Murcia , independent Muslim (Moorish) kingdom centered on the city of Murcia (Arabic:Mursīyah), Spain . It arose twice:first in the 11th century after the fall of the Spanish Umayyad Caliphate; and again in the 12th century as part of the Spanish Muslim response to North African Almoravid rule. The first ruler of the kingdom, ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Ṭāhir proclaimed his independence in 1063, although he wanted to avoid the fiction of the unity of the Umayyad Caliphate to preserve, not the title of king ( malik ), but of a minister ( ḥājib ) received.
For a time, Murcia played an intermediary role between the Almoravids and the Castilians, but in the end religious sympathies leaned towards the Almoravids. Then the Almoravid Caliph Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn who had brought the Warring States of Muslim Spain under his control, took possession of Murcia in 1092 and built it into his empire. General discontent among the Almoravids led to an ascension under Abu Jaʿfar ibn Hud in 1144 and the restoration of Murcian independence. The kingdom was then united with Valencia.
After 1168, Murcia came under the rule of the North African Almohads. Still kept it autonomous administrative system preserved by the Christian Castilians when they took possession of the area almost without a fight in 1243.