part of the Almoravid Caliphate. The inglobement of all the taifa to a larger state helped to re-establish a balance along the frontier that separated western Christian states from the Muslim world.
The period of the Banu Ganiya (1157 - 1203)
The situation changed in the mid-12th century, when the Almoravids, were displaced from al-Andalus and western Maghreb by the Almohad. Almoravid dominions, from 1157 on, were restricted to theBalearic Islands, with Palma again acting as the capital, governed by Muhammad ibn Ganiya. Massive arrival of al-Andalus refugees contributed to reinforce the positions of the last Almoravid legitimatists, the Banu Ganiya, who, conscious of their weakness in the Western Mediterranean context, started to get closer to the growing powers represented by Italian maritime republics. Genoaand Pisans obtained in this period their first commercial concessions in the city and the rest of the islands.
The Banu Ganiya, taking advantage of the great loss suffered by Abu Yuqub Yusuf in the Battle of Santarém (1184), attacked Ifriqiya, where the Almohad dominion had not been consolidated yet, in the same year. However, this attack was repelled and the Almohad authorities encouraged anti-Almoravid revolts in the Islands. The city was captured by the Almohads in 1203.
Christian Reconquest and late Middle Age
On December 31, 1229, after three months of siege, the city was reconquered by James I of Aragon and was renamed Palma de Mallorca. In addition to being kept as capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, it was given a municipality that comprised the whole island. The governing organ was the University of the City and Kingdom of Majorca. After the death of James I of Aragon, Palma was joint capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, together with Perpignan. His son, James II of Majorca, championed the construction of statues and monuments in the city:
