Caliphate of Córdoba fragmented after 1008, a period known as the fitna of al-Andalus. Zawi initially played a role, along with other Berber factions, in the siege of Córdoba between 1010 and 1013. By the end of the siege they succeeded in installing their own puppet caliph in Córdoba, Sulayman al-Musta'in, but by this point Zawi and other factions were seeking political fortunes elsewhere in al-Andalus. The new caliph granted Zawi and his faction the province of Ilbira (Elvira) to settle in 1013. After moving the capital from Madinat Ilbira to the hilltop settlement of Gharnāṭa (Granada) that year, Zawi founded the Taifa kingdom of Granada. Arab sources consider him to be the founder of the present-day city of Granada, a designation also repeated by some modern historians like Helen Rodgers, Stephen Cavendish, and Brian Catlos.