The Dhunnunids of Toledo

Abstract

When the Umayyad Caliphate in Spain succumbed to internal faction and weakness, the country was split up into independent kingdoms, ruled by the men who for one reason or another were able to take control. In the confused history of these “Party Kings” the Abbadids of Seville played a spectacular role. Their history is known from the admirable writings of Dozy, as is also the history of other families of this period. But the Banū dhī'n-Nūn or Dhunnunids are comparatively unknown. The article by Seybold in the Encyclopædia of Islam is very short, and the references are confined to Maqqarī. There is enough, however, in various writers to give here some account of the family through a dozen generations on the scale which their importance merits. More precise information is likely to be contained in unedited manuscripts, notably the Dhakhīrah of Ibn Bassām, and also in printed books which were not to hand. It is hoped that what may be found elsewhere will add to the present sketch, rather than correct it.