1. Almanzor
Descended from an Arab family of
Yemen established in the region of
Algeciras from the Muslim conquest of the
Iberian peninsula.
He was the ruler of musulms in Al-
andalus. He studied laws in Córdoba, and
during the caliphate of al-Hakam II, held
important administrative positions, such
as director of the mint (967 ) or intendant of the army of
General Galib (972).
In 976, the premature death of al-Hakam II stood in
front of the Caliphate of Córdoba to Hisham II, a boy of only
eleven years, a circumstance that took Almanzor, determined
and ambitious man, to seize the reins of power. That same year
he was appointed tutor to the young Caliph, with the help of
his mother.
Subh, a captive Vascon was
probably his lover. Two years later,
in 978, and after having made
Hisham II a political puppet, and
after having neglected to influential
figures such as al-Mushafi and
Galib, Almanzor had himself named
hajib, a sort of mayor of the palace,
or prime minister, which allowed him to have an absolute
authority over all the Iberian territory.