What is it about?
This chapter looks at the smaller, short-lived Muslim kingdoms (taifas) that emerged in western al-Andalus (Gharb al-Andalus) —an area that covers parts of what is now southern Portugal and southwestern Spain—after the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate in the early 11th century.
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Why is it important?
These kingdoms are often overlooked in history but are important for understanding the diversity, complexity, and politics of al-Andalus. They’ve also been misunderstood or misrepresented over time—either used to support modern nationalist ideas or dismissed through colonial stereotypes (e.g., that Berber rulers were “barbaric”).
Perspectives
The term Gharb al-Andalus, meaning "the west of al-Andalus," refers to a geographically imprecise and historically fluid region whose boundaries are inconsistently defined across both medieval sources and modern historiography. While it is often mistakenly equated with the contemporary Algarve or interpreted as a precursor to a distinctly Portuguese territorial identity, such readings are reductive. Rather than denoting a coherent administrative or political unit, Gharb al-Andalus functioned primarily as a broad geographical designation, shaped by shifting political dynamics and retrospective national narratives.
Elsa Cardoso
CSIC
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Small-Size and Short-Lived Taifas: Gharb al-Andalus, June 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004735491_004.
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