Islamic normativity and political legitimacy in the Cordoba caliphate: the proclamation of Hišām II (360-366/971-976)

Abstract

This article deals with the process of proclamation as Caliph of Cordoba of Hišām, son and next-in-line to al-Ḥakam II, when he was scarcely eleven years old. Two problems are analyzed in relation to this aspect. On the one hand, from a legal point of view, it is brought into question the lawfulness of the government of an under age in the classical Islamic societies. On the other hand, the political crisis produced by the proclamation of Hišām as a consequence of the opposition to his proclamation in certain juridical and palatine circles. In this context, Ibn Abī ‘Āmir, the future Almanzor, managed to usurp the political authority, pushing aside the caliph and making in that way the caliphal institution fall into disrepute. As a result, the proclamation of Hišām constitutes the first stage of the crisis of the Cordoban caliphate, which finally led to its collapse.