emirate · Iberia

Taifa of Almería

1013 CE – 1091 CE (approx.) · capital Almería

A wealthy port taifa famous for its silk, whose poet-king al-Mutasim ibn Sumadih made Almería a centre of Andalusi culture.

Origins

Almería had become the main naval base of the Caliphate of Córdoba. After its fall, the Amirid freedman Khayran seized the city around 1013, followed by another freedman, Zuhayr, who was killed in 1038. After a period under Valencia, the Arab Tujibid family of the Banu Sumadih took power in 1041 under Man ibn Sumadih.

Rule and society

Almería prospered as the busiest port of al-Andalus, trading with Egypt and the Maghreb and producing fine silks and brocades on thousands of looms. Al-Mutasim (1052-1091) enlarged the great Alcazaba and gathered poets and scholars at his court, while paying tribute to Castile and quarrelling with the Taifa of Granada.

Decline and legacy

Al-Mutasim died in 1091 as the Almoravids besieged the city, and his son fled to North Africa. Almería became an Almoravid province, briefly broke away as the Second Taifa of Almería in 1145, and then fell to Castile in 1147.

Lineage

Caliphate of Córdoba 929 CE – 1031 CETaifa of Almería

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Taifa of Almería. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taifa-of-almeria
MLA
“Taifa of Almería.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taifa-of-almeria. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Taifa of Almería.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taifa-of-almeria.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Taifa of Almería’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taifa-of-almeria (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻