From Commitment to Negligence: Ethical Transformations Among the Rulers of Al-Andalus and Their Impact on State-Building Until the Era of the Taifas (133 AH - 422 AH / 756 AD - 1031 AD)

Abstract

This research examines the moral dimension in the conduct of the rulers of Al-Andalus, focusing on manifestations of commitment to—and negligence of—political and human values. The study reviews various models of rulers who embodied high morals, such as justice, self-restraint, and devotion to the interests of the subjects, contrasted with others whose policies were characterized by tyranny, indulgence in pleasures, or the prioritization of personal interests at the expense of state stability. Furthermore, the research discusses the impact of these ethical transformations on the unity of Andalusian society, particularly during the Era of the Taifas, which represented a prominent stage of moral and political decline. The study concludes that ethics were not merely a theoretical aspect of governance in Al-Andalus, but rather a fundamental factor in the state’s rise or collapse; it asserts that the abandonment of values was among the primary causes of the disintegration and weakness of authority in the later stages of Andalusian history.