Abà « ÿAbd AllÃÂh Muḥammad ibn Saÿd ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mardanësh, called al-JudhÃÂmë or al-Tujëbë (born AD 1124 or 1125 [AH 518], died AD 1172 [AH 568]) was the king of Murcia from AD 1147 (AH 542) until his death. He established his rule over the cities of Murcia, Valencia and Dénia as the power of the Almoravid emirate declined, and he opposed the spread of the Almohad caliphate. Christian sources refer to him as the "Wolf King" (Latin rex Lupus, Spanish rey Lobo or rey Lope).
Ibn Mardanësh's full name was Abu ÿAbd AllÃÂh Muḥammad ibn Saÿd ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mardanësh al-Juá¸ÂÃÂmë (or at-Tuóëbë), indicate he was the son of Saÿd, son of Muḥammad, son of Aḥmad, son of Mardanësh. His tribal nisbas are no secure indication of Arab ancestry. He was a muwallad, a descendant of a native Iberian convert to Islam, and the name Mardanësh is not of Arabic origin. The thirteenth-century Islamic scholar Ibn KhallikÃÂn derived it from an Ibero-Romance term for dung (via Latin '), perhaps because of Ibn Mardanësh's friendly relations with the Christians. It is more likely a corruption of Merdanix (today Merdancho), the name of a tributary of the river Najerilla, which was on the border between Christian and Islamic Spain in the early tenth century. This hydronym in turn derives from the Latin for dung, indicating dirty waters. This is consistent with Ibn Mardanësh's family emigrating from the aá¹Â-Ṭaḡr al-Aÿlà(Upper March) around the Rioja, as told in Arabic sources.
In the first year of his rule (1147/8), Ibn Mardanësh faced the rebellion of his relative, Yà «suf ibn HilÃÂl, based in the castle of Montornés. Yà «suf conquered the castles of al-á¹¢ujayra and al-á¹¢ajra, and defeated Ibn Mardanësh before the walls of Moratalla, which he occupied. With a reduced following he attacked the fortress of Peñas de San Pedro and was captured. Ibn Mardanësh threatened to gouge out his eyes unless he ordered the surrender of Moratalla. He refused and his right eye was removed. Ibn Mardanësh then ordered Yà «suf's wife to surrender the castle or else see her husband blinded. She refused and Yà «suf's other eye was removed. Ibn Mardanësh then sent his prisoner to Xàtiva, where he died shortly thereafter in 1148 or 1149.
In June 1149, after the republic of Genoa had established colonies at both AlmerÃÂa and Tortosa, Ibn Mardanësh signed a ten-year truce with the republic, agreed to pay 15,000 Almoravid dinars (murÃÂbiá¹Âà «n) in tribute, exempted the Genoese from tariffs and permitted the establishment of Genoese funduqs at Valencia and Dénia. A payment of 5,000 murÃÂbiá¹Âà «n was due immediately: 3,000 in cash and 2,000 in equivalent silks. The remaining 10,000 was owed over two years. This treaty is preserved in the Genoese Liber iurium. According to the contemporary historian Caffaro, a similar treaty was signed in 1161. In January 1150, Ibn Mardanësh signed a treaty with the republic of Pisa, promising funduqs and a general safe-conduct for Pisan merchants, but requiring no payment of tribute.
During Dhà « l-Qaÿdah 560 (SeptemberâÂÂOctober 1165), Ibn Mardanësh led a large army from Murcia to defend Lorca from an Almohad force advancing from the castle of Vélez. His troops were flanked by the Almohad force at a place called al-Fundà «n in the valley of the GuadalentÃÂn. In the ensuing battle of Faḥṣ al-JullÃÂb they were routed.