Statue of Jayran al-Amiri aka Al-Jairan, the first king (1014-1028) of the kingdom outside the Alcazaba of Almeria, Spain
Jayran al-Amiri or Jairan (July 1028) was the first king of the kingdom of Almeria (now Spain). His reign spanned from 1014 to 1028. The date of birth of the first Muslim king of Almeria is not known. It is known that he was a Slavic eunuch and important officer of the army of Almanzor (939-1002) and governor of his region. He participated in numerous war campaigns. During the Berber sacking of Cordoba, he was mistakenly believed dead on the battlefield; badly wounded, he returned to the city and recovered. At that time, another Slavic named Aflah had taken over Almeria. Jairan gathered an army and surrounded the walls of Almeria for twenty days. Then he took the Medina and finally the Alcazaba (fortress) of Almeria. In the month of July of 1014 he proclaimed himself king. Jairan set out to expand his territory as much as possible at the expense of the neighboring kingdoms, such as Murcia, Orihuela and Jaen, at first and then later on to the confines of La Mancha in the north, and also the area around Valencia. He reinforced the Alcazaba by adding walls and fortifications. He became involved in numerous external struggles, generally taking sides with one of the various pretenders to the Caliphate of Cordoba. He made possible alliances with both the King of Zaragoza and the Count of Barcelona. After almost five decades of fighting he finally returned to Almeria and died there in the month of July 1028. In 2015 a statue was placed representing him around a fountain at the entrance of the Alcazaba of Almeria in commemoration of the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Kingdom of Almeria and its first monarch.
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Alcazaba, Almeria, Andalusia, Spain, Southern Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 11th-century, 1st, al-amiri, al-andalus, al-jairan, alcazaba, almeria, andalucia, andalusia, andalusian, arab, arabian, arabic, armed, art, artwork, attraction, beard, bronze, close-, europe, european, fortress, governor, history, islamic, jairan, jayran, king, kingdom, landmark, male, man, medieval, memorial, monument, moor, moorish, muslim, sculpture, slav, slavic, spain, spanish, statue, sword, tourist, turban, visitor, warrior
