Editing Almanzor (section)

=== Rupture with Subh and concentration of political power ===
[[File:Salon Rico 4.jpg|thumb|right|Interior of [[Madinat al-Zahra|Medina Azahara]], the fortified residence built by Almanzor, where he luxuriously locked Caliph [[Hisham II]] after the failed attempt at rebellion by the Caliph's mother [[Subh of Córdoba|Subh]], after long years of alliance between them.]]
With [[Ghalib ibn Abd al-Rahman|Ghalib]] eliminated and [[Hisham II|Hisham]] unable to perform his duties as Caliph, Almanzor began to weigh preparing for the succession, and even the possibility of officially taking power.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=112}} In 989, he tried unsuccessfully to have the ''faqīhs'' accept his home, Medina Alzahara, as a major mosque.{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=159}} From 991 he positioned his son [[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar|Abd al-Malik]] in a similar way as [[Al-Hakam II|Al-Hakam]] had done with Hisham, appointing him chamberlain{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=524}} and supreme warden of the Caliphate's armies, although Almanzor did not step aside from those roles himself.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=112}} At the same time, he discreetly presented to the ''faqīhs'' who advised the senior Qadi the possibility that he himself might replace the Caliph{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=168}} because Hisham was incapable and no one else in the state could hold the position.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=112}} The regency, formerly founded on Hisham's minority, could no longer be justified by his mere inability to carry out his functions.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=112}} The opinion of the ''faqīhs'', however, was negative:{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=168}} if not Hisham, according to the legal experts, power should devolve to another member of the [[Quraysh|tribe of Muhammad]].{{Sfn|Valdés Fernández|1999|p=13}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=113}} Almanzor reluctantly accepted the decision, and in the following years he gradually assumed even greater powers, corresponding to those of the Caliph: he confirmed the official appointments with his own seal rather than that of the Caliph, in spite of nominally acting on his behalf,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=166}} he appointed a new mint official, appropriated new titles{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=200}} and moved part of the administration to {{ill|Medina Alzahira|es}}.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=113}} He also had his name mentioned after that of the Caliph in Friday prayers and maintained a court parallel to that of the sovereign at al-Zahira.{{Sfn|Valdés Fernández|1999|p=14}} In 991, under pressure from the chamberlain, the council of ''faqīhs'' changed their unfavorable opinion as to the conversion of Medina Alzahira into a major mosque,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=160}} although its use continued to be frowned upon by many notable Cordobans.{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=162}}

His attempts to seize power ended the long alliance between Almanzor and [[Subh of Córdoba|Subh]] in 996.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=116}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=166}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=114}}{{Sfn|Gálvez Vázquez|1996–1997|p=77}} After twenty years as a representative of Subh, Almanzor confronted the Caliph's mother and her supporters. After the collapse of the alliance, Subh tried with all her might to eliminate Almanzor and united with all his opponents and enemies and divided the court into two factions, a group supporting Almanzor and the survival of his power and another group supporting Subh whose goal was to take over the government by her son.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=114}}{{Sfn|Gálvez Vázquez|1996–1997|p=77}} The clash between the two cliques was triggered by Subh withdrawing eighty thousand dinars from the royal treasury to finance an uprising against the chamberlain.{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=165}}{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=196}} Almanzor discovered this thanks to his agents in the palace,{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=415}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=114}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=175}} and he reacted by successfully petitioning the council of viziers and ''Faqīhs'' to transfer the treasury to his residence, {{ill|Medina Alzahira|es}}, characterizing Subh's theft as a robbery by the harem.{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=415}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=114}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=176}} With Almanzor sick, Subh took over the palace and tried in vain to block the transfer.{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=176}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=115}} [[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar|Abd al-Malik]], Almanzor's son, won the support of the viziers. The Caliph repudiated the rebellion of his mother in late May 996, and Abd al-Malik took custody of both him and the treasure.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=115}}{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=197}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|pp=176–177}} Though the rebellion she headed on the peninsula lost steam due to loss of funding and the rapid defeat of its few supporters,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=180}} the money she had previously taken allowed Subh to finance a rebellion in the Maghreb.{{Sfn|Gálvez Vázquez|1996–1997|p=77}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=115}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=178}} Although Almanzor had not yet managed to quell this revolt by fall 997, it failed to gain any support on the peninsula.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=116}}

To reinforce his image and that of his son and successor, Almanzor organized a parade{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=415}} with the Caliph and his mother.{{Sfn|Gálvez Vázquez|1996–1997|p=77}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=116}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=181}}{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=202}} The gesture served to dispel any doubts about the support of the Caliph for Almanzor, and thus refuted the allegations of [[Ziri ibn Atiyya]], launched from the Maghreb.{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=202}} After the procession, [[Hisham II|Hisham]] was locked up – with all the comforts but without power – in {{ill|Medina Alzahira|es}},{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=116}} where his mother was probably also imprisoned.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=117}} Having lost her confrontation with her former ally, she died shortly thereafter in 999.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=117}} Almanzor, who had renewed his oath of allegiance to the Caliph with the proviso that he delegate{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=415}}{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=200}} his powers to his family,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=182}} was strengthened. He sent his son to fight the North African rebellion,{{Sfn|Ballestín Navarro|2004|p=202}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=182}} and took charge of all administrative power.{{Sfn|Valdés Fernández|1999|p=13}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=116}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=184}} He counted on the approval of the religious leadership who, fearing possible civil war, supported Almanzor's position as guarantor of stability and of the throne of the impotent Hisham.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=117}} State power was divided in two: with Almanzor blocking exercise of the symbolic and legitimate power of the Caliph, while that of the chamberlain and his successors, devoid of legitimacy for being Yemeni [[Mofarite]] and not of the Prophet's blood, controlled the Caliphate's policy.{{Sfn|Valdés Fernández|1999|p=13}}