ʿAbū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿIyād (died 21 August 1147) was the ruler (amīr) of Murcia and Valencia from 1145 until his death.[1][2]
Under the Almoravids, Ibn ʿIyād was a military commander (qāʾid)[2] based in Lleida.[3] He led a contingent at the battle of Fraga in 1134 and was credited by Ibn al-Athīr with leading a successful cavalry charge.[3][4] He was later recruited by Marwān ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, the qāḍī (judge) of Valencia to lead the resistance to the Almoravids in Játiva.[2] In March 1145, he persuaded Marwān to accept the post of raʾīs in Valencia.[5] In October, he seized power in Murcia.[2] When Marwān failed to pay the jund (army), they replaced him with Ibn ʿIyād in November.[5] He thus came into control of both Murcia and Valencia by the end of 1145.[2][4]
In January 1146, Ibn ʿIyād recognized the authority of Sayf al-Dawla as sovereign, inviting him to form a government in Murcia and Valencia.[2][4][6] According to al-Dhahabī, the arrangement was that "Ibn ʿIyād would control the army and money and Sayf al-Dawla was sultan." The former took the title mujāhid.[7] He continued to recognized the caliphal and religious authority of the Abbasids.[8] Al-Dhahabī also claims that Sayf al-Dawla accused Ibn ʿIyād of creating discord between him and his Christian ally, Alfonso VII of Castile. In the battle of Albacete on 5 February 1146, Sayf al-Dawla was killed by the Christians but Ibn ʿIyād escaped.[9]
Ibn ʿIyād continued to wield power in the name of Sayf al-Dawla's son, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. He minted coins in his name into 1146, when he switched to minting in his own name.[10] He introduced a morabetino of high quality, containing 3.9 grams of gold, that became known after him as the ayadino. It was highly valued in the Kingdom of Aragon.[11] From May 1146, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Faraj al-Thaghrī exercised actual power in Murcia as raʾīs. In December, Ibn ʿIyād recovered control.[2] Ibn ʿIyād died in battle near Uclés in August 1147 and was succeeded by Ibn Mardanīsh.[2][10]
- ^ Bosworth 1996, p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fierro 1994, p. 100.
- ^ a b Balbale 2023, p. 71.
- ^ a b c Minnema 2019, p. 9.
- ^ a b Kennedy 1996, p. 193.
- ^ Kennedy 1996, p. 194.
- ^ Minnema 2019, p. 16.
- ^ Minnema 2019, p. 14n.
- ^ Minnema 2019, pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b Minnema 2019, p. 17.
- ^ Todesca 2019, pp. 55–56 nn. 73–75, citing Ubieto Artur 1984.
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