Taifa of Dénia

The taifa of Dénia was an Islamic kingdom in medieval Spain, ruling over part of the Valencian coast and Ibiza. With Dénia as its capital, the taifa included the Balearic Islands and parts of the Spanish mainland. It was founded in 1010 by the Slavic warlord Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī.

The taifa was created in 1010, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, by the freed slave Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī, a former high functionary of the caliphate, who probably had a Slavic origin. In 1011 Dénia was the first taifa to strike coins. The kingdom had a relatively powerful navy, which in 1015 was used to take control of the Balearic Islands and thence to invade Sardinia. The taifa settled a military camp in the north of the island for one year, as a base for the next attack against the Maritime Republic of Pisa, but it was reconquered by the fleets of Pisa and Genoa: in the fray Mujahid's heir, Ali Iqbal al-Dawla, was captured, and could be ransomed only in 1032. In that period the taifa's ships launched several other raids against the Ligurian and Tuscan coasts. The taifa's army employed many mercenaries from the Arab Banu Khazraj tribe. The taifa is best known for its active promotion of piracy against Christian coasts, as well as its failed conquest of Sardinia. The taifa of Dénia also had a influential Sephardic Jewish community which contributed greatly in the development of the taifa and was essential to its growth. The Jewish community held top positions in the government of the taifa.

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