Taifas - Taifa, Taifa of Almeria, Taifa of Badajoz, Taifa of Granada, Taifa of Algeciras, Taifa of Arcos, Taifa of Carmona, Taifa of Alpuente (Paperback)

Chapters: Taifa, Taifa of Almeria, Taifa of Badajoz, Taifa of Granada, Taifa of Algeciras, Taifa of Arcos, Taifa of Carmona, Taifa of Alpuente, Taifa of Albarracin. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 30. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa (from Arabic: 'ifa, plural aw'if) was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia) after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031. The origins of the taifas must be sought in the administrative division of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, as well in the ethnic division of the elite of this state, divided among Arabs, Berbers, Iberian Muslims (known as Muladies - the overwhelming majority) and Eastern European former slaves. There was a second period when taifas arose, toward the middle of the 12th century, when the Almoravid rulers were in decline. During the heyday of the taifas, in the 11th century and again in the mid 12th century, their emirs (rulers) competed among themselves, not only militarily but also for cultural prestige. They tried to recruit the most famous poets and artisans. Reversing the trend of the Umayyad period, when the Christian kingdoms of the north often had to pay tribute to the Caliph, the disintegration of the Caliphate left the rival Muslim kingdoms much weaker than their Christian counterparts, particularly the Castilian-Leonese monarchy, and had to submit to them, paying tributes known as parias. Due to their military weakness, taifa princes appealed for North African warriors to come fight Christian kings on two occasions. The Almoravids were invited after the fall of Toledo (1085), and the Almohads after the fall of Lisbon (1...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=45311