emirate · Iberia

Taifa of Badajoz

1009 CE – 1094 CE (approx.) · capital Badajoz

The great western taifa of al-Andalus, ruled by the Aftasid dynasty from Badajoz across much of what is now Extremadura and central Portugal.

Origins

After 1009 the freedman Sabur al-Saqlabi took control of the old Lower March around Mérida and Badajoz. On his death in 1022 his vizier Abd Allah ibn al-Aftas, of Berber descent, seized power and founded the Aftasid dynasty, which soon added Lisbon, Évora and Santarém.

The Aftasids governed the largest taifa in the west, from the Guadiana valley to the Tagus estuary. Their court was a literary centre: Muhammad al-Muzaffar compiled a vast anthology, and Umar al-Mutawakkil was a noted poet. The state fought Seville over its southern borders and lost Coimbra to Ferdinand I of León in 1064, then paid tribute to Castile.

In 1093 al-Mutawakkil ceded Lisbon, Sintra and Santarém to Alfonso VI in return for protection. The Almoravids saw this as treason, took Badajoz in 1094 and executed him with his sons, ending the dynasty.

Cite this page

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻