Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yaʿīs̲h̲ al-Asadī, Nasi,Qadi,Vizier-Sevilla

This man, who was Qadi of Toledo for a short period, I dually identify with the vizier of the Abbadids Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn ʿAmmār. Historians suggest that ibn Ammar was born in Silves, Portugal, while still others suggest he was born in Toledo. Silves became an independent taifa in 1027 under the rule of Ibn Mozaine and his son, who was dethroned in 1051 by al-Mu'tadid therefore the only area of safe-haven away from hostilities was to be found in northern part of Present-day Portugal....along a section of Andalusia under control of Toledo - Coimbra, which was part of the County of Burgandy. He is said to be "of Silves", not "from Silves" because a poem places him there as an adult, as Vizier of Seville annexing Silves...not as a baby. I therefore suggest that Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn ʿAmmār is actually an incorrect anglicized name " 'Amr " which is an appelation attributed to Ya'ish al-Asadi; Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn ʿAmmār == Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Ya'ish al-Asadi.

ʿAbbādid dynasty, Muslim-Arab dynasty of Andalusia that arose in Sevilla (Seville) in the 11th century, in the period of the factions, or “party kingdoms” (ṭāʾifahs), following the downfall of the caliphate of Córdoba.

In 1023 the Qadi Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād declared Sevilla independent of Córdoba. His son Abu ʿAmr ʿAbbād, known as al-Muʿtaḍid (1042–69), greatly enlarged his territory by forcibly annexing the minor kingdoms of Mertola, Niebla, Huelva, Saltés, Silves, and Santa María de Algarve.

Niebla is an interesting town. Arabic texts of that period describe the splendor of this "red city", admired even from Baghdad. During the fitna, which is the dismemberment that marks the end of the Umayyad Caliphate, the dynasty of the Beni Yahya took control of the city, with Yahsopi becoming king of the independent Taifa in 1019. According to ibn Khaldun, the first Emir of the Taifa of Niebla was Abu 'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya Yakhsobi who ruled until 1042. Yakhsobi shared control with his brother, Muhammed. Between the years 1043 and 1051 this Taifa was controlled by Fath ibn Khalaf ibn Yahya - the son of Yakhsobi. ibn al-Abbar, an arab writer of that period, gives Fath ibn Khalaf the name of Yahya ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya (Yahya ibn Yahya), and still another writer, ibn Hayyan, gives Fath ibn Khalaf the name Fath ibn Yahya.

Niebla's army stood as an ally of the Taifa kingdoms of Mértola and Silves, which together with that of Badajoz faced Sevilla under the domain of al-Gharb. Finally, the city ended up surrendering to Al-Mutadid, who left it to be independent, and it was absorbed by the kingdom of Seville in 1051.

A poet and patron of poets, al-Muʿtaḍid also had a reputation for ruthlessness and cruelty; in 1053 he suffocated a number of Berber chiefs of southern Andalusia in a steam bath in Sevilla and then seized their kingdoms of Arcos, Morón, and Ronda.

The last member of the dynasty, the poet-king Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Muʿtamid (1069–95), made Sevilla a brilliant centre of Spanish-Muslim culture. In 1071 he took Córdoba, maintaining a precarious hold on the city until 1075; he held it again, 1078–91, while Ibn ʿAmmār, his vizier and fellow poet, conquered Murcia.

The ʿAbbādids’ position was weakened, however, by an outbreak of hostilities with the Castilian king Alfonso VI; Christian progress in Aragon and Valencia and the fall of Toledo (1085), together with pressure from religious enthusiasts at home, forced al-Muʿtamid to seek an alliance with Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn of the Almoravid dynasty. If you will recall, Me'ir ibn Qamni'el was personal physician to Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn....and as such it was easy for Qamni'el to broker relations between the Emir of the Abbadids and the Emir of the Almoravids using ibn Qamni'el and Muhammad ibn 'Ammar as a communication channel.

Despite ʿAbbādid support of Ibn Tāshufīn at the Battle of Al-Zallāqah in 1086, Ibn Tāshufīn later turned against his ally and besieged Sevilla; the city was betrayed by Almoravid sympathizers (ibn Qamni'el) in 1091 after a heroic defense by al-Muʿtamid. With the exile of al-Muʿtamid and his family to Morocco began the ascendency in Spain of the Almoravids...and his Jewish courtiers.

However, Muhammad was was sent into exile when the son (1069-1091), and heir, of al-Mu'tamid became threatened by their friendship. Muhammad went to Zaragoza, but was recalled to the seizure of power by al-Mu'tamid back to Seville and appointed minister.

ibn 'Ammar succeeded in defending Seville from the threats of Castile and prevented against the Zirids seizing control of Seville. Ibn Ammar was reputed to be unbeatable at chess; according to Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi, his victory in a game convinced Alfonso VI of Castile to turn away from Seville.

He also used his position to petition for, and enact, banishment of his rival Ibn Zaidun. Abu al-Waleed Ahmad Ibn Zaydún al-Makhzumi. Ibn Zaydún was a famous Arab poet of Cordoba and Seville. His romantic and literary life was dominated by his relations with the poetess Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, the daughter of the Umayyad Caliph Muhammad III of Cordoba. According to Jayyusi in her book The Legacy of Muslim Spain, "Ibn Zaydun brought into Andalusi poetry something of balance, the rhetorical command, the passionate power and grandeur of style that marked contemporary poetry in the east...he rescued Andalusi poetry from the self-indulgence of the poets of externalized description.

The break with al-Mu'tamid came when Ibn 'Ammar, seized control of Murcia then declaring himself an independent ruler. After he was driven out of power by an uprising, he fell into captivity in 1084 and was delivered to al-Mu'tamid. Ibn 'Ammar was killed in prison in 1086 in Seville.

1. Emeri van Donzel. (1994) Islamic Desk Reference. p. 163. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-09738-4.

2. S. Jayyusi et al. (1992). The Legacy of Muslim Spain. pp. 343-347. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09599-1

3. Maria Rosa Menocal et al. (2000). The Literature of Al-Andalus. p. 306. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47159-1.

4. L. Alavarez. (1998) Ibn Zaydun. In Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature (Vol. 1, pp. 384-385). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-18571-8.

5. Jayyusi, 1992, p. 347.

6. L. Alavarez, 1998

7. Tr. by Albert Hourani. (1992). History of the Arab Peoples . pp. 193-194. ISBN 0-446-39392-4.

Bibliography

Ahmad ibn Abd Allāh Ibn Zaydūn, Mahmūd Subh. (1979). Poesias, Instituto Hispano-Árabe de Cultura, ed. University of Virginia.

Concha Lagos. (1984). Con el arco a punto Instituto Hispano-Arabe de Cultura. University of California. ISBN 84-7472-057-5.

Sieglinde Lug. (1982). Poetic Techniques and Conceptual Elements in Ibn Zaydūn's Love Poetry, University Press of America (based on the author's thesis).

S. Jayyusi. (1992). The Legacy of Muslim Spain. pp. 343–351.