Taifa

Independent states of al-Andalus

The taifas (from Arabic: طائفة ṭā'ifa, plural طوائف ṭawā'if, meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that emerged from the decline and fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba between 1009 and 1031. They were a recurring feature of al-Andalus history. The taifas were eventually incorporated by the Almoravid dynasty in the late 11th century and, on its collapse, many taifas re-appeared only to be incorporated by the Almohad Caliphate.

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