JAHWARID DYNASTY

Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled Crdoba, Spain, after the dissolution of the Umayyad caliphate of Crdoba (1031), one of the party kingdoms (ta'ifahs). Years of civil war following the breakdown of central caliphal authority in 1008 prompted the Cordoban council of notables, led by a prominent aristocrat, Abu al-Hazm Jahwar ibn Jahwar, to abolish the institution of the caliphate and proclaim Crdoba a republic. Jahwar was elected head and, as virtually an absolute sovereign ostensibly assisted by a council, restored peace and economic prosperity in his 12-year-reign (103143). His son Abu al-Walid Muhammad ar-Rashid (reigned 104358) managed through political chicanery to keep the 'Abbadids of Seville out of Crdoba but eventually resigned his authority to his own vizier, Ibn ar-Raqa. When 'Abd al-Malik, ar-Rashid's jealous son, assassinated the vizier in 1058, his father rewarded him with virtually caliphal standing and authority in the state. Extremely unpopular, 'Abd al-Malik and his father were handed over to the 'Abbadids by the Cordobans themselves when the Abbadids took the city in 1069.