Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
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- This article is about the Andalusian Muslim general and statesman Al-Mansur (938 - 1002). There is also an article on the Abbasid Caliph Al Mansur of Baghdad (Al Mansur) (712 - 775). They were both known as Almanzor in the West.
One of the Aftasid rulers of the Taifa of Badajoz was also known as Al Mansur, Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Maslamah ibn al-Aftas (1004 - 1060).
Abu Aamir Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abi Aamir, Al-Hajib Al-Mansur أبو عامر محمد بن عبد الله بن أبي عامر الحاجب المنصور (c. 938 - August 8, 1002) was the de facto ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus in the late 10th to early 11th centuries. His rule marked the peak of power for Moorish Iberia.
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[edit] Origins
He was born Muhammad Ibn Abi Aamir, into a noble Arab family from the area of Algeciras. He arrived at the Court of Cordoba as a student studying law and literature. He became manager of the estates of Prince Hisham.
In a few years he schemed his way from this humble position to considerable heights of influence, eliminating his political rivals in the process. Caliph Al-Hakam died in 976 and Ibn Abi Amir was instrumental in securing the succession of the young Hisham II, aged twelve, to the throne. Two years later he became Hajib (a title similar to that of Grand Vizier in the Muslim East), or Chancellor. During the following three years he consolidated his power with the building of his new palace on the outskirts of Córdoba, al-Madina az-Zahira, while at the same time completely isolating the young Caliph, who became a virtual prisoner in Medina Azahara.
[edit] Effective ruler
In 981, upon his return to Cordoba from the battle in which he crushed his last remaining rival (and father-in-law, Ghalib Al-Nasiri), he assumed the title of Al-Mansur bi-llah, Victorious by Grace of God. In Christian Europe he was referred to as Almanzor.
His grip to power within Al-Andalus was now absolute. He dedicated himself to military campaigns against the Christian states of the peninsula. He organized and took part in 57 campaigns, and was victorious in all of them. To wage these campaigns against the Christian states, he brought in many Berber mercenaries, which upset the political order over time.
Although he mainly fought against León and the Castile, in 985 he sacked Barcelona and in 997 Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Although he spared the tomb of St. James the Apostle, he destroyed the city and stole the bells from the shrine to humiliate the Christians. He also waged several campaigns against the Kingdom of Navarra.
He married Abda, daughter of Sancho Garcés king of Navarra, who bore him a son by the name of Abd al-Rahman. He was commonly known as Sanchuelo (Little Sancho, in Arabic: Shanjoul).
[edit] Consequences
The consequence of his victories in the north was to prompt the Christian rulers of the Peninsula into an alliance against him (c. 1000). He was succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik, who continued to rule Al-Andalus as Hajib until his death in 1008.
After Abd al-Malik, his ambitious half brother Sanchuelo took over. He however tried to take the Caliphate for himself from Hisham as al-Mansur had effectively made the caliph a figurehead ruler. This plunged the country into a civil war. The Caliphate disintegrated it into rival Taifa kingdoms. This proved disastrous for Muslim Iberia as, being divided, the Christian Kingdoms were able to conquer the Taifas one by one.
Almanzor peak in central Spain is named after him.
[edit] In fiction
'Almanzor' is a major character in the thoroughly researched, but extremely anachronistic, historical novel The Long Ships (Red Orm) by the Swedish author Frans Gunnar Bengtsson. Large parts of the book take place in Muslim Iberia under Almanzor's rule, depicted from the point of view of Scanian Vikings who are captured by Moors while on a raid into Spain, serving as galley slaves. Later they become mercenaries in Almanzor's bodyguard and finally manage to escape back to Denmark after participating in the conquest and sacking of Santiago de Compostella.
