The Historical Significance of the Taifa Kingdoms in Al-Andalus

First Taifa Kingdoms

The Taifa were up to 39 small kingdoms that divided the caliphate as a result of fitna or civil war. When the last caliph, Hisham III, was deposed and proclaimed in Córdoba the republic, all Coras of Andalus had not yet become self-proclaimed independent. Each Taifa was initially identified with a family, clan, or dynasty. Thus arose the Taifa of Amiri (descendants of Mansur) in Valencia, that of the Tujibi in Zaragoza, that of the Aftasí in Badajoz, that of the Birzalíes in Carmona, that of the Zirid in Granada, that of the Hammoudi in Algeciras and Málaga, and the Abbadid in Seville. Over the years, the Taifas of Seville, Badajoz, Toledo, and Zaragoza became the peninsular Islamic communities.

Almoravid Empire

The disintegration of the Umayyad period made it evident that only a unified and centralized political power could resist the advance of Christian kingdoms in the north. Thus, the conquest of Toledo in 1085 by Alfonso VI announced the threat of ending the Muslim kingdoms of the peninsula. In this situation, the kings of the Taifa sought help from the Almoravids of North Africa, led by Tasufin ibn Yusuf, who crossed the strait and not only defeated the Castilian king in the Battle of Zalaca (1086) but gradually conquered all Taifas. However, their brutal military occupation ultimately failed to resist the takeover of Castile and the emblematic Visigothic capital of Toledo.

Second Taifa Kingdoms

When Almoravid rule began to wane, the so-called second Taifa kingdoms arose (1144 - 1170), which were subsequently submitted by the Almohads, who succeeded the Almoravids in their mastery of North Africa. The Almohad Empire landed on the Iberian Peninsula in 1145 and tried to unify the Taifas as part of their propaganda assault on the Christian kingdoms and the defense of Islamic purity. In just over thirty years, they built a powerful Almohad empire that managed to stop the Christian advance when they defeated the Castilian army in 1195 at the Battle of Alarcos.

Third Taifa Kingdoms

After the end of the Almohad period, there was a short period known as the third Taifa kingdoms, which ended in the first half of the thirteenth century with the Christian conquests in the Levant by James I of Aragon (Valencia, 1236) and Fernando III of Castile (Córdoba, 1236, and Seville, 1248). This period endured in Granada with the founding of the Nazari Kingdom of Granada in the mid-thirteenth century. By the year 1238, Muhammad I ibn Nasr, also known as Al-Ahmar, "the Red," emerged as a significant figure. He was the creator of the Nazari dynasty (which had 20 sultans of Granada) and was the founder of the Kingdom of Granada. Although he initially befriended the Castilian kings, he had to become, over time, a tax collector to maintain their independence.