Dhulnunid dynasty
The Dhulnunid dynasty or Dhunnunid dynasty, known in Arabic sources as Banū Dhī n-Nūn was a Muslim Berber dynasty that reigned over the Taifa of Toledo in al-Andalus in the 11th century.
According to ibn 'Idhari, the family’s original name was Dhannūn, a common Berber name.
Origins
The Dhulnunids were a Berber family from the Hawwara tribe who came to the Iberian Peninsula at the time of the Islamic conquest. They settled in the heart of Santabariyya or Shant Bariya and through a process of cultural Arabization between the 8th-10th centuries changed their name from the Berber Zennún to the Arabised form dhi-l-Nun. During the second half of the 9th century they came to control a large territory that included Uclés, Huete, Cuenca, Huélamo, Las Valeras, Alarcón and Iniesta. Due to the geographic isolation of the area, they were in continuous revolt against the Caliphate of Córdoba, maintaining a certain independence, and periodically threatening Toledo.With the decline of the Umayyad caliphate in the early 11th century, caliph Sulayman ibn al-Hakam granted Abd el-Rahman ibn Di-l-Nun the lordship of Santaver, Huete, Uclés and Cuenca, along with the title of Násir ad-Dawla. In 1018 this same Abd al-Rahman entrusted the government of Uclés to his son Ismaíl whom he also sent him to Toledo at the request of its people, who were dissatisfied with their rulers.
The Taifa of Toledo
This dynasty provided the three rulers to the Taifa of Toledo:- Ismail al-Zahir
- Al-Mamun, son of Ismail.
- Yahya al-Qadir, grandson of Al-Mamun, also a ruler of the Taifa of Valencia.