The Dhulnunids were a Berber family from the Hawwara tribe who came to the Iberian Peninsula at the time of the Islamic conquest.
[3] They settled in the heart of Santabariyya or Shant Bariya (Santaver in the Province of Cuenca) and through a process of cultural Arabization between the 8th-10th centuries changed their name from the Berber Zennún to the Arabised form dhi-l-Nun.
[4] During the second half of the 9th century they came to control a large territory that included Uclés, Huete, Cuenca, Huélamo, Las Valeras, Alarcón and Iniesta.
Due to the geographic isolation of the area, they were in continuous revolt against the Caliphate of Córdoba, maintaining a certain independence, and periodically threatening Toledo.
In 1018 this same Abd al-Rahman entrusted the government of Uclés to his son Ismaíl whom he also sent him to Toledo at the request of its people, who were dissatisfied with their rulers.