emirate · Iberia

Taifa of Niebla

1023 CE – 1053 CE (approx.) · capital Niebla

A taifa based on the walled town of Niebla on the Tinto river, ruled by the Arab Banu Yahya until Seville annexed it.

Origins

Around 1023 Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Yahsubi, of an Arab family long settled in the region, established an independent principality around Niebla, taking advantage of the weakness of the Hammudid caliphs and the rivalries of the south-western taifas.

Rule and society

Niebla controlled the lower Tinto valley and the mining district inland, with its red stone walls and fertile riverland. Its rulers, styled with honorifics such as Izz al-Dawla, were caught between the Taifa of Seville and the Taifa of Huelva, and briefly accepted Seville's protection before resisting it.

Decline and legacy

In 1053 al-Mutadid of the Taifa of Seville annexed Niebla, deposing Muhammad ibn Yahya. The town later reappeared twice as an independent taifa, in the Second Taifa of Niebla and the Third Taifa of Niebla.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻