Abd al-Rahman I

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Abd al-Rahman I
Umayyad
FatherMu'awiya ibn Hisham
MotherRaha
ReligionSunni Islam

Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (

Abbasids, who had overthrown the Umayyads
in Damascus in 750.

He was also known by the surnames al-Dakhil ("the Immigrant"),

Quraysh").[3]

Biography

Flight from Damascus

Abd al-Rahman was born in

Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found. Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village. He left his young son with his sisters and fled with Yahya. Accounts vary, but Bedr likely escaped with Abd al-Rahman. Some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd al-Rahman at a later date.[7]

Abd al-Rahman, Yahya, and Bedr quit the village, narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins. On the way south, Abbasid horsemen again caught up with the trio. Abd al-Rahman and his companions then threw themselves into the River Euphrates. The horsemen urged them to return, promising that no harm would come to them; and Yahya, perhaps from fear of drowning, turned back. The 17th-century historian

Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari poignantly described Abd al-Rahman's reaction as he implored Yahya to keep going: "O brother! Come to me, come to me!"[8] Yahya returned to the near shore, and was quickly dispatched by the horsemen. They cut off his head and left his body to rot. Al-Maqqari quotes earlier historians reporting that Abd al-Rahman was so overcome with fear that from the far shore he ran until exhaustion overcame him.[8]
Only he and Bedr were left to face the unknown.

Exile years

After barely escaping with their lives, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr continued south through

Fihrid family, had long sought to carve out Ifriqiya as a private dominion for himself. At first, he sought an understanding with the Abbasids, but when they refused his terms and demanded his submission, Ibn Habib broke openly with the Abbasids and invited the remnants of the Umayyad dynasty
to take refuge in his dominions. Abd al-Rahman was only one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make their way to Ifriqiya at this time.

But Ibn Habib soon changed his mind. He feared the presence of prominent Umayyad exiles in Ifriqiya, a family more illustrious than his own, might become a focal point for intrigue among local nobles against his own usurped powers. Around 755, believing he had discovered plots involving some of the more prominent Umayyad exiles in

Kabylie, at the camp of a Nafza Berber chieftain friendly to their plight. Ibn Habib dispatched spies to look for the Umayyad prince. When Ibn Habib's soldiers entered the camp, the Berber chieftain's wife Tekfah hid Abd al-Rahman under her personal belongings to help him go unnoticed.[9]
Once they were gone, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr immediately set off westwards.

In 755, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr reached modern-day Morocco near

Qays–Yemeni feud) and racial tensions between the Arabs and Berbers.[10] At that moment, the nominal ruler of al-Andalus, emir Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri—another member of the Fihrid family and a favorite of the old Arab settlers (baladiyun), mostly of south Arabian or "Yemeni" tribal stock—was locked in a contest with his vizier (and son-in-law) al-Sumayl ibn Hatim al-Kilabi, the head of the "Syrians"—the shamiyun, drawn from the junds or military regiments of Syria, mostly of north Arabian Qaysid tribes—who had arrived in 742.[11]

Among the Syrian junds were contingents of old Umayyad clients, numbering perhaps 500,[11] and Abd al-Rahman believed he might tug on old loyalties and get them to receive him. Bedr was dispatched across the straits to make contact. Bedr managed to line up three Syrian commanders—Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman and Abd Allah ibn Khalid, both originally of Damascus, and Yusuf ibn Bukht of Qinnasrin.[11] The trio approached the Syrian arch-commander al-Sumayl (then in Zaragoza) to get his consent, but al-Sumayl refused, fearing Abd al-Rahman would try to make himself emir.[11] As a result, Bedr and the Umayyad clients sent out feelers to their rivals, the Yemeni commanders. Although the Yemenis were not natural allies (the Umayyads are cousins of the Qaysid tribes), their interest was piqued. The emir Yusuf al-Fihri had proven himself unable to keep the powerful al-Sumayl in check and several Yemeni chieftains felt their future prospects were poor, whether in a Fihrid or Syrian-dominated Spain, so that they had a better chance of advancement if they hitched themselves to the glitter of the Umayyad name.[11] Although the Umayyads did not have a historical presence in the region (no member of the Umayyad family was known to have ever set foot in al-Andalus before) and there were grave concerns about young Abd al-Rahman's inexperience, several of the lower-ranking Yemeni commanders felt they had little to lose and much to gain, and agreed to support the prince.[11]

Bedr returned to Africa to tell Abd al-Rahman of the invitation of the Umayyad clients in al-Andalus. Shortly thereafter, they set off with a small group of followers for Europe. When some local Berber tribesmen learned of Abd al-Rahman's intent to set sail for al-Andalus, they quickly rode to catch up with him on the coast. The tribesmen might have figured that they could hold Abd al-Rahman as hostage, and force him to buy his way out of Africa. He did indeed hand over some amount of dinars to the suddenly hostile local Berbers. Just as Abd al-Rahman launched his boat, another group of Berbers arrived. They also tried to obtain a fee from him for leaving. One of the Berbers held on to Abd al-Rahman's vessel as it made for al-Andalus, and allegedly had his hand cut off by one of the boat's crew.[12]

Abd al-Rahman landed at Almuñécar in al-Andalus, to the east of Málaga, in September 755; however, his landing site was unconfirmed.

Fight for power

The domains of the Fihrids in Al-Andalus between 750-755

Upon landing in Torrox, al-Andalus, Abd al-Rahman was greeted by clients Abu Uthman and Ibn Khalid and an escort of 300 cavalry.[11] During his brief time in Málaga, he was able to amass local support quickly. Waves of people made their way to Málaga to pay respect to the prince they thought was dead, including many of the aforementioned Syrians. One famous story that persisted through history related to a gift Abd al-Rahman was given while in Málaga. The gift was a beautiful young slave girl, but Abd al-Rahman humbly returned her to her previous master.[citation needed]

News of the prince's arrival spread like wildfire throughout the peninsula. During this time, emir

Sevilla without violence. He managed to break the rebellion attempt in Zaragoza, but just about that time the Cordovan governor received news of a Basque rebellion in Pamplona. An important detachment was sent by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman to quash it, but his troops were annihilated. After the setback, al-Fihri turned his army back south to face the "pretender". The fight for the right to rule al-Andalus was about to begin. The two contingents met on opposite sides of the River Guadalquivir, just outside the capital of Córdoba on the plains of Musarah.[citation needed
]

The river was, for the first time in years, overflowing its banks, heralding the end of a long drought. Nevertheless, food was still scarce, and Abd al-Rahman's army suffered from hunger. In an attempt to demoralize Abd al-Rahman's troops, al-Fihri ensured that his troops not only were well fed, but also ate gluttonous amounts of food in full view of the Umayyad lines. An attempt at negotiations soon followed in which it is likely that Abd al-Rahman was offered the hand of al-Fihri's daughter in marriage and great wealth. Abd al-Rahman, however, would settle for nothing less than control of the emirate, and an impasse was reached. Even before the fight began, dissension spread through some of Abd al-Rahman's lines. Specifically, the Yemeni Arabs were unhappy that the prince was mounted on a fine Spanish steed and that his mettle was untried in battle. The Yemenis observed significantly that such a fine horse would provide an excellent mount to escape from battle.[citation needed]

Being the ever-wary politician, Abd al-Rahman acted quickly to regain Yemeni support, and rode to a Yemeni chief who was mounted on a mule named "Lightning". Abd al-Rahman averred that his horse proved difficult to ride and was wont to buck him out of the saddle. He offered to exchange his horse for the mule, a deal to which the surprised chief readily agreed. The swap quelled the simmering Yemeni rebellion. Soon both armies were in their lines on the same bank of the Guadalquivir. Abd al-Rahman had no banner, and so one was improvised by unwinding a green turban and binding it round the head of a spear. Subsequently, the turban and the spear became the banner and symbol of the Andalusian Umayyads.[10] Abd al-Rahman led the charge toward al-Fihri's army. Al-Sumayl in turn advanced his cavalry out to meet the Umayyad threat. After a long and difficult fight "Abd ar-Rahman obtained a most complete victory, and the field was strewn with the bodies of the enemy.".[13] Both al-Fihri and al-Sumayl managed to escape the field (probably) with parts of the army too. Abd al-Rahman triumphantly marched into the capital, Córdoba. Danger was not far behind, as al-Fihri planned a counter attack. He reorganized his forces and set out for the capital Abd al-Rahman had usurped from him. Again Abd al-Rahman met al-Fihri with his army; this time negotiations were successful, although the terms were somewhat changed. In exchange for al-Fihri's life and wealth, he would be a prisoner and not allowed to leave the city limits of Córdoba. Al-Fihri would have to report once a day to Abd al-Rahman, as well as turn over some of his sons and daughters as hostages. For a while al-Fihri met the obligations of the one-sided truce, but he still had many people loyal to him--people who would have liked to see him back in power.[citation needed]

Al-Fihri eventually did make another bid for power. He quit Córdoba and quickly started gathering supporters. While at large, al-Fihri managed to gather an army allegedly numbering 20,000. It is doubtful, however, that his troops were "regular" soldiers, but rather a

Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri's supporters until 779 (submission of Zaragoza).[citation needed
]

Rule

A 19th century depiction of Abd al Rahman I

It is unclear whether Abd al-Rahman proclaimed himself caliph. There are documents in the archives of Cordoba that state that this was his first act upon entering the city. However, historically he is recorded as Emir and not Caliph. Abd al-Rahman's 7th descendant, Abd al-Rahman III, would, however, take up the title of caliph. In the meantime, a call went out through the Muslim world that al-Andalus was a safe haven for friends of the house of Umayya, if not for Abd al-Rahman's scattered family that managed to evade the Abbasids. Abd al-Rahman probably was quite happy to see his call answered by waves of Umayyad faithful and family. He was finally reacquainted with his son Sulayman, whom he last saw weeping on the banks of the Euphrates with his sisters. Abd al-Rahman's sisters were unable to make the long voyage to al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman placed his family members in high offices across the land, as he felt he could trust them more than non-family. The Umayyad family would again grow large and prosperous over successive generations. One of these kinsmen, Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Marwan, persuaded Abd al-Rahman in 757 to drop the name of the Abbasid caliph from the Friday prayers (a traditional recognition of sovereignty in medieval Islam), and became one of his top generals and his governor in Seville.[14]

By 763 Abd ar-Rahman had to get back to the business of war. Al-Andalus had been invaded by an Abbasid army. Far away in

Quraysh tribe).[16]

Despite such a tremendous victory, Abd al-Rahman had to continuously put down rebellions in al-Andalus.[17] Various Arab and Berber tribes fought each other for varying degrees of power, some cities tried to break away and form their own state, and even members of Abd al-Rahman's family tried to wrest power from him. During a large revolt, dissidents marched on Córdoba itself; However, Abd al-Rahman always managed to stay one step ahead, and crushed all opposition; as he always dealt severely with dissidents in al-Andalus.[18]

Problems in the Upper March

Zaragoza proved to be a most difficult city to reign over for not only Abd ar-Rahman, but

Chanson de Roland).[22]
Charlemagne was also attacked by Sulayman's relatives, who had freed Sulayman.

The Song of Roland from the Grandes Chroniques de France, A romanticization of Battle of Roncevaux Pass
.

Now Abd al-Rahman could deal with Sulayman and the city of Zaragoza without having to fight a massive Christian army. In 779 Abd al-Rahman offered Husayn, one of Sulayman's allies, the job of Zaragoza's governorship. The temptation was too much for al-Husayn, who murdered his colleague Sulayman. As promised, al-Husayn was awarded Zaragoza with the expectation that he would always be a subordinate of Córdoba. However, within two years al-Husayn broke off relations with Abd al-Rahman and announced that Zaragoza would be an independent city-state. Once again Abd al-Rahman had to be concerned with developments in the Upper March. He was intent on keeping this important northern border city within the Umayyad fold. By 783 Abd al-Rahman's army advanced on Zaragoza. It appeared as though Abd al-Rahman wanted to make clear to this troublesome city that independence was out of the question. Included in the arsenal of Abd al-Rahman's army were thirty-six siege engines.[23] Zaragoza's famous white granite defensive walls were breached under a torrent of ordnance from the Umayyad lines. Abd al-Rahman's warriors spilled into the city's streets, quickly thwarting al-Husayn's desires for independence.

Legacy and death

Construction works

Great Mosque of Córdoba
, begun by Abd al Rahman I in 785–786.

Abd al-Rahman did much work to improve al-Andalus' infrastructure.

Great Mosque of Córdoba (the present-day cathedral of Córdoba), which took place from 785–786 (169 AH) to 786–787 (170 AH).[25] It was expanded multiple times by his successors up to the 10th century.[26]

Social dynamics

Abd al-Rahman knew that one of his sons would one day inherit the rule of al-Andalus, but that it was a land torn by strife. In order to successfully rule in such a situation, Abd al-Rahman needed to create a reliable civil service and organize a standing army. He felt that he could not always rely on the local populace in providing a loyal army; and therefore bought a massive standing army consisting mainly of Berbers from North Africa[27] as well as slaves from other areas. The total number of soldiers under his command was nearly 40,000.[citation needed]

As was common during the years of Islamic expansion from Arabia,

religious tolerance was practiced. Abd al-Rahman continued to allow Jews and Christians and other monotheistic religions to retain and practice their faiths, in exchange for the jizya. Possibly because of tribute taxes, "the bulk of the country's population must have become Muslim".[28] However, other scholars have argued that though 80% of al-Andalus converted to Islam, it did not truly occur until near the 10th century.[29]

Christians more often converted to Islam than Jews although there were converted Jews among the new followers of Islam. There was a great deal of freedom of interaction among the groups: for example, Sarah, the granddaughter of the Visigoth king Wittiza, married a Muslim man and bore two sons who were later counted among the ranks of the highest Arab nobility.[30]

Death

Abd al-Rahman died c. 788 in Córdoba, and was supposedly buried under the site of the Mezquita.

Hisham I. Abd al-Rahman's progeny would continue to rule al-Andalus in the name of the house of Umayya for several generations, with the zenith of their power coming during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III
.

Abd al-Rahman I was able to forge a new Umayyad dynasty by standing successfully against

Caliphate of Cordoba
by his descendants.

Family

Abd al-Rahman was the son of Mu'awiya, son of Hisham, son of Abd al-Malik, according to Abd el-Wahid Merrakechi when reciting his ancestry.[33] Abd al-Rahman's mother was a member of the Nafza Berbers with whom he found refuge after the murder of his family in 750.[34]

Abd al-Rahman married a Spanish

Hisham.[37]
Abd al-Rahman was the father of several sons, but the identity of their mother(s) is not clear:

  • Sulayman (745–800),[38] Governor of Toledo. Exiled after he refused to accept his brother Hisham's rule. Returned to challenge his nephew in 796, captured and executed in 800.
  • Omar (died before 758), captured in battle and executed by Fruela I of Asturias.[39]
  • Hisham I
    (757–17 Apr 796), Emir of Cordoba.
  • Abdallah

Legends

In his lifetime, Abd al-Rahman was known as al Dakhil ("the Entrant"), but he was also known as Saqr Quraish ("The Falcon of the

Quraish"), bestowed on him by one of his greatest enemies, the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur
.

According to the chroniclers,

Commander of the Faithful!", but the Caliph denied this. Then they suggested Mu'awiya (founder of the Umayyad Caliphate), but the Caliph again denied it. Then they suggested Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (one of the greatest of the Umayyad caliphs), but again no. They asked who it was, and al-Mansur replied:[40]

The falcon of Quraysh is Abd al-Rahman, who escaped by his cunning the spearheads of the lances and the blades of the swords, who after wandering solitary through the deserts of Asia and Africa, had the boldness to seek his fortune without an army, in lands unknown to him beyond the sea. Having naught to rely upon save his own wits and perseverance, he nonetheless humiliated his proud foes, exterminated rebels, organized cities, mobilized armies, secured his frontiers against the Christians, founded a great empire and reunited under his scepter a realm that seemed already parcelled out among others. No man before him ever did such deeds. Mu'awiya rose to his stature through the support of Umar and Uthman, whose backing allowed him to overcome difficulties; Abd al-Malik, because of previous appointment; and the Commander of the Faithful [i.e. al-Mansur himself] through the struggle of his kin and the solidarity of his partisans. But Abd al-Rahman did it alone, with the support of none other than his own judgment, depending on no one but his own resolve.

See also

Further reading

  • Maria Rosa Menocal
    , The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (2002)
  • Andrea Pancini, L'immigrante (2016)

References

  1. Ibn Idhari
    , v 2 p. 69, 2013
  2. OCLC 495469456
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  3. ISBN 978-0-521-77657-8
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  4. ISBN 978-90-04-09599-1
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  5. ^ Peter C. Scales, The fall of the caliphate of Córdoba: Berbers and Andalusis in conflict, Bril, 1994, p. 111
  6. Arnold Joseph Toynbee
    , A study of history, Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1934, Volume 8, p. 372
  7. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari. The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, 96. Al-Maqqari quotes from historian Ibn Hayyan's Muktabis when detailing Abd al-Rahman's flight from Syria.
  8. ^ a b Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, p. 60.
  9. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain. Again al-Maqqari cited Ibn Hayyan for the vast majority of the preceding information, 58–61.
  10. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abd-ar-Rahman s.v. Abd-ar-Rahman I". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 31.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g H. Kennedy (1996) Muslim Spain and Portugal: a political history of al-Andalus. London: Longman.
  12. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain. pp. 65–68.
  13. Philip K. Hitti
    . Makers of Arab History. (New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. p. 66
  14. ISBN 0-582-49515-6
    .
  15. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, p. 81
  16. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain. p. 82
  17. ^ W. Montgomery Watt. Islamic Surveys 4: A History of Islamic Spain. (Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press, 1965), p. 32
  18. ^ Thomas F. Glick. Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages. (Princeton, Princeton University Press), p. 38
  19. ^ Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, p. 85
  20. ^ Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran Cruz. Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Perception and Other. Edited by David R. Blanks and Michael Frassetto. (New York, Saint Martin's Press, 1999), p. 56
  21. ISBN 9788432118821
  22. ^ Philip K. Hitti. Makers of Arab History. (New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. p. 68
  23. ^ José Luis Corral Lafuente. Historia de Zaragoza: Zaragoza Musulmana. (Zaragoza; Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, 1998), p. 14
  24. ISBN 978-0-19-970451-4
    .
  25. ISBN 0870996371
    .
  26. ISBN 9780195309911
    .
  27. ^ W. Montgomery Watt. Islamic Surveys 4: A History of Islamic Spain. (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1965), p. 33
  28. ^ Philip K. Hitti. Makers of Arab History. (New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. p. 71
  29. ^ Thomas F. Glick. Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages. (Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University Press), pp. 33–35. Glick based this work on a prior scholar's work (Bulliet). On page 33 of this book, Glick writes that Bulliet said "that the rate of conversion to Islam is logarithmic, and may be illustrated graphically by a logistic curve".
  30. ^ Marianne Barrucand & Achim Bednorz. Moorish Architecture in Andalusia. (London, Taschen, 2002)
  31. ^ "Abd al-Rahman III | Umayyad caliph". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  32. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8
    .
  33. ^ Fagnan, E. (trans. & ed.) (1893) Histoire des Almohades d'´Abd el-Wahid Merrakechi (Algiers) ("Abd el-Wahid Merrakechi"), p. 50.
  34. ^ Cherbonneau, M. A. (trans.) 'Chronique d'Ibn-el Kouthya', Journal Asiatique 5th series Tome VIII (Paris, 1856), p. 456.
  35. ISBN 8421120166
    .
  36. ISBN 978-1173728465
    .
  37. ^ James, David. "Early Islamic Spain: The History of Ibn al-Qutiyah; The Reign of the Emir Hisham". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  38. ^ Cherbonneau, M. A. (trans.) 'Chronique d'Ibn-el Kouthya', Journal Asiatique 5th series Tome VIII (Paris, 1856), p. 475.
  39. ^ Chronicle of Alfonso III: Wolf, K. B. (trans) (1999) Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain (Liverpool University Press, 2nd ed.), 16, p. 171, and Barrau-Dihigo, L. (1989) Historia politica del reino Asturiano (718–910) (Gijón), p. 134.
  40. ^ Safi, L. (1995) "Leadership and Subordination: An Islamic Perspective". The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, pp. 2-12

External links

Abd al-Rahman I
Banu Quraish
Born: 730 Died: 788
Preceded by
Governor of Al-Andalus
Emir of Córdoba

756–788 		Succeeded by
Hisham I
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