Abbadids, dynasty of so-called party kings (Spanish, reyes de taifas) of Seville, Spain, noted for the cultural brilliance of their court. In power from 1023 to 1091, this Muslim dynasty included three succeeding rulers. Abbad ibn Muhammad reigned from 1023 to 1042. He served as a qadi (magistrate), secretly ruling the government through a powerless caliph. Abbad's son, Abbad al-Mutadid, governed openly and conquered several adjacent petty kingdoms during his reign, which lasted from 1042 to 1068. He was a poet and a patron of the arts and kept a lavish court. His son, Abbad al-Mutamid (reigned 1068-1091), made Seville the outstanding centre of Muslim culture. Al-Mutamid added Córdoba to his realm early in his reign. In 1086, with the help of the Almoravid dynasty, al-Mutamid defeated Alfonso I of Castile, who was leading the reconquest of Spain by Christians. In 1091, however, the Almoravids returned to Seville and deposed al-Mutamid. He died destitute in Morocco four years later.
