Ibn Hud

Who was Ibn Hud?

Abu Abd ‘Allah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Hud al-Yazamí, commonly known as Ibn Hud, was a taifa emir of Andalusia from 1228 to 1237. He claimed to be a descendent of the Banu Hud family from Zaragoza.

Ibn Hud was governor of Murcia for the Almohad rulers. When after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 it became more and more evident, that the Almohads were no longer able to protect the country, and discontent rose among the people, Ibn Hud became the leader of the rebellion. By 1228 he had become the ruler of practically all al-Andalus.

Yet he was not for long able to resist the forces of the Christian Iberian Kingdoms. In 1231 his troops were defeated by the Kingdom of Castile in the Battle of Jerez, and by the Kingdom of León near Mèrida. In 1233 Ibn Hud had to sign a truce with Castile.

In 1232 Mohammed I ibn Nasr elevated himself sultan of the region of Jaén and soon became Ibn Hud's most powerful opponent. Though Ibn Hud was at first able to defeat Ibn Nasr in 1234, he was not able to protect Córdoba from being taken over by Ferdinand III of Castile in 1236, and had to sign another truce with both Ferdinand III and Ibn Nasr. In 1237, Granada accepted Ibn Nasr as its ruler.