Imazighen* in Iberia (Al-Andalus**)

**Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims from 711 to 1492

*In the power hierarchy, Imazighen ["Berbers"] were situated between the Arabic aristocracy and the Muladi*** populace.

The Muladi*** (Spanish: muladí, pl. muladíes or muwallad (pl. muwalladun or muwalladeen) arabic مولدون, were Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin who lived in Al-Andalus during the Middle Ages. They were descended from the native people who converted to Islam after the Islamic conquest of Hispania.

Muslims who entered Iberia in 711 were mainly Imazighen (Berbers), and were led by an Amazigh, Tariq ibn Ziyad, though under the suzerainty of the Arab Caliph of Damascus Abd al-Malik and his North African Viceroy, Musa ibn Nusayr. A second mixed army of Arabs and Imazighen came in 712 under Ibn Nusayr himself. It is claimed they formed approximately 66% of the Islamic population in Iberia; supposedly they helped the Umayyad caliph Abd ar-Rahman I, because his mother was a Berber. During the Taifa era, the petty kings came from a variety of ethnic groups; some-- for instance the Zirid kings of Granada --were of Amazigh origin. The Taifa period ended when an Amazigh dynasty--the Almoravids from modern-day Western Sahara and Mauritania --took over Al-Andalus; they were succeeded by the Almohad dynasty from Morocco, during which time al-Andalus flourished.

In the power hierarchy, Imazighen were situated between the Arabic aristocracy and the Muladi** populace. Ethnic rivalries were one of the factors of Andalusi politics.
After the fall of the Caliphate, the taifa kingdoms of Toledo and Granada had Amazigh rulers.
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***Muladi
Mulades were an ethnic group that lived in the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages.
The spanish language word mulad is derived from arabic language muwallad....
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berbers_and_Islam