Reaching a new understanding of the andalusi ulama of the taifa kings era (1013-1086)

The purpose of this thesis is to re-examine that Andalusi ulama of the taifa kings era (1013-1086) in an effort to better understand how they viewed the traifa political system. The main argument of this thesis is that once a new understanding of the political views of the ulama is obtained, it will be possible to look at the historiography of the taifa kings era from a new perspective. This argument rests on a division of the ulama into two categories: "mosque ulama" and "palace ulama" respectively. The reason for categorizing the ulama this way is that they have heretofore been viewed as a more or less homogeneous group that shared a common attitude toward taifa politics. Essentially, historians of this period have assumend that the Andalusi ulama were hostile to the taifa system. As is demonstrated in this thesis, this was not the case. Individual members of the ulama approached the taifa system in a number of different ways, not all of which were hostile. Therefore, the assumption that the ulama of the taifa kings era were opposed to the taifa system seems to be erroneous. It is the goal of this thesis to go some way toward reaching a new understanding of the Andalusi ulama of this period and thereby suggest a different way of approaching the history of the taifa kings era.