The Taifa of Silves (
Arabic: طائفة شلب, Ṭā'ifa Šilb) was an
Arab[1]taifa kingdom that existed in what is now southern
Portugal for two distinct periods:[2] from 1027 to 1063, and again from 1145 to 1150,[3] when it was finally conquered by the
Almohad Caliphate.
The taifa occupied the westernmost part of the presently Portuguese region of
Algarve, near
Cape St. Vincent, with its capital in
Silves. The Taifa of Silves was constituted in the early 11th century and starting from 1048, the power was held by the family of the Banu Muzayn,[4] including three emirs: Isa II al-Muzaffar (1048–1053), Muhammad II al-Nasir (1053–1058), and Isa III al-Muzaffar (1058–1063).[5] Under the latter the kingdom was conquered by the more powerful
taifa of Seville,[6][7] led by
Abbad II al-Mu'tadid.[4]
During the so-called second taifa period, which followed the fall of the
Almoravid dynasty, Silves was the seat of a second, ephemeral taifa, which lasted from 1145 to 1150, when it was conquered by the
Almohads.