Muslim conquest of Majorca
| Muslim Conquest of Majorca | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Reconquista | |||||||||
Satellite image of Majorca | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Emirate of Córdoba | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown | Issam al-Khawlani | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Conquest of Majorca by Muslim troops took place in 902 or 903. It was fought by the Emirate of Córdoba and the Byzantine Empire who were besieged by the Muslims in the Castle of Alaró for eight years and five months.
The emir Abdullah of Córdoba recognized the conquest and named Issam al-Khawlani governor of the island, a position he held from 904 to 912.
On this island [Majorca] there is a great fortress built on a high and desolate place, unequaled in the inhabited world; is known by the name of the Castell d'Alaró. The Majorcans say that when the island was conquered at the time of Muhammad, son of the fifth Ummaya amir in al-Andalus, the Rum became strong in this fortress for eight years and five months after the conquest, without anyone being able do anything against them; only the lack of groceries forced them to go out. This fortress stands on top of a hill of hard stone where there is an abundant spring.
— al-Zuhri
The historiography debates about who were the rums that offered resistance, due to the polysemy of this word; on the one hand it could refer, in a restricted sense, to the Byzantine Empire or, in an extended sense, to the Christians, given that in 897, a papal bull made the islands dependent on the bishopric of Girona, showing the great weakness of the power structures, which have been greatly weakened by successive Muslim attacks.