During the ages of the Taifa kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, Christian knights like El Cid could fight for some Muslim ruler against his Christian or Muslim enemies.

When internal dissensions divided Al-Andalus loyalties in the 11th century, leading to an age of smaller Taifa successor states of the Caliphate, the impoverished Christian kingdoms who had been sending tribute to the Caliphate found themselves in a position to demand payments ( parias ) instead, in return for favours to particular factions or as simple extortion.

" During the time of the first kingdoms of Taifa, Marbil-l a was disputed by the Taifas of Algeciras and of Málaga, eventually falling into the orbit of Málaga, which in turn later became part of the Nazarid Kingdom.

It led to the formation of the Taifa kingdoms, with the Taifa of Lorca as one of these kingdoms, first created in 1042, when Lorca declared its independence from the emirate of Valencia.

The Caliphate disintegrated into rival Taifa kingdoms.

* Taifa kingdoms

This allowed him to invade Spain and depose of the divided Taifa kingdoms.

When the Caliphate of Cordoba broke up into the Taifa kingdoms, the Berber mercenary Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Maslamah ibn al-Aftas ( 1022 – 1045 ) took control of Badajoz, by death of Sabur al-Khatib ( a Slavic serf, previously serving at the court of Caliph al-Hakam II, that had proclaimed himself Lord of Badajoz in 1009, and that Ibn al-Aftas served ).

From the late 11th century to the mid-12th century the Taifa kingdoms were united under the Almoravids ( of Saharan origin ), and after the collapse of the Almoravid empire, in 1151 the town was absorbed by the Almohad empire ( of North African origin ).

The Saqaliba Taifa lost its independence in 1076, when it was captured by Ahmad al-Muqtadir, lord of Zaragoza, under which it remained until the Almoravid invasion in 1091.

Also some Christian champions like El Cid were contracted by Taifa kings to fight against their neighbours.

In the Taifa of Zaragoza Christian infanzon exiled of Castilla El Cid with his supporters ( Mesnada ) offer their service to Yusuf al-Mu ' taman ibn Hud.

Navarre had joined in the Christian coalition that defeated and killed Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 1002, leading to civil war that eventually resulted in the dissolution of the Córdoba Caliphate, replacing the dominant power on the peninsula with a collection of ineffectual Taifa states and freeing Navarre from the continual campaigns and tribute.

In 1144, another Christian convert and Sufi mystic from Silves, Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi, called ibn Qasi, rose and extablished a Taifa state at Mértola, expanding it to much of southern Portugal, and he encouraged the successful move of the Almohads ( to whom he would submit ) against Seville.

In al-Andalus ( Muslim Spain ) the city was first the seat of a cora, or territory, of the Caliphate of Córdoba, then made capital of the Taifa of Seville ( Arabic: طائفة أشبيلي ّ ة, Ta ' ifa Ishbiliya ), which was incorporated into the Christian Kingdom of Castile under Ferdinand III, who was first to be interred in the cathedral.

However, Christians often made threatening advances into the Taifa, and in 1063, a Christian incursion under the command of Ferdinand I of Castile discovered how weak the military force was that occupied these realms.

The taifa was shortly recreated in 1228, after the fall of the Almoravids until it conquered by the Taifa of Murcia ; in 1244, Fernando III, King of Castilla y León and his son and heir, Prince Alfonso, the future Alfonso X of Castile, conquered Lorca.

The palace is on the site of a 9th-century fortress, called mayrit, constructed as an outpost by Muhammad I of Córdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Taifa of Toledo.

Then, once he had secured the Borders, King Alfonso conquered the powerful Taifa kingdom of Toledo in 1085.

Al-Zarqālī was born to a family of Visigoth converts to Islam in a village near the outskirts of Toledo, then a famous capital of the Taifa of Toledo, known for its co-existence between Muslims and Christians.

After 1022, it became the capital of a small Muslim kingdom, the Taifa of Badajoz ; at the time Badajoz had some 25, 000 inhabitants.

He accepted the command of Taifa of Zaragoza and swore their allegiance to the Moorish Muslim king of the northeast Al-Andalus city of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu ' taman ibn Hud.

After the fragmentation of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Almería continued to be ruled by powerful local Muslim Taifa emirs like Jairan, the first independent Emir of Almería and Cartagena, and Almotacin, the poet emir.

In 1092 Genoa and Pisa in collaboration with Alfonso VI of León and Castile attacked the Muslim Taifa of Valencia and besieged Tortosa with support from troops of Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragon unsuccessfully.

With the Muslim invasion and conquest in 711, it became one of the main towns in the region ( renamed ترجالة Turjalah in Arabic ), governed by the Taifa based in Madrid.

Ramiro's first attempt to take Graus, the northernmost Muslim outpost in the valley of the Cinca, took place in 1055, probably in response to the defeat of García Sánchez III of Navarre at Atapuerca the year before ( 1054 ), which placed Ferdinand I of León and Castile in a commanding position against Ramiro's western border and the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza to his south.

Under Ibn al-Aftas ' successors, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Muzzaffar ( 1045 – 1065 ) and his two sons ' Umar ibn Muhammad al-Mutawakkil ( 1065-1094 in Évora ) and Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Mansur ( 1065-1072 in Badajoz ), the Taifa of Badajoz not only controlled large expanses of western Spain and Portugal, but was also a major centre of Islamic culture, which was fostered by the Aftasid rulers.

In the 8th century, Monsaraz fell under the dominion of Arab forces who occupied the Iberian Peninsula, becoming known as Saris or Sharish, and following the control of the Taifa of Badajoz ( one of the more prominent Arab centres at the time ).

Between Almanzor's death and 1031, Al-Andalus suffered many civil wars which ended in the appearance of the Taifa Kingdoms.

After a brief period of disintegration ( second Taifa period ), the rising power in North Africa, the Almohads, took over most of Al-Andalus.

The Banu Sumadih were an 11th century Islamic dynasty that ruled the Moorish Taifa of Almería ( present day Almería province, Spain ) in Al-Andalus.

History tells that art and civil construction made under the rule of Zirids governors and emirs in Al-Andalus, mainly in the Taifa of Granada, were very important.

Andalusian Knights found El Cid their foe ill, thirsty and exiled from the court of Alfonso, he was presented before the elderly Yusuf al-Mu ' taman ibn Hud and accepted command of the forces of the Taifa of Zaragoza as their Master.

Majorca came under rule by the Taifa of Dénia, and from 1087 to 1114 was an independent Taifa during that period the island was visited by Ibn Hazm.

* Taifa of Valencia, a taifa that existed sporadically from c. 1010 to c. 1238

Clear evidence for union is provided by an inscription from the reign of King Merkurios at Taifa that makes clear that Nobatia was under Makurian control by the middle of the eighth century.

** The Taifa of Mértola gains independence from Badajoz.

** The Taifa of Mértola gains independence from Badajoz.

The collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba allowed them to found the Taifa of Zaragoza, which they ruled from 1018 until they were expelled by a rival dynasty, the Banu Hud, in 1039.

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** The Taifa ( independent Moorish kingdom ) of Badajoz becomes independent of the Caliph of Córdoba and governs the territory between Coimbra and North Alentejo.

** The Taifa ( independent Moorish kingdom ) of Badajoz becomes independent of the Caliph of Córdoba and governs the territory between Coimbra and North Alentejo.