Almanzor (Muhammad ibn Abi Amir) exercised, in practice, absolute power over al-Andalus without being Caliph. He was a very cunning and unscrupulous man, who did not hesitate to eliminate those who helped him, when they were no longer needed or hindered. these are the collateral damage of it:
- Subh :Caliph al-Hakam's concubine. It was said in the "Tomate" at the time that she was Almanzor's lover. Both were needed to achieve her goals, her that her son, Hisham II, be proclaimed heir and Almanzor win her favor to acquire wealth and climb steps in the court of Córdoba.
- al-Mushafi :the grand vizier. Almanzor was his protégé and introduced him to the palace (he was a great scribe due to his calligraphy and his fluency in legal prose). When he got all he could give from him, he hatched a plan to overthrow him; He accused him of theft from the public treasury, abuse of power and lust. Hisham signed the arrest warrant and was dispossessed of all his property. After a long time in prison he was murdered.
- Galib :The most famous general of the Caliph's armies. She was his father-in-law, but neither did her hand shake when she learned the arts of war from him. He had many loyalists in the army and met him in open battle, where Galib was killed by being knocked off his horse. The general who supported Muhammad, Chafar ibn Ali, was soon found dead.
- Faiq and Chawdar :they were the eunuchs of the palace. They controlled everything that happened in the palace at the time of al-Hakam II. They knew that if Hisham II was proclaimed, Muhammad would control him and obtain all the power, so they hid the death of al-Hakam II to proclaim his brother al-Mugira emir and manage him as they pleased. They made the mistake of telling al-Musafi, when Muhammad found out, he banished them.
- al-Mughira: brother of al-Hakam II. This poor man had nothing to do with the conspiracy of the eunuchs, but it cost him his life that they thought of him as heir to his brother. Almanzor had him killed, although the news was that he had committed suicide.
- Hisham II :caliph after the death of his father al-Hakam II. He was a very weak child (physically and of character) who was manipulated by his mother and by Almanzor. He was put and deposed and led a contemplative life.
Sure there are many more, but these are the most important. Let no one misunderstand this post, because Almanzor is one of my favorite characters in history. He reached his goals from below, many of the protagonists of this post benefited from him and his actions, but he was the smartest in the class. This character fascinates me and more posts will deal with him.
Source:Córdoba of the Umayyads – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Passages of History – Juan Antonio Cebrián, Spain under the Media Luna – Angus Macnab, History of Muslim Spain – Anwar Chejne
