Dhulnunid dynasty

The Dhulnunid dynasty or Dhunnunid dynasty, known in Arabic sources as Banū Dhī n-Nūn (Arabic: ﺑﻨﻮ ذي اﻟﻨﻭﻦ) was a Muslim Berber dynasty that reigned over the Taifa of Toledo in al-Andalus in the 11th century.^[1][2]

According to ibn 'Idhari, the family’s original name was Dhannūn, a common Berber name.

Origins

The Dhulnunids were a Berber family from the Hawwara tribe who came to the Iberian Peninsula at the time of the Islamic conquest.^[3] They settled in the heart of Santabariyya or Shant Bariya (Santaver in the Province of Cuenca) and through a process of cultural Arabization between the 8th-10th centuries changed their name from the Berber Zennún to the Arabised form dhi-l-Nun.^[4] During the second half of the 9th century they came to control a large territory that included Uclés, Huete, Cuenca, Huélamo, Las Valeras, Alarcón and Iniesta. Due to the geographic isolation of the area, they were in continuous revolt against the Caliphate of Córdoba, maintaining a certain independence, and periodically threatening Toledo.^[3]

With the decline of the Umayyad caliphate in the early 11th century, caliph Sulayman ibn al-Hakam granted Abd el-Rahman ibn Di-l-Nun the lordship of Santaver, Huete, Uclés and Cuenca, along with the title of Násir ad-Dawla. In 1018 this same Abd al-Rahman entrusted the government of Uclés to his son Ismaíl whom he also sent him to Toledo at the request of its people, who were dissatisfied with their rulers.^[5]

The Taifa of Toledo

This dynasty provided the three rulers to the Taifa of Toledo:

• Ismail al-Zahir (1023–1043)
• Al-Mamun (1043–1075), son of Ismail.
• Yahya al-Qadir (1075–1080), grandson of Al-Mamun, also a ruler of the Taifa of Valencia.^[3]

Al-Qadir was so unpopular that Toledo rebelled against him and he was obliged to seek the support of Alfonso VI of León and Castile to regain his capital. Although he was successful, he eventually ceded the city to Alfonso in return for the king's support in installing him in Valencia. This brought the Taifa of Toledo to and end, and Al-Qadir's rule in Valencia was brought to and end by the invading Almoravids in 1092.^[3]

References

1. Joseph F. O'Callaghan (12 November 2013). A History of Medieval Spain. Cornell University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-8014-6871-1. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
2. Lane-Poole, Stanley (1894). The Mohammedan Dynasties. London: Archibald Constable and Companhy. p. 25.
3. Dunlop, D.M. (1942). "The Dhunnunids of Toledo" (PDF). The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 2: 77–96. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
4. "Isma'il b. Di-l-Nun". dbe.rah.es. Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
5. Brian A. Catlos (2018). Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain. Oxford University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-78738-003-5. Retrieved 7 April 2021.