Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad

Who was Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad?

Muhammad Ibn Abbad Al Mutamid was the third and last ruler of the taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus. He was a member of the Abbadid dynasty.

After the death of his father Abbad II al-Mu'tadid in 1069, he inherited Seville. In 1071, he attempted to seize neighboring Córdoba. He lost Córdoba in 1075 but regained it in 1078.

Al-Mu'tamid supported the Almoravid ruler Yusuf ibn Tashfin against king Alfonso VI of Castile in the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086. In 1091, however, his kingdom was overthrown by the Almoravids and he was deposed. On the other side, he had foreseen such probability, nevertheless he choose calling on Almoravids. When his son, Rashid, advised him not to call on Yusuf ibn Tashfin, Al-Mu'tamid rebuffed him and famously said

I have no desire to be branded by my descendants as the man who delivered al-Andalus as prey to the infidels. I am loath to have my name cursed in every Muslim pulpit. And, for my part, I would rather be a camel-driver in Africa than a swineherd in Castile.

He is also considered, in his own right, one of the greatest of the Andalusi poets. Also the Sicilian Arabic poet Ibn Hamdis was guest and friend of his.