taifa

The taifas (singular taifa, from Arabic: طائفة‎ ṭā'ifa, plural طوائف ṭawā'if, a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities of al-Andalus (Spain) that emerged from the decline and fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba between 1009 and 1031. They were a recurring feature of Andalusian history. Conquered by the Almoravids in the late 11th century, on its collapse many taifas re-appeared only to be subsumed by the Almohads. The fall of the latter resulted in a final flourishing of the taifas, but by the end of the 13th century only one remained, Granada, the rest being incorporated into the Christian states of the north.

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