The Taifa of Toledo (Arabic: طائفة طليطلة, romanized: ṭa'ifat ṭulayṭula) was an Islamic polity (taifa) located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula in the High Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Dhulnunids, a Hawwara Berber clan. It emerged after 1018 upon the fracturing of the Caliphate of Córdoba, when the Dhulnunids, already strong in the lands of Santaver, Cuenca, Huete and Uclés, seized control over the city of Toledo, the capital of the Middle March of Al-Andalus. Upon later territorial conquest, the taifa also expanded to the land of Calatrava. It lasted until the Christian conquest of Toledo in 1085.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Taifa of Toledo in the context of Taifa of Valencia
The Taifa of Valencia was a medieval Muslim kingdom which existed in and around Valencia, Spain. It gained independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba circa 1010 and became its own small kingdom, or Taifa, for most of the 11th century. It was absorbed by the Taifa of Toledo in 1065, which in turn fell to Alfonso VI of León and Castile in 1085. From 1094 to 1099, the kingdom was ruled directly by the Castilian military commander known as El Cid, then by his wife Jimena after his death, until being annexed by the Almoravids in 1102.
Following the collapse of Almoravid power, Valencia became independent again in 1145. From 1147 to 1172, it was under the control of Ibn Mardanish, after which it was annexed by the Almohads. When the Almohads retreated from al-Andalus, Valencia became independent once again from around 1229 to 1238 under the rule of Zayyan ibn Mardanish. It was finally conquered by the Crown of Aragon in 1238.
In this Dossier
Taifa of Toledo in the context of Latin translations of the 12th century
Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in western Europe at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, which recently had come under Christian rule following their reconquest in the late 11th century. These areas had been under Muslim rule for a considerable time, and still had substantial Arabic-speaking populations to support their search. The combination of this accumulated knowledge and the substantial numbers of Arabic-speaking scholars there made these areas intellectually attractive, as well as culturally and politically accessible to Latin scholars. A typical story is that of Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114–87), who is said to have made his way to Toledo, well after its reconquest by Christians in 1085, because he:
Many Christian theologians were highly suspicious of ancient philosophies and especially of the attempts to synthesize them with Christian doctrines. St. Jerome, for example, was hostile to Aristotle, and St. Augustine had little interest in exploring philosophy, only applying logic to theology. For centuries, ancient Greek ideas in Western Europe were all but non-existent. Only a few monasteries had Greek works, and even fewer of them copied these works.
Taifa of Toledo in the context of New Castile (Spain)
New Castile (Spanish: Castilla la Nueva [kasˈtiʎa la ˈnweβa]) is a historic region of Spain. It roughly corresponds to the medieval Moorish Taifa of Toledo, taken during the Reconquista of the peninsula by Christians and thus becoming the southern part of Castile. The extension of New Castile was formally defined after the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Madrid and Toledo.
Key to the reconquest of New Castile were the capture of Toledo in 1085, ending the Taifa's Kingdom of Toledo, and the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. It continued to be formally called Kingdom of Toledo even though it was under the Crown of Castile. Then it started to be called New Castile in the 18th century.