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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
These were independently ruled Muslim principalities, many of which were formed in 1031after the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba. These arose from the ethnic division of the elites in the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba as well as the administrative division. The most famous of the Taifa kingdoms were in Al-Andalus and Seville. The height of the Taifa kingdoms were in the 11th century and in the mid 12th (when the Almoravid rulers were in decline). There was competition amongst the Taifa kingdoms for cultural prestige and therefore these areas saw an influx of talented artistic and literary figures.