Almanzor
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Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri, nicknamed al-Manṣūr, which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese, was a Muslim Arab Andalusi military leader and statesman. As the chancellor of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba and hajib (chamberlain) for Caliph Hisham II, Almanzor was effectively ruler of Islamic Iberia.
Statue of Almanzor, Algeciras
Scrivener, in a nineteenth-century representation. After completing his studies as a faqīh, the young Almanzor had to adopt this profession due to the poor economic situation of his family after the death of his father.
Harem scene. Shortly after joining the caliphal Administration, Ibn Abi ʿĀmir forged a lasting alliance with the mother of the heir to the throne, the favorite Subh, which was only broken in 996 by Ibn Abi ʿĀmir's ambitions, which Subh considered a threat to her son Hisham.
Soldiers outside the mosque according to a nineteenth-century representation. Almanzor soon gained control of the army of the capital, which settled in his new fortified residence in Medina Alzahira, built in 979.
Caliphate of Córdoba
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The Caliphate of Córdoba, also known as the Córdoban Caliphate, was an Arab Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised most of Iberia and parts of North Africa, with its capital in Córdoba. It succeeded the Emirate of Córdoba upon the self-proclamation of Umayyad emir Abd ar-Rahman III as caliph in January 929. The period was characterized by an expansion of trade and culture, and saw the construction of masterpieces of Andalusi architecture.
Gold dinar of Hisham II, dated 396 AH (1006–7 AD)
Exterior of the Great Mosque
The Pyxis of al-Mughira, a carved ivory casket made at Madinat al-Zahra dated to 968
Vegetal motifs and figurative imagery carved in ivory on the Leyre Casket, made in 1004–1005