The Rashidun Dynasty (632-661)
Abu Bakr (c573-634), friend of Mohammad and father of his wife, Aisha (c613-678) was the first Rashidun Caliph. They were not involved in the story of Islamic Gibraltar which would not become part of Muslim history until 711.
Tariq Ibn Ziyad (d720) was another of Musa’s commanders
Artist’s impression of Tariq ibn Ziyad with one of the many spellings of his name - The “Moorish Castle” depicted on the left had nothing to do with him
The Abbasid Dynasty (750 -1258)
Abul al-Abbas al-Saffah (c749-754) was the first caliph
Abul al-Abbas al-Saffah proclaimed 1st Abbasid Caliph (14th Century Book of History by Balami)
Although the Abbasids took over as the main Islamic dynasty during the 8th century, the Muslim-held provinces in Spain remained under the control of more or less independent Umayyad governors and leaders. The most important of these was the provincial capital of Cordoba which had been taken by Tariq ibn Ziyad’s forces in 711.
Abd al-Rahman I ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (731-788) – a royal Umayyad prince, refused to recognize the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate and made himself the first Emir of an independent Córdoba.
Statue of an imagined Abd al-Rahman I in Almuñeca, Spain.
The Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031)
By the early 10th century, the Emirate of Cordoba had become the capital city of Islamic al-Andalus and had gained control of considerable portions of the Iberian Peninsula - of which a remote and still very unmentioned Gibraltar must have been part of.
Abd al-Rahman III (Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad . . .) (889-961), replaced his original title of Emir in 929 to that of Caliph of Cordoba. The original emirate then became known as the Caliphate of Cordoba with the city of Cordoba as the capital of that part of al-Andalus under Islamic control.
The Caliphate of Cordoba at the beginning of the 10th century and of which Gibraltar was very small and anonymous part (Adapted from Wikipedia
Abd al-Rahman III receiving an ambassador from Byzantine Constantinople (Late 19th century - Dionisio Baixeras)
Hammudid Dynasty – Caliphate of Cordoba (1016-1031)
The Hammudids were originally followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib (601-661), son-in law and cousin of the of the Prophet Muhammad. Their adoption of Berber mores and traditions over their years in North Africa, however, ensured that many would think of them as such.
The Governors of both Ceuta and Tangier were members of the Hammudid dynasty. Their possession of these important ports - and later of Algeciras and almost certainly Gibraltar- was part of the reason why this dynasty was able to control much of the commercial traffic across the Straits of Gibraltar and become a force to be reckoned with in the early years of the 11th century.
After years of infighting, the Caliphate of Cordoba fractured into a number of independent Muslim kingdoms known as Taifas. Very few of these Taifas form any real part of the history of Gibraltar but some deserve a passing mention for both direct and indirect reasons.
The forbidding north face of the Rock as it may have looked like in the 11th century (Adapted from a 19th century photo)
The Abbadid Dynasty - The Taifa of Seville
Al-Mu’tadid (Abu Amr Abbad ibn Muhammad ibn Abad al-Muta'did bi-llah) son of Abbad I, was the second King. (reigned 1042-1069)
Al-Mu’tamid (Al-Mu'tamid Muhammad ibn Abbad) was the last king of the Taifa of Seville. (reigned 1069-1091)
While still a Prince, al-Mu'tamid drove Al-Qasim II from Algeciras in c1054, claiming it for Seville and driving the Hammudids out of Iberia. For what it was worth, Gibraltar was now Sevillian.
Meanwhile his father al-Mu’tadid became convinced that the forces of the Almoravid Dynasty who were advancing rapidly in North Africa were intent on crossing the Straits of Gibraltar with further conquests in mind. Gibraltar then surprisingly reappears in Islamic medieval literature for the first time since 711 when al-Mu’tadid ordered his governor in Algeciras to improve the fortifications in Gibraltar – The first time in well over 300 years that Gibraltar appears in the extant literature.
The Abbadid Taifa of Seville and other Taifas and Christian Kingdoms of 11th century Iberia – The Almoravid Empire had still not made its presence felt in Iberia. (Adapted)
The Almoravid Dynasty – (11th century)
The flag of the Almoravids
Abu Bakr ibn Umar (d1087) was its first military commander.
Possible depiction of Abu Bakr ibn Umar riding a camel in Central Africa (1413 – Detail of a plan by Mecia de Viladesdes)
Yusuf Tashfin (r1061-1106) took over as commander in 1061 is the Almoravid leader most associated with Iberia
Abu Bakr ibn Zaydun was Tashfin's Visir as well as a well-known poet
The Almoravids were invited by the Taifas of al-Andalus – in particular by al-Mu’tamid of Seville. He landed his forces in Algeciras. giving Gibraltar a miss The Almoravids proved crucial in preventing the fall of al-Andalus to the Iberian Christian kingdoms. Led by Yusuf Tashfin the Muslims defeated a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086.
Battle of Sagrajas – also known as the battle of Zalaca (História de Portugal popular e ilustrada)
In 1095, Yusuf Tashfin forced Al Mu’tamid into exile and took over in Seville. Algeciras became in effect an Almoravid city – and of course so did the as still unmentioned Rock of Gibraltar.
The Almohad Dynasty (c1120-1248)
The flag of the Almohads
Ibn Tumart (1121-1130) was the founder.
Between 1146 – 1173 the Almohads took over control of the Moorish principalities of Iberia during which time Abd al Mu’min founded Madinat-al-Fath (the town of Gibraltar) in 1160 and changed the name of the Rock from Yabal Tariq to Yabal al-Fath – a change of name that never really caught on.
Abu Sa’id Utman, another son, was Governor of Granada
Abu Hafs, was another of his sons.
Other Characters mentioned by medieval Islamic historians who were involved in the building of Madinat al-Fath were:
Abu Ish’aq Barraz ibn Muhammad - A Berber administrator
Al-Hajj Ya’ish - a prominent geometrician
Ahmad Ibn Basu - a well known architect
Abu Allah Ibn Khiyar - Caid of Jaen
The Almohads were the dominant Islamic force in Iberia until 1212, when the fourth Almohad Caliph Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)
1212 – The Battle of Navas de Tolosa (Francisco van Halen)
When the Almohads then lost the great Muslim capital city of Seville in 1248 to the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile, their role in the history of Iberia was over.
Ferdinand III of Castile (From a 14th century miniature)
The Marinid Dynasty (13th century)
The flag of the Marinids
Abd al-Haqq (1215-1217) was the first Emir. He was mostly involved in a struggle against the Almohads in North Africa.
Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq (1269-1286) – was the first Marinid sultan to rule over both Fez and Morocco.
Abu l-Hasan Ali ibn Othman (r1331-1351) – was the 6th.
A few days after the loss of the Rock, Alfonso XI of Castile and Leon besieged it in a quick attempt to regain it. He failed when Mohammed IV of Granada came to give the Marinids a hand, and ended after all sides declared a 4-year truce. This affair is known as the 4th Siege of Gibraltar. Immediately after the end of the siege, Abu l-Hasan ordered a series of important improvements to its fortifications.
Abu Inan Faris, another of Abu l-Hasan’s sons, overthrew his father in 1348 and became the 7th Emir of the Marinid Dynasty. (r1348-1358) He continued to intervene in the affairs of the Rock by ordering even further important defensive improvements. The Rock was now a Marinid town.
In 1340, Abu l-Hasan was asked by Yusuf I, the new Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada, to return to al-Andalus to give him a hand in driving back Christian inroads into his territories. Abu l-Hasan, crossed over to Gibraltar with a large army and with the help of Yusuf I besieged Tarifa. The Christians counter-attacked and the result was the Battle of Rio Salado – also known as the Battle of Tarifa.
The Battle of Tarifa/Rio Salado (Unknown)
The loss of this battle proved a disaster for the Marinids and forced them to return to Morocco and give up any future ideas of conquests in al-Andalus. Gibraltar however, remained Marinid, if within the boundaries of the Emirate of Granada.
Abu I-Hasan and Yusuf I on the left being told off by their Christian conquerors Alfonso XI of Castile and Afonso IV of Portugal
The Nasrid Dynasty – The Emirate of Granada (1239-1492)
The Royal Standard of the Kingdom of the Nasrids
Muhammad I al-Galib Billah (r1237-1273) founded the dynasty in Granada in the early 13th century and became the first Emir of the Emirate.
Mohammad I of Granada with a red shield, leading his troops (Cantigas de Santa Maria)
It is often unclear as to the dates in which some of the Emirs of Granada held power, but it is safe to say that it was during that of Mohammad III (1302-1309) that the Rock was back in the news with a vengeance when Ferdinand IV of Castile besieged and took the place in 1309 after what later came to be known as the 1st Siege of Gibraltar.
E luego, a pocos días desde que el rey don Fernando ovo cercado Algeciras envió . . . a cercar a Gibraltar. (Crónica de Fernando IV – (Written c 1340)
Cover of the 1554 edition of Crónica de Fernando IV - El Iqual Ganó Gibraltar (colours edited)
It was a first time that a mention of Gibraltar was made in Spanish Medieval literature.
Seven years later in 1316 the Nasrids attempted to take it back.
Ismail I (r1314-1325) allied the Emirate with the Azafid family in Ceuta and an expedition from across the Straits led by Yahya ibn Abi Talib, the governor of Ceuta at the time, laid siege to the Rock. They managed to enter the town and capture some of its suburbs but were eventually foiled by Christian land and naval forces. This affair is known as the 2nd Siege of Gibraltar.
Yusuf I (r1333-1354) was the 7th Emir of Granada. In 1339, after the 1333 Marinid success in retaking Gibraltar he asked them for help to stem the growing Christian successes against his Emirate.
In 1340, the Marinid Caliph Abu l-Hasan, (r1331-1351) complied. The result was the disastrous defeat of the joint Marinid and Nasrid forces by the Christians in the Battle of Tarifa/Rio Salado. Although the Marinids were forced to return to Morocco, they did hold on to Gibraltar.
Alfonso XI of Castile tried once more to retake Gibraltar in what came to be known as the 5th Siege of Gibraltar (1349) The attempt failed after Alfonso died of the Black Death while camped in front of the North Face of the Rock.
Mohammad V (r1362-1391), however, regained it for Granada in 1374, when the Marinids ceded it back to him.
Yusuf III (r1404-1417) also managed to keep Gibraltar as part of the Emirate in 1411, after a successful 6th Siege against a rebelling Gibraltar garrison who favoured a return to Marinid control under Caliph Abu Said Uthman III (r1398-1420). This is the only one of Gibraltar’s many sieges between two Islamic forces. Gibraltar continued to be part of Emirate of Granada until 1462 when it finally passed out of Muslim control after the 8th Siege of Gibraltar and into that of the Christians.
Muhammad XII (1482-1492) – known to the Christians as Boabdil - was the last Emir of what turned out to be the longest ruling Muslim Dynasty in Iberia. It lasted for more than 250 years until it was taken by the Catholic Kings in 1492 The last Muslim dynasty in Iberia had come to an end.
Farewell to Granada by Boabdil (c1850s - Alfred Dehodencq)
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