Under the guidance of Ķuraib the
Berbers of Mérida and Medellin made a terrible raid on Seville.
Berbers of Mérida and Medellin made a terrible raid on Seville.
Cambridge Medieval History - v3 - Germany and the Western Empire
At his death in 756 the Muslim frontier ran by Coimbra, Coria,
Toledo, Guadalajara, Tudela and Pampeluna, and the Christian frontier
included Asturias, Santander, parts of Burgos, Leon and Galicia. Be-
tween these two lines was an area continually in dispute.
Such was the state of Spain on the arrival of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān ibn
Muřāwiya. He had escaped from the general massacre of the Umayyads,
which had been ordered by the Abbasids, by swimming across the
Euphrates, and had seen from the opposite bank the slaughter of his
thirteen-year-old brother. His faithful freedmen Badr and sālim, who
had been in his sister's service, joined him in Palestine with money
and precious stones, and thence he passed to Africa, where he might
have lived in peaceful obscurity. But (according to Dozy)“ ambitious
dreams haunted without ceasing the mind of this youth of twenty.
Tall, vigorous and brave, he had been carefully educated and possessed
talents out of the common.
His instinct told him of his summons
to a glorious destiny," and the prophecies of his uncle Maslama con-
firmed his belief that he would be the saviour of the Umayyads. He
believed that he was destined to sit upon a throne. But where would
he find one? The East was lost ; there remained Spain and Africa.
In Africa the government was in the hands of Ibn Habīb, who had
refused to recognise the Abbasids and aimed at an independent king-
dom. Because of the prophecies favourable to ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān he
persecuted him : indeed he persecuted every member of the Umayyad
## p. 411 (#457) ############################################
‘Abd-ar-Rahmān I
411
a
dynasty, and had executed two sons of Caliph Walīd II for some in-
discreet remarks which he had overheard. “Wandering from tribe to
tribe and from town to town,” says Dozy, “Abd-ar-Raḥmān passed from
one end of Africa to the other. ” For some five years it is clear he had
never thought of Spain.
At length he turned his eyes towards Andalusia, of which his former
servant Sālim, who had been there, gave him some account. Badr went
over to Spain, to the clients of the Umayyads, of whom some few hundreds
were scattered among the Syrians of Damascus and Ķinnasrīn in Elvira
and Jaen; he bore a letter to them, in which `Abd-ar-Rahmān told his
plight and set forth his claim to the Emirate as grandson of the Caliph
Hishām. At the same time he asked their help and offered them im-
portant posts in the event of a victory. As soon as they had received
this letter, the chiefs of the Syrians of Damascus, 'Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn
Khālid, joined with Yusuf ibn Bukht, chief of the Syrians of Ķinnasrīn.
It was as much from a sense of their duty as vassals as from hope of office
and self-interest that they decided to forward the undertaking. But what
means had they at their disposal ? They resolved to consult Şumail the
ķaisite, a hero of the civil wars. He put off giving an answer in a matter
of such importance, but entertained Badr and the other Umayyads.
Afterwards he left for Cordova, where the Emir Yusuf was collecting
forces to punish the Yemenites and Berbers who had revolted at Sara-
gossa. Yusuf bought the help of the Umayyads for the campaign.
When Yusuf crossed the Guadalquivir, ‘Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn Khalid
appeared before him and begged they might first be allowed to get in their
crops and then they would join him at Toledo-a request which was
granted. Thereupon they urged 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's cause on Şumail,
who had just risen from one of his frequent orgies; he was out of temper
with Yusuf and gave way to their demands, and so the Umayyads started
on their homeward journey well satisfied. However, as soon as Sumail
reflected that it would end in the extinction of the independence of the
tribal chiefs and of his own authority, he sent messengers to overtake the
Umayyads, and informing them that he could not support their master,
advised them not to attempt any change of government.
Seeing that all hope was lost of forming an alliance with ķaisites,
the Umayyads threw themselves into the arms of the Yemenites, who
were burning to shake off the yoke of the Kaisites. The answer to their
call surpassed their expectations. As soon as the subject Umayyads felt
sure of the support of the Yemenites and could count on Yusuf and
Şumail being engaged in the north, they sent to Tammām in Africa
money for the Berbers, who had refused to allow 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān to
leave them till a ransom was paid. Then `Abd-ar-Raḥmān left for Spain
and reached Almuñecar in September 755. There ‘Ubaid-Allāh and
Ibn Khālid awaited him, and put him in possession of the castle of Torrox
between Iznajar and Loja.
-a
-
CH, XVI.
## p. 412 (#458) ############################################
412
The Umayyad Emirate
a
The receipt of this news made a deep impression on Yusuf. He
had caused distrust by executing three rebel Ķuraishite chiefs at the
instance of Şumail, and his resolution to attack the pretender imme-
diately caused the desertion of almost the whole of his army, which was
reluctant to undertake a fresh campaign in the depth of winter and in
the mountainous district of Regio (Málaga). Yusuf therefore opened
negotiations with 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. His envoys had an interview with
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān, whom they found surrounded by his little court, in
which ‘Ubaid-Allāh held the first place; and they offered him on Yusuf's
behalf a safe refuge in Cordova, the hand of Yūsuf's daughter as well as
a large dowry and the lands of Caliph Hishām. They shewed him as
evidence of good faith a letter from Yûsuf and promised him magnificent
presents, left cautiously behind. These terms seemed satisfactory to the
Umayyads; ‘Ubaid-Allāh was on the point of answering Yusuf's letter,
when the envoy Khālid, a renegade Spaniard, insolently told him that he
was incapable of writing a letter like his; “Ubaid-Allāh's Arab pride was
wounded by the Spaniard's reproach, and he gave orders for his arrest.
The negotiations were broken off.
As soon as winter was over ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān advanced to Archidona,
where the ķaisite governor, Jidār, proclaimed him Emir, and entered
Seville about the middle of March 756. He then marched out towards
Cordova along the left bank of the Guadalquivir, while Yusuf advanced
to Seville along the right bank? On sighting one another the two armies
continued their march towards Cordova, still separated by the river. As
soon as they reached Mosara, 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān resolved to give battle.
By a cunning move he managed to cross the river without any opposi-
tion from Yusuf, a manoeuvre which gave him provisions for his troops.
On Friday, 14 May, a sacrificial feast, being the day of the battle of
Marj Rāhit, which had given the crown to the Umayyads of the East,
the combat opened. The cavalry of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān routed the right wing
and centre of the army commanded by Yusuf and Sumail, who each saw
the death of his own son. The left wing alone sustained the attack all
day until all the notable ķaisites had fallen, including their chief
‘Ubaid. The victors began to pillage ; but ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān forbade
it and shewed magnanimity in his treatment of Yūsuf's wife and sons.
The Yemenites were offended by his generous behaviour, and formed
a plot to kill him. However, he discovered the conspiracy, and no
opposition was made to his offering as Imām the Friday prayers in
the principal mosque of Cordova. Negotiations were begun, and finally
Yūsuf recognised ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān as Emir of Spain in July 756. It was
&
1 It was at Colombera or Villanueva de Brenes that the leaders noticed 'Abd-
ar-Raḥmān had no banner. Accordingly Abū-ş-Şabbāḥ, a Sevillan chief, placed
his turban on the point of his lance and thus unfurled what became later the
standard of the Umayyads in Spain.
2 See Vol. 11. p. 360.
## p. 413 (#459) ############################################
Consolidation of the Emirate
413
.
not long before Yusuf was slain in battle, and one morning Şumail him-
self was found dead, strangled by order of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān.
In spite of his growing power ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān had to suppress
other revolts, of which the most formidable was that of the Yemenites.
In 764 Toledo made its submission. Its chiefs had to pass through
Cordova clad in sackcloth, with their heads shaved and mounted on
donkeys. But the Yemenites continued restless.
Shortly after 764 the Berbers, who had hitherto kept quiet, rose in
arms, headed by a schoolmaster named Shakyā, half fanatic and half
impostor, who gave himself out to be a descendant of Ali and Fātima.
After six years of warfare 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān succeeded in sowing discord
among them. He advanced against the rebels, who retreated northwards.
Meanwhile the Yemenites and the Berbers of the East advanced towards
Cordova. On the banks of the river Bembezar the Yemenites were
treacherously left to their fate by the Berbers, and 30,000 perished at
the hands of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's soldiers. The Berbers of the centre
were only subdued after ten years' fighting, when Shakyā was murdered
by one of his adherents.
In 777 Afrābī the Kalbite, governor of Barcelona, formed a league
against 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān and sent to Charlemagne for help. Charles,
who reckoned on the complete pacification of the Saxons, crossed the
Pyrenees with an army. Afrābi was to support him north of the Ebro,
where his sovereignty was to be recognised, while the African Berbers
were to help in Murcia by raising the standard of the Abbasid Caliph,
Charles's ally. But this coalition failed. Just as Charlemagne had begun
the siege of Saragossa he was called home by the news that Widukind
had re-entered Saxony and pushed on to Cologne. On his return to
Francia through Roncesvalles the rear-guard of his army was attacked
and annihilated by the Basques. There the famous Roland, who was
afterwards immortalised in the medieval epic, met his death. ‘Abd-ar-
Raḥmān reaped the benefit of these successes, which were due to his rebel
subjects at Saragossa, to the Basques and to a Saxon prince who did not
even know of his existence. He advanced and took possession of Sara-
gossa ; he attacked the Basques, and forced the Count of Cerdagne to
become his tributary.
These feats were the admiration of the world and evoked from
the Abbasid Caliph Manşūr the following speech concerning ‘Abd-ar-
Raḥmān : “ Although he had no other support to rely on but his
. statesmanship and perseverance, he succeeded in humbling his haughty
opponents, in killing off all insurgents, and in securing his frontier
against the attacks of the Christians. He founded a mighty empire,
and united under his sceptre extensive dominions which had hitherto
been divided among a number of different chiefs. ” This judgment is an
exact description of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's life-work.
Detested by the Arab and Berber chiefs, deserted by his followers
# CH. XVI.
## p. 414 (#460) ############################################
414
Muslim factions
and betrayed by his own family, he summoned mercenary troops to his
aid. Though his policy, which was both daring and treacherous, might
alienate his people's affection, yet it was invariably clever and adapted
to his circumstances. The very means which he used, violence and
tyranny, were the same as those by which the kings of the fifteenth
century were victorious in their struggle against feudalism. He had
already traced the outlines of the military despotism, which his suc-
cessors were to fill in.
His successor Hishām I (788–796) was a model of virtue. In his reign
the sect of Mālik ibn Anas was started in the East, and the Emir, who
had been commended by Mālik, did his utmost to spread its doctrines,
choosing from its members both judges and ecclesiastics. When Hishām
died the sect, to which most of the faķīhs (professional theologians)
belonged, was already powerful. It was headed in Spain by a clever
young Berber, Yahyā ibn Yaḥyā, who had ambition, enterprise and
experience, along with the impetuosity of a demagogue.
Although the next Emir, Hakam, was by no means irreligious, his easy
disposition, his love of the chase and of wine, brought on him the hatred
of the faķīhs, which was intensified by his refusing them the influence they
desired. They were not sparing in their attacks upon him and used as
their tools the renegados, who were called muladies (muwallad or the
adopted). The position of these renegades was uneasy ; in religion they
were subject to Muslim law, which punished apostasy with death and
counted any one born a Muslim to be a Muslim. Socially they were
reckoned as slaves and excluded from any share in the government. Never-
theless they were able to help the faķāhs in bringing about a revo-
lution.
The first rising took place in 805, but was put down by the Emir's
bodyguard. Then other conspirators offered the throne to Ibn Shammās,
the Emir's cousin, but he revealed the plot, and sixty-two of the conspira-
tors were put to death, while two of them fled to Toledo. When Hakam
was reducing Mérida (806), the inhabitants of Cordova rose a second
time, but he successfully crushed the revolt, beheading or crucifying the
leaders. Hakam now shewed himself even more cruel and treacherous
than before. His cruelty at Cordova was followed by a massacre at
Toledo.
The Toledans were a people difficult to govern, and under the
headship of the poet Gharbīb, a renegade by birth, they had already
caused alarm to the Emir. On the death of Gharbib he appointed as.
governor an ambitious renegade from Huesca, 'Amrūs, a man subtle and
dishonest, but a mere puppet in the hands of his master. He cleverly
won over the Toledans, and was able to build a castle in the middle
of the city, where the Emir's troops were quartered. An army under
the prince 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān arrived, and the leading Toledans were
invited to a banquet at the castle. Bidding them enter one by one,
## p. 415 (#461) ############################################
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān II
415
he had their heads cut off in the courtyard of the castle and Aung
into a ditch. It is impossible to fix the number of those slain on this
“day of the ditch,” and estimates vary between 700 and 5000.
The impression made by this slaughter kept the people of Cordova
quiet for seven years. Moreover, the Emir strengthened his bodyguard
with slaves known as “mutes," because they spoke no Arabic. Never-
theless discontent steadily grew among the students and theologians in
the quarter of Arrabal del Sur. At length a formidable revolution
broke out. In the month of Ramadan (May 814) a soldier killed a
polisher who refused to clean his sword, and this act was made the
pretext for the revolt. A huge mob marched in spite of cavalry
charges to the Emir's palace. But Hakam with the utmost calm-
ness ordered the execution of some imprisoned fakīhs ; then after this
sacrilege a body of his troops set fire to Arrabal del Sur. The rebels,
as he expected, rushed to the help of their families and, attacked on
every side, suffered fearful slaughter at the hands of the terrible mutes.
Thereupon Hakam ordered the expulsion within three days under pain
of crucifixion of all the inhabitants of Arrabal del Sur. On reach-
ing the Mediterranean, one body consisting of 15,000 families went to
the East, and there after a struggle with the Bedouins seized Alexandria
and soon founded an independent kingdom under Abū Hafs Omar
al-Balluţi. Another body of 8000 families settled at Fez in Morocco.
Hakam now issued an amnesty to the faķihs and allowed them to
settle anywhere in Spain, except Cordova and its neighbourhood. Yahyā
even managed to secure his sovereign's favour.
Hakam, relentless towards the Toledans and the artisans of Arrabal
del Sur, shewed towards the Arabs and Berbers who were of his own
race a clemency attributed by Arab historians to remorseful conscience.
Some of his verses suggest that he followed the example of 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān: “ Just as a tailor uses his needle to join different pieces of
cloth, so I use my sword to unite my separate provinces. ” He maintained
the throne of the Umayyads by a military despotism.
At Cordova his son and successor, 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān II (822-852), set
a high standard of magnificence. A lover of poetry, mild even to weak-
ness, he let himself be guided by a fakīh, a musician, a woman and an
eunuch. The faķīh was Yahyā, the leader of the Arrabal rebellion ;
he now dominated the Emir, who had given into his hands his own
ecclesiastical and judicial functions. The musician was the singer Ziryāb
of Bagdad, the pupil of Hārūn ar-Rashid's famous singer, Isḥāſ
of Mosul, and out of jealousy compelled by him to leave the East. On
his arrival in Spain, where ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān II had just ascended the
throne, he soon gained the friendship of the sovereign, thanks to his
voice, his wit and his wide knowledge of history, poetry, science and art.
He became the king of fashion in Cordova as well as the model of good
taste, but he did not meddle in politics ; they were the province of the
CH. XVI.
## p. 416 (#462) ############################################
416
Christians and Muslims
Sultana Țarūb, bound to one much like herself, the cruel and treacherous
eunuch Nașr. The son of a Spaniard, Nașr could speak no Arabic and
hated the Christians with the rancour of an apostate. While they governed,
the monarch devoted himself to beautifying his capital, which from his
time becomes a centre of art and of science for Western Europe.
The country was disturbed: there was the seven years' war between
the Ma'addites and Yemenites in Murcia ; there were constant risings
of Christians in Mérida; a rebellion, with all the characteristics of a
real germanía (the later Hermandad, brotherhood), broke out in Toledo,
lasting until the city was taken by storm in 837. Then came a new
danger: in 844 the Northmen, who were called the Majūs by the Arabs,
appeared off the coast of Spain. They made a descent on the coast of
Galicia and, being repulsed, moved on to Lisbon, Cadiz and up to Seville,
but the Emir’s troops defeated them and drove them back across the
Guadalquivir. In 858 or 859 they returned and sacked Algeciras, carrying
their raids along the east coast as far as the Rhone. But they left the
coast of Spain as soon as the Muslims began building vessels of the same
type as theirs.
But the most formidable difficulty of all came from the Christians :
the life of bandits or guerrilla warriors was now impossible for them, and
in the cities the path of martyrdom lay plain before them. They were
headed by Eulogio and Alvaro. Eulogio belonged to a Cordovan family
who detested the Muslims, and was educated at the school of Abbot
Spera-in-Deo, where he formed a friendship with Alvaro, a rich young
noble of Cordova. As priest at St Zoilo his virtues made him every-
where beloved. He fell under the influence of Flora, the daughter
of a Christian mother and so a Christian from birth. Flora was a
bold and active champion of militant Christianity ; Eulogio made her
acquaintance when she escaped from prison and took refuge in the house
of a Christian, after she had been accused by her brother and condemned
by the cadi (ķādī) to the punishment of scourging; her personality along
with her adventures greatly affected the young priest.
The fanatical hatred of the Muslims was strengthened by the punish-
ment of the priest Perfecto, who was condemned for blasphemy and,
owing to the treachery of Nașr, executed on the feast after Ramadan
(18 April 850). He prophesied that Nașr would die within a year, and
so it came to pass. For Țarūb, who was eager to claim the succession
for her son Abdallāh to the exclusion of her step-son Mahomet, com-
promised Nașr in a plot to poison the Emir. To this end Nașr had the
poison prepared by the famous doctor Harrānī ; but the latter told a
woman of the harem, who warned 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. Thereupon Nasr was
ordered to drink the poison himself, and the mere fact of his death
sufficed to canonise Perfecto. One Isaac, a monk of Tabanos, appeared
before the cadi and blasphemed the Prophet, which led naturally to his
martyrdom on 3 June 851; he was followed by eleven martyrs in less than
a
1
## p. 417 (#463) ############################################
Mahomet I
417
twelve months. This new kind of rebellion alarmed the government,
which put out a decree forbidding Christians to seek martyrdom. A
Christian synod was summoned by order of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān II, who was
represented at it by his secretary or kātib, Gomez, who, while indifferent
to religion, was determined not to confound all Christians with fanatics.
The Council pronounced against the martyrs despite the opposition of
Saul, Bishop of Cordova, many members only assenting through fear of
imprisonment. Eulogio fought hard against its decrees, and on this
account was imprisoned with many others. In prison he again met
Flora, who was there with another nun, named Maria, and had been
threatened by the cadi with prostitution. Concealing his love (for such
might be termed his affection for Flora), Eulogio exhorted both of them
to face their martyrdom. Whilst in prison he worked feverishly at his
writings so as to forget his pain, until at length he came forth to
practise what he had preached to the two women.
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān died on 22 September 852, and despite Țarūb's
intrigues Mahomet I ascended the throne. A man of small intelligence,
cold-blooded and selfish, he was despised generally for his avarice. But
he was supported by the faķīhs, who aimed at making him devout and
inspired him with hatred of the Christians, whom he persecuted so
terribly that, if we are to believe Eulogio, almost all abjured their faith.
But the Emir's intolerance caused the Toledans to revolt; and they
advanced as far as Andújar. Reinforced here by an army that Ordoño I
of Leon had sent, the rebels gave battle at Guadacelete, but were terribly
defeated. Mahomet continued the persecution, while Eulogio and Alvaro
persisted in exhorting the people; though lukewarm in Cordova, the
Christians were extremely excitable in Toledo, and secured the nomina-
tion of Eulogio to the archbishopric in defiance of the refusal of the
Emir to give his consent. Mahomet made one last attack on the
Toledans and reduced them to submission. Eulogio was charged with
concealing an accused Christian, Leocricia, and suffered on 11 March 859.
With their death this type of enthusiasm gradually died out, and this
painful struggle came to an end.
To return to the Spanish side. After a struggle of twenty years Toledo
was placed under the protection of the king of Leon, and extorted a
treaty from the Emir who agreed to respect its republican institutions.
In Aragon the Beni-ķasi, an old Visigothic family, were lords of Sara-
gossa, Tudela, Huesca and the whole of the neighbouring frontier.
Throughout a reign of twenty years their chief, Mūsā II, who took the
title of Third King of Spain, held his own. In 862 the Emir captured
Saragossa and Tudela; but ten years later Mūsā's sons turned out his
garrisons. At this time Ibn Marwān founded an independent princi-
pality in Mérida and, later, in Badajoz. In 879 an insurrection broke
out in Regio under Omar ibn Hafşūn. After a mingled career of robbery
and warfare, he became from 884 the leader of the Spanish people in the
27
C. MED, H. VOL. III. CH. XVI,
## p. 418 (#464) ############################################
418
Muslim Civil Wars
south, where his good qualities won him general affection. Meanwhile
Mahomet was succeeded (886) by his son Mundhir (886-888), who, how-
ever, was poisoned by his brother ‘Abdallāh.
Abdallāh ascended the throne at a disastrous time. Besides the
revolts already begun, he had to deal with the attempts of the Arab
aristocracy to recover their independence. In Elvira (Granada), where
there were numerous renegades, the Spaniards, whether Muslims or Chris-
tians, were called and treated as a low rabble by the Arabs. The result
was a tremendous struggle between the two parties, who fought and
massacred each other for many months.
Meanwhile greater events were happening at Seville. There power
was divided between the Spanish party in the town, represented by the
Beni-Angelino, and the Arab party in the remoter country, led by the
Beni-Hajjāj and the Beni-Khaldūn. At the outset of 'Abdallāh's reign
the leader of the Khaldun was Ķuraib, a treacherous but able man and
a whole-hearted enemy of the monarchy. He formed a league to capture
Seville and plunder the Spaniards.
Under the guidance of Ķuraib the
Berbers of Mérida and Medellin made a terrible raid on Seville. The
most formidable of the bandits was a Bornos Berber of Carmona, who
was named Tamashecca. Mahomet ibn Ghālib, a gallant renegade from
Écija, offered to make the roads secure if he were allowed to build a
fortress near Siete Torres. He had begun his task when the Hajjāj and
the Khaldun attacked his castle. The Arabs promptly revolted, captured
Carmona, and so filled Seville with alarm. To satisfy them ‘Abdallāh
resolved
upon
the treacherous execution of Ibn Ghālib. As soon as the
renegades knew of the death of Ibn Ghālib, they rose to avenge him.
The prince Mahomet, then at Seville, begged for reinforcements from the
Beni-Angelino, who with some hesitation sent troops to hold the palace.
Every moment the situation became more desperate, and it was only
saved by the timely arrival of Jad, governor of Elvira. The Spanish
party in Seville were afterwards almost all put to the sword by the
Hajjāj and the Khaldūn. It was these tribes who reaped full advantage
from the position of affairs, and not the Emir, while Jad's successors were
constantly threatened and even placed under constraint.
Such was the position of affairs in Seville in 891. The rest of Muslim
Spain was quite as independent. The lords of Mentesa, Medina Sidonia,
Lorca and Saragossa only obeyed the Emir when it suited them. The
Berbers had reverted to a system of tribal government. The renegades,
however, maintained their position in Ocsonoba, in Beja and Mértola,
and in Priego. The nobles in the province of Jaen were all in alliance
with Omar ibn Hafşūn. Another independent chief, Daisam ibn Isḥāķ,
was lord of almost the whole of Todmir (Murcia).
But the Emir's most formidable enemy was still Omar Ibn Hafsūn.
Although the Emir made a truce, Ibn Hafşūn broke it whenever he
chose. When Ibn Mastana of Priego, however, formed an alliance with
## p. 419 (#465) ############################################
*Abdallāh; Ibn Hafçün
419
some Arabs, Ibn Hafşün took the side of the Emir. But as his sup-
porters wearied of so temporising a policy, he imprisoned the commander
of the Emir's army, and thus caused a complete rupture. Realising that
he was virtually master of Spain and imagining that the Arabs and
Berbers would refuse to yield him obedience, Omar entered into negotia-
tions for his appointment as emir by the Abbasid Caliph, and through
him came into touch with Ibn al-Aghlab, the emir of Africa. As Cordova
was now in desperate straits, and his own position even worse, the Emir
resolved to stake everything on a single cast, and with the approval
of all his supporters attacked the enemy. On Thursday in Holy Week,
16 April 891, the battle began near the castle of Polei (now Aguilar).
For the royalists the fortunes of the Umayyads were at stake and they
fought desperately. They routed Ibn Hafsūn, while 'Abdallāh sat in his
tent and hypocritically recited verses from the Koran expressing his whole
confidence in God. He then laid siege to Polei, and soon took it, par-
doning the Muslims but slaying the Christians.
The result of the battle of Polei was the surrender of Écija, Archi-
dona, Elvira and Jaen and the restoration of the Emir's authority ;
but their submission did not last long. In 892 Ibn Hafşūn captured
Archidona and Elvira; and to crown his success seized Jaen. In 893,
however, he lost Elvira again; in 895 the Emir advanced against Seville,
which Ķuraib ibn Khaldūn successfully defended. Ibn Hajjāj, who became
master of Seville, made his submission for a brief period and left his son
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān as a hostage in Cordova ; shortly after he formed an
alliance with Ibn Hafşün. Because he had become a Christian Omar had
been deserted by many of his Muslim subjects, and he therefore gladly
made a new confederacy with the Beni-ķasi of Saragossa and the king
of Leon. The Emir's position was deplorable, though he succeeded in
making peace with Ibn Hafsūn (901). In 902 he renewed the war, which
went against the allies. In hopes of detaching Ibn Hajjāj from the league
‘Abdallāh handed over to him his son ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān. Ibn Hajjāj was
grateful and was reconciled with the Emir. “Abdallāh advanced from
one victory to another. He captured Jaen, and seemed to have greatly
improved his position, when he died on 15 October 912.
When "Abd-ar-Raḥmān III, 'Abdallāh's grandson, ascended the
throne of the Umayyads, he found Muslim Spain rent by civil war and
menaced by two enemies from outside, the kingdom of Leon and the
Fātimite Caliphate in Africa. The latter had been founded by the
Ismaelites, who were one of the Shiite sects, and aimed at forcing their
way into Spain, through the preaching of the Mahdi or secret Imām,
with the object of establishing a universal monarchy. One of the
tools employed by the Fātimites seems to have been Ibn Masarra, a
philosopher at Cordova. But though he had made proselytes among
the common people, he had failed to obtain a following among the
faķīhs, and his books were burnt as heretical. The kingdom of Leon,
а
CH. XVI.
27-2
## p. 420 (#466) ############################################
420
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān III
although since Alfonso I it had made no real advance, now took advan-
tage of the revolts in the south to extend its frontier to the Douro and
to capture the strongholds of Zamora, Simancas, St Esteban de Gormaz
and Osma, which together formed an almost unbreakable barrier against
the Muslims. Leonese raids extended to the Tagus and even to the Gua-
diana. In 901 Aḥmad ibn Mu'āwiya proclaimed himself to the Berbers
as the Mahdi. They collected an army and advanced against Zamora,
which had been rebuilt by Alfonso III in 893. The Berber leaders,
however, were jealous of the power of the Mahdī, who had been vic-
torious in the first battle. They therefore deserted, with the result that
Aḥmad ibn Mu'awiya's army perished and he himself was put to death by
the Leonese. This victory, won with the help of Toledo and Sancho of
Navarre, gave great impetus to progress in the latter kingdom, which had
hitherto been chiefly engaged in combating the Franks. The courage
of the Leonese was now raised to such a pitch that they felt strong
enough to strike a blow at Muslim civilisation. The life-work of 'Abd-
ar-Raḥmān III was to defend that civilisation from the dangers that
threatened it on the north and south, but first of all he had to bring his
own subjects to obedience.
In dealing with the Spanish party and the Arab aristocracy, he
abandoned the tortuous policy of 'Abdallāh in favour of a bolder one
which soon won him success. In a few years everything had changed.
The chiefs who fought ‘Abdallāh were dead, and the aristocracy had no
leaders. The Spanish party had lost its first vigour and, although the
people were patriotic, they had grown tired of war. Omar, like the Emir,
began hiring mercenaries, and these troops were not too heroic, while the
lords of the castles were thoroughly demoralised. The struggle had really
lost its national character and was becoming a religious war. All these
things told in favour of the Emir, whom everyone regarded as the one
hope of safety. He vigorously opened the campaign. Within three
months he had captured Monteleon and reduced almost all the fortresses
of Jaen and Elvira. On the death of Ibrahim ibn Hajjāj, Aḥmad ibn
Maslama was appointed governor of Seville, and he formed an alliance
with Ibn Hafsün. But the Emir laid siege to Seville and defeated Ibn
Hafþūn's army, while Seville surrendered 20 December 913. In another
campaign against the mountain land of Regio (Málaga) (914) 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān treated the Christians equitably, and this policy was eminently
effective; for the commanders of almost all the castles surrendered. That
indomitable Spanish hero, Omar ibn Hafşūn, died in 917: he had in the
last thirty years often made the throne of the Umayyads totter, but he had
failed to secure the freedom of his country or to found a new dynasty ;
he was, however, spared the sight of his party's ruin. The revolt in
Regio lasted another ten years under the sons of Omar. At length in
927 the Emir laid siege to their stronghold, Bobastro, which surrendered
on 21 January 928. Ibn Hafşūn's daughter, Argentea, who was a religious
## p. 421 (#467) ############################################
The Caliphate of Cordova
421
in
devotee, died a martyr, and this was the end of the family. 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān III did not find so much difficulty in putting down the inde-
pendent Arab and Berber nobles. Ibn Marwān was reduced in 930, and
Toledo, the last stronghold of the revolt, followed suit in 932. Arabs,
Spaniards and Berbers all submitted to 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, who thus
achieved his object, the fusion of all the Muslim races in Spain and the
formation of a united nation.
In 914 Ordoño II, king of Leon, laid waste the district of Mérida
and captured the castle of Alanje. ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān III was eager
to punish him. In 918 Ordoño II with his ally Sancho of Navarre made
an attack on Nájera and Tudela. Sancho captured Valtierra, but ‘Abd-
ar-Raḥmān's army under the command of the ḥājib Badr twice defeated the
Leonese at Mutonia. In 920'Abd-ar-Raḥman took command of the army
person. By a clever move he seized Osma and then took other places.
Meanwhile Sancho had retired, but after a junction with Ordoño II
attacked 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, who found himself in a similar position to
Charlemagne's rear-guard at Roncesvalles. At Val de Junqueras the
Christians suffered a crushing defeat owing to the mistake they made in
accepting battle in the plain. 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān returned to Cordova
triumphant. But the Christians did not despair. In 923 Ordoño cap-
tured Nájera, while Sancho seized Viguera. But in 924 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān
replied by marching in triumph as far as Pampeluna. On the death of
Ordoño II, which occurred before this campaign, a civil war broke out
between his sons, Sancho and Alfonso IV, while Sancho of Navarre
was so far humbled that ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān had leisure to stamp out
the rebellion in the south. As he had now attained the height of
his ambition, he changed his title and henceforth from 16 January 929
he styled himself Caliph, Amīr al-mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful)
and An-Nāşir lidīn Allāh (Defender of the Faith).
In Africa he now began a more active policy, and the Maghrawa
Berbers, after he had driven the Fātimites out of the central part of North
Africa (Algiers and Oran), acknowledged his suzerainty. In 931 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān occupied Ceuta, the key to Mauretania.
In the north the civil war left Ramiro II king in the end (932).
This warlike monarch marched to the rescue of Toledo, which stood
alone in its resistance to the Caliph. He took Madrid on the way, but
failed to save Toledo which, as we have already mentioned, surrendered.
In 933 he defeated a Muslim army at Osma, but the following year
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān revenged himself by a terrible raid as far as Burgos.
Ramiro II formed an alliance with Mahomet ibn Hāshim at-Tujibi,
the disaffected governor of Saragossa.
In 937 the Caliph advanced against the allies, capturing some thirty
castles. He next turned his arms against Navarre and then against
Saragossa, which surrendered. Ibn Hāshim was pardoned owing to his
great popularity. Tota (Theuda), the Queen-regent of Navarre, recog-
CH. XVI.
## p. 422 (#468) ############################################
422
Rise of Castile
nised the Caliph as suzerain, so that with the exception of Leon and
part of Catalonia the whole of Spain had submitted to 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān III.
From 939 onwards the fortune of war turned somewhat against the
Caliph. Carrying out his policy of humbling the great nobles, he had
given all the highest civil and military posts to the slaves, who included
Galicians, Franks, Lombards, Calabrians, and captives from the coast
of the Black Sea ; he had increased their number and compelled the
Arab aristocracy to submit to them. In the campaign of 939, during
which Najda the slave was in command, the nobles had their revenge on
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. They allowed themselves to be beaten by Rainiro
and Tota at Simancas, and they also were responsible for a terrible
defeat at Alhandega, in which Najda was killed and ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān
himself narrowly escaped. Their victory did not profit the Christians,
however, since Castile, under its Count Fernan (Ferdinand) Gonzalez,
the hero of the medieval epic, took advantage of the Caliph's inactivity
to declare war on Ramiro II.
During this period Abu Yazīd of the Berber tribe of Iforen came
forward to oppose the Fātimites in Africa. He declared himself a
khārijā or nonconformist, and united all the Berbers. · He recognised
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān, to whom he gave military help, as the spiritual
suzerain of the dominions which he had wrested from the Fātimites.
But when Abu Yazid discarded his ascetic sackcloth for more splendid
silk, and fell out with the Sunnites (orthodox Muslims), he suffered
defeat from the Fātimite Caliph Manşūr, and the Fātimite dynasty re-
covered all the territory it had lost.
The civil war in the north among the Christians ended favourably
to Ramiro II. He took Fernan Gonzalez prisoner, and only set him
free on swearing fealty and obedience; and forced him further to give
up his county and to marry his daughter Urraca to Ordoño, Ramiro's
Ramiro thus lost the real loyalty of Castile, which henceforth
was opposed to León. Ramiro II died in 951 and a war of succession
broke out between his sons Ordoño III and Sancho, supported by the
Navarrese and his uncle Fernan Gonzalez, who preferred his nephew
to his son-in-law. Ordoño III, the final victor in the civil strife, sought
peace with the Muslims, and ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān was thus left free to
fight the Fātimites, whose power was increasing every day. In 955
the fourth Fātimite Caliph Mu'izz was planning an invasion of Spain
and sent a squadron to Almería, which set fire to all the vessels it en-
countered and plundered the coast. In 959 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān replied
by an expedition against Ifrīķiya (Tunis), but gained no advantage. To
leave himself free for Africa he had made peace with Ordoño III; but
owing to Ordoño's death in 957 and the accession of Sancho the Fat
the calm was broken.
Sancho, who attempted to crush the nobles and to restore the
.
son.
## p. 423 (#469) ############################################
Height of the Caliphate
423
absolute power of his predecessors, was deposed in 958, for reasons
which included excessive corpulence, through a conspiracy headed by
Fernan Gonzalez. Ordoño IV the Bad was elected king, while Sancho,
who was supported by his grandmother, the aged and ambitious Tota
of Navarre, sent ambassadors to ask the Caliph of Cordova for aid.
The ambassador, whom 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān sent to Navarre, was an excellent
Jewish physician who cured Sancho, while by his diplomatic ability he
brought to Cordova the rulers of Navarre. They were welcomed there
with a splendour that dazzled them. 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān had now at his
feet not only the haughty Tota whose valour had guided her armies to
victory, but also the son of his enemy, Ramiro II, the other victor of
Simancas and Alhandega. To induce the Caliph to renew his attack
on Leon, the unfortunate Sancho was obliged to hand over ten fortresses.
With the help of the Arabs Sancho, who no longer could claim the
name of Fat, took Zamora in 959 and Oviedo in 960. Afterwards
he invaded Castile and took Count Fernan prisoner, while Ordoño IV
fled to Burgos. At this point 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān fell ill and died on
16 October 961 at the age of seventy, after reigning for forty-nine years.
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān III was the greatest of the Umayyad princes. He
saved Andalusia not only from the civil wars but also from the possible
foreign domination in the north and south. He established order and
prosperity at home and imposed respect and consideration abroad.
He encouraged and developed agriculture, commerce, industry, art and
science; he beautified Cordova, so that it bore comparison with Bagdad,
and he built beside it the city of Az-Zahrā, called after his favourite
wife. Outside his realm he contested the command of the Mediterranean
with the Fātimites. The Eastern Emperor and the kings of Western
Europe opened up a diplomatic friendship with him? To quote the very
words of Dozy, our indispensable guide throughout, “But when his
glorious reign comes to be studied, it is the worker rather than the
work that rouses our admiration. Nothing escaped that powerful com-
prehensive intellect, and its grasp of the smallest details proved to be
as extraordinary as that of the loftiest conceptions. The sagacity
and cleverness of this man who by his centralising policy firmly es-
tablished the unity of the nation and the foundations of his own
authority, who by his system of alliances set up a kind of balance of
power, whose broad tolerance led him to summon to his council men of
different religions, these characteristics are typical of the modern monarch
rather than of the medieval caliph. "
His successor, Hakam II, was pacific, but when Sancho and Garcia of
Navarre failed to fulfil their treaties with his father and Fernan Gonzalez
1 It was 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's own ambassador at the Court of Otto the Great,
Recemund, Bishop of Elvira, who suggested to Liudprand the composition of his
history, the Antapodosis. This is a striking instance of the influence of the Caliphate
of Cordova on the culture of the West.
CH. XVI.
## p. 424 (#470) ############################################
424
Almanzor
began hostilities, he was forced to prepare for war. Meanwhile Ordoño
the Bad implored the Caliph to help him against his brother Sancho,
and had a splendid reception at Cordova. As soon as Sancho saw that
the Caliph's army was supporting Ordoño, he assured the Caliph that
he would fulfil his obligations. Hakam therefore broke his promise to
Ordoño, who soon died at Cordova. Sancho still refused to carry out
the treaty, whereupon Hakam declared war on the Christians, and com-
pelled Fernan Gonzalez, Garcia of Navarre and Sancho of Leon to sue
for peace; the Catalan counts, Borrel and Miron, followed their example
at the same time?
Hakam was content to leave the Christians to their internal strife.
A civil war broke out, during which Sancho died of poison towards
966: he was succeeded by Ramiro III, to whom his aunt, the nun Elvira,
was guardian. Under her the kingdom split into pieces. Fernan Gonzalez
died in 970, and thenceforth Hakam was able to devote himself to
literature, his favourite pursuit.
Under him one commanding personality fills the scene of the Cali-
phate. Mahomet ibn Abi-“Āmir, known to history as Almanzor, belonged
to the noble family of the Beni-Abi-Amir, and from earliest youth he
dreamt of becoming prime minister: natural ability and audacity in
action made his dream a reality. From a subordinate official of the cadi
of Cordova he rose at the age of twenty-six to administer the property
of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, the son of Hakam. By his courtesy and wit he won
the favour of the Sultana Aurora, became administrator of her property
and shortly after inspector of the mint, in which post he made many
friends. Other offices, all of them lucrative, were heaped upon him. He
lived in princely grandeur and he soon became popular.
The Fātimite danger had disappeared in 969 when Mu'izz moved
from Ifrīķiya to the new city of Cairo, but Hakam had still to fight the
Idrīsids in Morocco, and the war opened up a connexion with the African
princes and Berber tribes.
Shortly afterwards the Caliph fell ill, and on 1 October 976 he died.
Next day Hishām II took the oath, and his accession raised even higher
the power of Ibn Abi-Amir who was made vizier, while Muşħafī, the
ex-vizier, was appointed ḥājib or prime minister.
The Christians in the north had renewed hostilities at the time
of Hakam's illness. Ibn Abi--Amir undertook the command of an
army
and returned to Cordova laden with plunder. This triumph made
him still more popular in Cordova, and brought about a friendship
between him and the commanders of the army.
Soon came the inevitable struggle between the two ministers. On
25 March 978 Mushafī was deposed and imprisoned on a charge of
embezzlement. All his property was confiscated and after five years
of
the utmost destitution he was executed.
1 See for Catalonia supra, Chap. Iv. pp. 89-90.
## p. 425 (#471) ############################################
Almanzor's victories
425
he
>
Ibn Abi--Amir was appointed ḥājib. His relations with the
Sultana Aurora were much criticised in Cordova, and he had to face
faction and conspiracy. When his chief enemies, the faķāhs, asserted
that he was given over to philosophy, he ordered all the books on
that subject in the library of Hakam II to be burnt, and in this way
achieved a great reputation for orthodoxy. He had shut up the Caliph
in his newly-built palace of Zāhira, adjoining Cordova, and determined
to reform the army. But as he could not rely on the Arabs for this
task, he brought Berbers from Ceuta in Morocco, whom he loaded with
wealth, and unpatriotic Christians from Leon, Castile and Navarre,
drawn by high pay. At the same time he carried through the re-
organisation of the military system by abolishing the identity of tribes
and regiments. Then, to shew the superiority of the army he had
created, he turned his arms against the Leonese. He invaded Leon,
captured and sacked Zamora (981). Ramiro III of Leon was joined by
Garcia Fernandez, Count of Castile, but they were beaten at Rueda to
the east of Simancas. He then advanced against Leon, but although
he reached its gates in triumph, he failed to take the city. On his
return from this campaign he took the title of Al-manşūr billah, “ the
Victorious by the help of God” (whence his Spanish name of Almanzor
is derived), and had royal honours paid him. Owing to the disastrous
campaign of 981 the nobles of Leon proclaimed as their king Bermudo II,
a cousin of Ramiro III, who being besieged in Astorga sought the aid
of Almanzor, but died soon after. Bermudo also asked his help in
crushing the nobles, but after giving it Almanzor allowed the Muslim
troops to remain in the country. Thus Leon ended by becoming a tribu-
tary of Almanzor. He now advanced into Catalonia and took Barcelona
by storm on 1 July 985.
Almanzor's tyranny and cruelty at home, however, were making him
hated. To make good his position he resolved to enlarge the mosque
at great expense. He even worked like an ordinary labourer among
à crowd of Christian prisoners. Meanwhile Bermudo II drove out
a
of Leon the Muslim troops who had been left there ; but in 987
Almanzor in a terrible raid seized Coimbra and routed all who opposed
his march to Leon. He captured the city and only spared one tower to
shew posterity its grandeur. After he had also taken Zamora his
sovereignty was acknowledged by all the country, while Bermudo kept
only the districts near the sea.
Almanzor, already the real ruler, aimed at being even more. For
this design he had no fear of the Caliph, who was his prisoner, nor
of the army which yielded him blind obedience; but he feared the
nation, for whom unreasoning devotion to the dynasty was its very
life, and he also feared Aurora, whose affection for him had now turned
to hatred. She succeeded in inspiring Hishām II with a semblance of
will and energy. She sought the aid of Ziri ibn 'Atīya, the viceroy of
CH, XVI.
## p.
Toledo, Guadalajara, Tudela and Pampeluna, and the Christian frontier
included Asturias, Santander, parts of Burgos, Leon and Galicia. Be-
tween these two lines was an area continually in dispute.
Such was the state of Spain on the arrival of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān ibn
Muřāwiya. He had escaped from the general massacre of the Umayyads,
which had been ordered by the Abbasids, by swimming across the
Euphrates, and had seen from the opposite bank the slaughter of his
thirteen-year-old brother. His faithful freedmen Badr and sālim, who
had been in his sister's service, joined him in Palestine with money
and precious stones, and thence he passed to Africa, where he might
have lived in peaceful obscurity. But (according to Dozy)“ ambitious
dreams haunted without ceasing the mind of this youth of twenty.
Tall, vigorous and brave, he had been carefully educated and possessed
talents out of the common.
His instinct told him of his summons
to a glorious destiny," and the prophecies of his uncle Maslama con-
firmed his belief that he would be the saviour of the Umayyads. He
believed that he was destined to sit upon a throne. But where would
he find one? The East was lost ; there remained Spain and Africa.
In Africa the government was in the hands of Ibn Habīb, who had
refused to recognise the Abbasids and aimed at an independent king-
dom. Because of the prophecies favourable to ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān he
persecuted him : indeed he persecuted every member of the Umayyad
## p. 411 (#457) ############################################
‘Abd-ar-Rahmān I
411
a
dynasty, and had executed two sons of Caliph Walīd II for some in-
discreet remarks which he had overheard. “Wandering from tribe to
tribe and from town to town,” says Dozy, “Abd-ar-Raḥmān passed from
one end of Africa to the other. ” For some five years it is clear he had
never thought of Spain.
At length he turned his eyes towards Andalusia, of which his former
servant Sālim, who had been there, gave him some account. Badr went
over to Spain, to the clients of the Umayyads, of whom some few hundreds
were scattered among the Syrians of Damascus and Ķinnasrīn in Elvira
and Jaen; he bore a letter to them, in which `Abd-ar-Rahmān told his
plight and set forth his claim to the Emirate as grandson of the Caliph
Hishām. At the same time he asked their help and offered them im-
portant posts in the event of a victory. As soon as they had received
this letter, the chiefs of the Syrians of Damascus, 'Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn
Khālid, joined with Yusuf ibn Bukht, chief of the Syrians of Ķinnasrīn.
It was as much from a sense of their duty as vassals as from hope of office
and self-interest that they decided to forward the undertaking. But what
means had they at their disposal ? They resolved to consult Şumail the
ķaisite, a hero of the civil wars. He put off giving an answer in a matter
of such importance, but entertained Badr and the other Umayyads.
Afterwards he left for Cordova, where the Emir Yusuf was collecting
forces to punish the Yemenites and Berbers who had revolted at Sara-
gossa. Yusuf bought the help of the Umayyads for the campaign.
When Yusuf crossed the Guadalquivir, ‘Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn Khalid
appeared before him and begged they might first be allowed to get in their
crops and then they would join him at Toledo-a request which was
granted. Thereupon they urged 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's cause on Şumail,
who had just risen from one of his frequent orgies; he was out of temper
with Yusuf and gave way to their demands, and so the Umayyads started
on their homeward journey well satisfied. However, as soon as Sumail
reflected that it would end in the extinction of the independence of the
tribal chiefs and of his own authority, he sent messengers to overtake the
Umayyads, and informing them that he could not support their master,
advised them not to attempt any change of government.
Seeing that all hope was lost of forming an alliance with ķaisites,
the Umayyads threw themselves into the arms of the Yemenites, who
were burning to shake off the yoke of the Kaisites. The answer to their
call surpassed their expectations. As soon as the subject Umayyads felt
sure of the support of the Yemenites and could count on Yusuf and
Şumail being engaged in the north, they sent to Tammām in Africa
money for the Berbers, who had refused to allow 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān to
leave them till a ransom was paid. Then `Abd-ar-Raḥmān left for Spain
and reached Almuñecar in September 755. There ‘Ubaid-Allāh and
Ibn Khālid awaited him, and put him in possession of the castle of Torrox
between Iznajar and Loja.
-a
-
CH, XVI.
## p. 412 (#458) ############################################
412
The Umayyad Emirate
a
The receipt of this news made a deep impression on Yusuf. He
had caused distrust by executing three rebel Ķuraishite chiefs at the
instance of Şumail, and his resolution to attack the pretender imme-
diately caused the desertion of almost the whole of his army, which was
reluctant to undertake a fresh campaign in the depth of winter and in
the mountainous district of Regio (Málaga). Yusuf therefore opened
negotiations with 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. His envoys had an interview with
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān, whom they found surrounded by his little court, in
which ‘Ubaid-Allāh held the first place; and they offered him on Yusuf's
behalf a safe refuge in Cordova, the hand of Yūsuf's daughter as well as
a large dowry and the lands of Caliph Hishām. They shewed him as
evidence of good faith a letter from Yûsuf and promised him magnificent
presents, left cautiously behind. These terms seemed satisfactory to the
Umayyads; ‘Ubaid-Allāh was on the point of answering Yusuf's letter,
when the envoy Khālid, a renegade Spaniard, insolently told him that he
was incapable of writing a letter like his; “Ubaid-Allāh's Arab pride was
wounded by the Spaniard's reproach, and he gave orders for his arrest.
The negotiations were broken off.
As soon as winter was over ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān advanced to Archidona,
where the ķaisite governor, Jidār, proclaimed him Emir, and entered
Seville about the middle of March 756. He then marched out towards
Cordova along the left bank of the Guadalquivir, while Yusuf advanced
to Seville along the right bank? On sighting one another the two armies
continued their march towards Cordova, still separated by the river. As
soon as they reached Mosara, 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān resolved to give battle.
By a cunning move he managed to cross the river without any opposi-
tion from Yusuf, a manoeuvre which gave him provisions for his troops.
On Friday, 14 May, a sacrificial feast, being the day of the battle of
Marj Rāhit, which had given the crown to the Umayyads of the East,
the combat opened. The cavalry of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān routed the right wing
and centre of the army commanded by Yusuf and Sumail, who each saw
the death of his own son. The left wing alone sustained the attack all
day until all the notable ķaisites had fallen, including their chief
‘Ubaid. The victors began to pillage ; but ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān forbade
it and shewed magnanimity in his treatment of Yūsuf's wife and sons.
The Yemenites were offended by his generous behaviour, and formed
a plot to kill him. However, he discovered the conspiracy, and no
opposition was made to his offering as Imām the Friday prayers in
the principal mosque of Cordova. Negotiations were begun, and finally
Yūsuf recognised ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān as Emir of Spain in July 756. It was
&
1 It was at Colombera or Villanueva de Brenes that the leaders noticed 'Abd-
ar-Raḥmān had no banner. Accordingly Abū-ş-Şabbāḥ, a Sevillan chief, placed
his turban on the point of his lance and thus unfurled what became later the
standard of the Umayyads in Spain.
2 See Vol. 11. p. 360.
## p. 413 (#459) ############################################
Consolidation of the Emirate
413
.
not long before Yusuf was slain in battle, and one morning Şumail him-
self was found dead, strangled by order of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān.
In spite of his growing power ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān had to suppress
other revolts, of which the most formidable was that of the Yemenites.
In 764 Toledo made its submission. Its chiefs had to pass through
Cordova clad in sackcloth, with their heads shaved and mounted on
donkeys. But the Yemenites continued restless.
Shortly after 764 the Berbers, who had hitherto kept quiet, rose in
arms, headed by a schoolmaster named Shakyā, half fanatic and half
impostor, who gave himself out to be a descendant of Ali and Fātima.
After six years of warfare 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān succeeded in sowing discord
among them. He advanced against the rebels, who retreated northwards.
Meanwhile the Yemenites and the Berbers of the East advanced towards
Cordova. On the banks of the river Bembezar the Yemenites were
treacherously left to their fate by the Berbers, and 30,000 perished at
the hands of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's soldiers. The Berbers of the centre
were only subdued after ten years' fighting, when Shakyā was murdered
by one of his adherents.
In 777 Afrābī the Kalbite, governor of Barcelona, formed a league
against 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān and sent to Charlemagne for help. Charles,
who reckoned on the complete pacification of the Saxons, crossed the
Pyrenees with an army. Afrābi was to support him north of the Ebro,
where his sovereignty was to be recognised, while the African Berbers
were to help in Murcia by raising the standard of the Abbasid Caliph,
Charles's ally. But this coalition failed. Just as Charlemagne had begun
the siege of Saragossa he was called home by the news that Widukind
had re-entered Saxony and pushed on to Cologne. On his return to
Francia through Roncesvalles the rear-guard of his army was attacked
and annihilated by the Basques. There the famous Roland, who was
afterwards immortalised in the medieval epic, met his death. ‘Abd-ar-
Raḥmān reaped the benefit of these successes, which were due to his rebel
subjects at Saragossa, to the Basques and to a Saxon prince who did not
even know of his existence. He advanced and took possession of Sara-
gossa ; he attacked the Basques, and forced the Count of Cerdagne to
become his tributary.
These feats were the admiration of the world and evoked from
the Abbasid Caliph Manşūr the following speech concerning ‘Abd-ar-
Raḥmān : “ Although he had no other support to rely on but his
. statesmanship and perseverance, he succeeded in humbling his haughty
opponents, in killing off all insurgents, and in securing his frontier
against the attacks of the Christians. He founded a mighty empire,
and united under his sceptre extensive dominions which had hitherto
been divided among a number of different chiefs. ” This judgment is an
exact description of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's life-work.
Detested by the Arab and Berber chiefs, deserted by his followers
# CH. XVI.
## p. 414 (#460) ############################################
414
Muslim factions
and betrayed by his own family, he summoned mercenary troops to his
aid. Though his policy, which was both daring and treacherous, might
alienate his people's affection, yet it was invariably clever and adapted
to his circumstances. The very means which he used, violence and
tyranny, were the same as those by which the kings of the fifteenth
century were victorious in their struggle against feudalism. He had
already traced the outlines of the military despotism, which his suc-
cessors were to fill in.
His successor Hishām I (788–796) was a model of virtue. In his reign
the sect of Mālik ibn Anas was started in the East, and the Emir, who
had been commended by Mālik, did his utmost to spread its doctrines,
choosing from its members both judges and ecclesiastics. When Hishām
died the sect, to which most of the faķīhs (professional theologians)
belonged, was already powerful. It was headed in Spain by a clever
young Berber, Yahyā ibn Yaḥyā, who had ambition, enterprise and
experience, along with the impetuosity of a demagogue.
Although the next Emir, Hakam, was by no means irreligious, his easy
disposition, his love of the chase and of wine, brought on him the hatred
of the faķīhs, which was intensified by his refusing them the influence they
desired. They were not sparing in their attacks upon him and used as
their tools the renegados, who were called muladies (muwallad or the
adopted). The position of these renegades was uneasy ; in religion they
were subject to Muslim law, which punished apostasy with death and
counted any one born a Muslim to be a Muslim. Socially they were
reckoned as slaves and excluded from any share in the government. Never-
theless they were able to help the faķāhs in bringing about a revo-
lution.
The first rising took place in 805, but was put down by the Emir's
bodyguard. Then other conspirators offered the throne to Ibn Shammās,
the Emir's cousin, but he revealed the plot, and sixty-two of the conspira-
tors were put to death, while two of them fled to Toledo. When Hakam
was reducing Mérida (806), the inhabitants of Cordova rose a second
time, but he successfully crushed the revolt, beheading or crucifying the
leaders. Hakam now shewed himself even more cruel and treacherous
than before. His cruelty at Cordova was followed by a massacre at
Toledo.
The Toledans were a people difficult to govern, and under the
headship of the poet Gharbīb, a renegade by birth, they had already
caused alarm to the Emir. On the death of Gharbib he appointed as.
governor an ambitious renegade from Huesca, 'Amrūs, a man subtle and
dishonest, but a mere puppet in the hands of his master. He cleverly
won over the Toledans, and was able to build a castle in the middle
of the city, where the Emir's troops were quartered. An army under
the prince 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān arrived, and the leading Toledans were
invited to a banquet at the castle. Bidding them enter one by one,
## p. 415 (#461) ############################################
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān II
415
he had their heads cut off in the courtyard of the castle and Aung
into a ditch. It is impossible to fix the number of those slain on this
“day of the ditch,” and estimates vary between 700 and 5000.
The impression made by this slaughter kept the people of Cordova
quiet for seven years. Moreover, the Emir strengthened his bodyguard
with slaves known as “mutes," because they spoke no Arabic. Never-
theless discontent steadily grew among the students and theologians in
the quarter of Arrabal del Sur. At length a formidable revolution
broke out. In the month of Ramadan (May 814) a soldier killed a
polisher who refused to clean his sword, and this act was made the
pretext for the revolt. A huge mob marched in spite of cavalry
charges to the Emir's palace. But Hakam with the utmost calm-
ness ordered the execution of some imprisoned fakīhs ; then after this
sacrilege a body of his troops set fire to Arrabal del Sur. The rebels,
as he expected, rushed to the help of their families and, attacked on
every side, suffered fearful slaughter at the hands of the terrible mutes.
Thereupon Hakam ordered the expulsion within three days under pain
of crucifixion of all the inhabitants of Arrabal del Sur. On reach-
ing the Mediterranean, one body consisting of 15,000 families went to
the East, and there after a struggle with the Bedouins seized Alexandria
and soon founded an independent kingdom under Abū Hafs Omar
al-Balluţi. Another body of 8000 families settled at Fez in Morocco.
Hakam now issued an amnesty to the faķihs and allowed them to
settle anywhere in Spain, except Cordova and its neighbourhood. Yahyā
even managed to secure his sovereign's favour.
Hakam, relentless towards the Toledans and the artisans of Arrabal
del Sur, shewed towards the Arabs and Berbers who were of his own
race a clemency attributed by Arab historians to remorseful conscience.
Some of his verses suggest that he followed the example of 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān: “ Just as a tailor uses his needle to join different pieces of
cloth, so I use my sword to unite my separate provinces. ” He maintained
the throne of the Umayyads by a military despotism.
At Cordova his son and successor, 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān II (822-852), set
a high standard of magnificence. A lover of poetry, mild even to weak-
ness, he let himself be guided by a fakīh, a musician, a woman and an
eunuch. The faķīh was Yahyā, the leader of the Arrabal rebellion ;
he now dominated the Emir, who had given into his hands his own
ecclesiastical and judicial functions. The musician was the singer Ziryāb
of Bagdad, the pupil of Hārūn ar-Rashid's famous singer, Isḥāſ
of Mosul, and out of jealousy compelled by him to leave the East. On
his arrival in Spain, where ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān II had just ascended the
throne, he soon gained the friendship of the sovereign, thanks to his
voice, his wit and his wide knowledge of history, poetry, science and art.
He became the king of fashion in Cordova as well as the model of good
taste, but he did not meddle in politics ; they were the province of the
CH. XVI.
## p. 416 (#462) ############################################
416
Christians and Muslims
Sultana Țarūb, bound to one much like herself, the cruel and treacherous
eunuch Nașr. The son of a Spaniard, Nașr could speak no Arabic and
hated the Christians with the rancour of an apostate. While they governed,
the monarch devoted himself to beautifying his capital, which from his
time becomes a centre of art and of science for Western Europe.
The country was disturbed: there was the seven years' war between
the Ma'addites and Yemenites in Murcia ; there were constant risings
of Christians in Mérida; a rebellion, with all the characteristics of a
real germanía (the later Hermandad, brotherhood), broke out in Toledo,
lasting until the city was taken by storm in 837. Then came a new
danger: in 844 the Northmen, who were called the Majūs by the Arabs,
appeared off the coast of Spain. They made a descent on the coast of
Galicia and, being repulsed, moved on to Lisbon, Cadiz and up to Seville,
but the Emir’s troops defeated them and drove them back across the
Guadalquivir. In 858 or 859 they returned and sacked Algeciras, carrying
their raids along the east coast as far as the Rhone. But they left the
coast of Spain as soon as the Muslims began building vessels of the same
type as theirs.
But the most formidable difficulty of all came from the Christians :
the life of bandits or guerrilla warriors was now impossible for them, and
in the cities the path of martyrdom lay plain before them. They were
headed by Eulogio and Alvaro. Eulogio belonged to a Cordovan family
who detested the Muslims, and was educated at the school of Abbot
Spera-in-Deo, where he formed a friendship with Alvaro, a rich young
noble of Cordova. As priest at St Zoilo his virtues made him every-
where beloved. He fell under the influence of Flora, the daughter
of a Christian mother and so a Christian from birth. Flora was a
bold and active champion of militant Christianity ; Eulogio made her
acquaintance when she escaped from prison and took refuge in the house
of a Christian, after she had been accused by her brother and condemned
by the cadi (ķādī) to the punishment of scourging; her personality along
with her adventures greatly affected the young priest.
The fanatical hatred of the Muslims was strengthened by the punish-
ment of the priest Perfecto, who was condemned for blasphemy and,
owing to the treachery of Nașr, executed on the feast after Ramadan
(18 April 850). He prophesied that Nașr would die within a year, and
so it came to pass. For Țarūb, who was eager to claim the succession
for her son Abdallāh to the exclusion of her step-son Mahomet, com-
promised Nașr in a plot to poison the Emir. To this end Nașr had the
poison prepared by the famous doctor Harrānī ; but the latter told a
woman of the harem, who warned 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. Thereupon Nasr was
ordered to drink the poison himself, and the mere fact of his death
sufficed to canonise Perfecto. One Isaac, a monk of Tabanos, appeared
before the cadi and blasphemed the Prophet, which led naturally to his
martyrdom on 3 June 851; he was followed by eleven martyrs in less than
a
1
## p. 417 (#463) ############################################
Mahomet I
417
twelve months. This new kind of rebellion alarmed the government,
which put out a decree forbidding Christians to seek martyrdom. A
Christian synod was summoned by order of ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān II, who was
represented at it by his secretary or kātib, Gomez, who, while indifferent
to religion, was determined not to confound all Christians with fanatics.
The Council pronounced against the martyrs despite the opposition of
Saul, Bishop of Cordova, many members only assenting through fear of
imprisonment. Eulogio fought hard against its decrees, and on this
account was imprisoned with many others. In prison he again met
Flora, who was there with another nun, named Maria, and had been
threatened by the cadi with prostitution. Concealing his love (for such
might be termed his affection for Flora), Eulogio exhorted both of them
to face their martyrdom. Whilst in prison he worked feverishly at his
writings so as to forget his pain, until at length he came forth to
practise what he had preached to the two women.
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān died on 22 September 852, and despite Țarūb's
intrigues Mahomet I ascended the throne. A man of small intelligence,
cold-blooded and selfish, he was despised generally for his avarice. But
he was supported by the faķīhs, who aimed at making him devout and
inspired him with hatred of the Christians, whom he persecuted so
terribly that, if we are to believe Eulogio, almost all abjured their faith.
But the Emir's intolerance caused the Toledans to revolt; and they
advanced as far as Andújar. Reinforced here by an army that Ordoño I
of Leon had sent, the rebels gave battle at Guadacelete, but were terribly
defeated. Mahomet continued the persecution, while Eulogio and Alvaro
persisted in exhorting the people; though lukewarm in Cordova, the
Christians were extremely excitable in Toledo, and secured the nomina-
tion of Eulogio to the archbishopric in defiance of the refusal of the
Emir to give his consent. Mahomet made one last attack on the
Toledans and reduced them to submission. Eulogio was charged with
concealing an accused Christian, Leocricia, and suffered on 11 March 859.
With their death this type of enthusiasm gradually died out, and this
painful struggle came to an end.
To return to the Spanish side. After a struggle of twenty years Toledo
was placed under the protection of the king of Leon, and extorted a
treaty from the Emir who agreed to respect its republican institutions.
In Aragon the Beni-ķasi, an old Visigothic family, were lords of Sara-
gossa, Tudela, Huesca and the whole of the neighbouring frontier.
Throughout a reign of twenty years their chief, Mūsā II, who took the
title of Third King of Spain, held his own. In 862 the Emir captured
Saragossa and Tudela; but ten years later Mūsā's sons turned out his
garrisons. At this time Ibn Marwān founded an independent princi-
pality in Mérida and, later, in Badajoz. In 879 an insurrection broke
out in Regio under Omar ibn Hafşūn. After a mingled career of robbery
and warfare, he became from 884 the leader of the Spanish people in the
27
C. MED, H. VOL. III. CH. XVI,
## p. 418 (#464) ############################################
418
Muslim Civil Wars
south, where his good qualities won him general affection. Meanwhile
Mahomet was succeeded (886) by his son Mundhir (886-888), who, how-
ever, was poisoned by his brother ‘Abdallāh.
Abdallāh ascended the throne at a disastrous time. Besides the
revolts already begun, he had to deal with the attempts of the Arab
aristocracy to recover their independence. In Elvira (Granada), where
there were numerous renegades, the Spaniards, whether Muslims or Chris-
tians, were called and treated as a low rabble by the Arabs. The result
was a tremendous struggle between the two parties, who fought and
massacred each other for many months.
Meanwhile greater events were happening at Seville. There power
was divided between the Spanish party in the town, represented by the
Beni-Angelino, and the Arab party in the remoter country, led by the
Beni-Hajjāj and the Beni-Khaldūn. At the outset of 'Abdallāh's reign
the leader of the Khaldun was Ķuraib, a treacherous but able man and
a whole-hearted enemy of the monarchy. He formed a league to capture
Seville and plunder the Spaniards.
Under the guidance of Ķuraib the
Berbers of Mérida and Medellin made a terrible raid on Seville. The
most formidable of the bandits was a Bornos Berber of Carmona, who
was named Tamashecca. Mahomet ibn Ghālib, a gallant renegade from
Écija, offered to make the roads secure if he were allowed to build a
fortress near Siete Torres. He had begun his task when the Hajjāj and
the Khaldun attacked his castle. The Arabs promptly revolted, captured
Carmona, and so filled Seville with alarm. To satisfy them ‘Abdallāh
resolved
upon
the treacherous execution of Ibn Ghālib. As soon as the
renegades knew of the death of Ibn Ghālib, they rose to avenge him.
The prince Mahomet, then at Seville, begged for reinforcements from the
Beni-Angelino, who with some hesitation sent troops to hold the palace.
Every moment the situation became more desperate, and it was only
saved by the timely arrival of Jad, governor of Elvira. The Spanish
party in Seville were afterwards almost all put to the sword by the
Hajjāj and the Khaldūn. It was these tribes who reaped full advantage
from the position of affairs, and not the Emir, while Jad's successors were
constantly threatened and even placed under constraint.
Such was the position of affairs in Seville in 891. The rest of Muslim
Spain was quite as independent. The lords of Mentesa, Medina Sidonia,
Lorca and Saragossa only obeyed the Emir when it suited them. The
Berbers had reverted to a system of tribal government. The renegades,
however, maintained their position in Ocsonoba, in Beja and Mértola,
and in Priego. The nobles in the province of Jaen were all in alliance
with Omar ibn Hafşūn. Another independent chief, Daisam ibn Isḥāķ,
was lord of almost the whole of Todmir (Murcia).
But the Emir's most formidable enemy was still Omar Ibn Hafsūn.
Although the Emir made a truce, Ibn Hafşūn broke it whenever he
chose. When Ibn Mastana of Priego, however, formed an alliance with
## p. 419 (#465) ############################################
*Abdallāh; Ibn Hafçün
419
some Arabs, Ibn Hafşün took the side of the Emir. But as his sup-
porters wearied of so temporising a policy, he imprisoned the commander
of the Emir's army, and thus caused a complete rupture. Realising that
he was virtually master of Spain and imagining that the Arabs and
Berbers would refuse to yield him obedience, Omar entered into negotia-
tions for his appointment as emir by the Abbasid Caliph, and through
him came into touch with Ibn al-Aghlab, the emir of Africa. As Cordova
was now in desperate straits, and his own position even worse, the Emir
resolved to stake everything on a single cast, and with the approval
of all his supporters attacked the enemy. On Thursday in Holy Week,
16 April 891, the battle began near the castle of Polei (now Aguilar).
For the royalists the fortunes of the Umayyads were at stake and they
fought desperately. They routed Ibn Hafsūn, while 'Abdallāh sat in his
tent and hypocritically recited verses from the Koran expressing his whole
confidence in God. He then laid siege to Polei, and soon took it, par-
doning the Muslims but slaying the Christians.
The result of the battle of Polei was the surrender of Écija, Archi-
dona, Elvira and Jaen and the restoration of the Emir's authority ;
but their submission did not last long. In 892 Ibn Hafşūn captured
Archidona and Elvira; and to crown his success seized Jaen. In 893,
however, he lost Elvira again; in 895 the Emir advanced against Seville,
which Ķuraib ibn Khaldūn successfully defended. Ibn Hajjāj, who became
master of Seville, made his submission for a brief period and left his son
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān as a hostage in Cordova ; shortly after he formed an
alliance with Ibn Hafşün. Because he had become a Christian Omar had
been deserted by many of his Muslim subjects, and he therefore gladly
made a new confederacy with the Beni-ķasi of Saragossa and the king
of Leon. The Emir's position was deplorable, though he succeeded in
making peace with Ibn Hafsūn (901). In 902 he renewed the war, which
went against the allies. In hopes of detaching Ibn Hajjāj from the league
‘Abdallāh handed over to him his son ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān. Ibn Hajjāj was
grateful and was reconciled with the Emir. “Abdallāh advanced from
one victory to another. He captured Jaen, and seemed to have greatly
improved his position, when he died on 15 October 912.
When "Abd-ar-Raḥmān III, 'Abdallāh's grandson, ascended the
throne of the Umayyads, he found Muslim Spain rent by civil war and
menaced by two enemies from outside, the kingdom of Leon and the
Fātimite Caliphate in Africa. The latter had been founded by the
Ismaelites, who were one of the Shiite sects, and aimed at forcing their
way into Spain, through the preaching of the Mahdi or secret Imām,
with the object of establishing a universal monarchy. One of the
tools employed by the Fātimites seems to have been Ibn Masarra, a
philosopher at Cordova. But though he had made proselytes among
the common people, he had failed to obtain a following among the
faķīhs, and his books were burnt as heretical. The kingdom of Leon,
а
CH. XVI.
27-2
## p. 420 (#466) ############################################
420
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān III
although since Alfonso I it had made no real advance, now took advan-
tage of the revolts in the south to extend its frontier to the Douro and
to capture the strongholds of Zamora, Simancas, St Esteban de Gormaz
and Osma, which together formed an almost unbreakable barrier against
the Muslims. Leonese raids extended to the Tagus and even to the Gua-
diana. In 901 Aḥmad ibn Mu'āwiya proclaimed himself to the Berbers
as the Mahdi. They collected an army and advanced against Zamora,
which had been rebuilt by Alfonso III in 893. The Berber leaders,
however, were jealous of the power of the Mahdī, who had been vic-
torious in the first battle. They therefore deserted, with the result that
Aḥmad ibn Mu'awiya's army perished and he himself was put to death by
the Leonese. This victory, won with the help of Toledo and Sancho of
Navarre, gave great impetus to progress in the latter kingdom, which had
hitherto been chiefly engaged in combating the Franks. The courage
of the Leonese was now raised to such a pitch that they felt strong
enough to strike a blow at Muslim civilisation. The life-work of 'Abd-
ar-Raḥmān III was to defend that civilisation from the dangers that
threatened it on the north and south, but first of all he had to bring his
own subjects to obedience.
In dealing with the Spanish party and the Arab aristocracy, he
abandoned the tortuous policy of 'Abdallāh in favour of a bolder one
which soon won him success. In a few years everything had changed.
The chiefs who fought ‘Abdallāh were dead, and the aristocracy had no
leaders. The Spanish party had lost its first vigour and, although the
people were patriotic, they had grown tired of war. Omar, like the Emir,
began hiring mercenaries, and these troops were not too heroic, while the
lords of the castles were thoroughly demoralised. The struggle had really
lost its national character and was becoming a religious war. All these
things told in favour of the Emir, whom everyone regarded as the one
hope of safety. He vigorously opened the campaign. Within three
months he had captured Monteleon and reduced almost all the fortresses
of Jaen and Elvira. On the death of Ibrahim ibn Hajjāj, Aḥmad ibn
Maslama was appointed governor of Seville, and he formed an alliance
with Ibn Hafsün. But the Emir laid siege to Seville and defeated Ibn
Hafþūn's army, while Seville surrendered 20 December 913. In another
campaign against the mountain land of Regio (Málaga) (914) 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān treated the Christians equitably, and this policy was eminently
effective; for the commanders of almost all the castles surrendered. That
indomitable Spanish hero, Omar ibn Hafşūn, died in 917: he had in the
last thirty years often made the throne of the Umayyads totter, but he had
failed to secure the freedom of his country or to found a new dynasty ;
he was, however, spared the sight of his party's ruin. The revolt in
Regio lasted another ten years under the sons of Omar. At length in
927 the Emir laid siege to their stronghold, Bobastro, which surrendered
on 21 January 928. Ibn Hafşūn's daughter, Argentea, who was a religious
## p. 421 (#467) ############################################
The Caliphate of Cordova
421
in
devotee, died a martyr, and this was the end of the family. 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān III did not find so much difficulty in putting down the inde-
pendent Arab and Berber nobles. Ibn Marwān was reduced in 930, and
Toledo, the last stronghold of the revolt, followed suit in 932. Arabs,
Spaniards and Berbers all submitted to 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, who thus
achieved his object, the fusion of all the Muslim races in Spain and the
formation of a united nation.
In 914 Ordoño II, king of Leon, laid waste the district of Mérida
and captured the castle of Alanje. ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān III was eager
to punish him. In 918 Ordoño II with his ally Sancho of Navarre made
an attack on Nájera and Tudela. Sancho captured Valtierra, but ‘Abd-
ar-Raḥmān's army under the command of the ḥājib Badr twice defeated the
Leonese at Mutonia. In 920'Abd-ar-Raḥman took command of the army
person. By a clever move he seized Osma and then took other places.
Meanwhile Sancho had retired, but after a junction with Ordoño II
attacked 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, who found himself in a similar position to
Charlemagne's rear-guard at Roncesvalles. At Val de Junqueras the
Christians suffered a crushing defeat owing to the mistake they made in
accepting battle in the plain. 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān returned to Cordova
triumphant. But the Christians did not despair. In 923 Ordoño cap-
tured Nájera, while Sancho seized Viguera. But in 924 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān
replied by marching in triumph as far as Pampeluna. On the death of
Ordoño II, which occurred before this campaign, a civil war broke out
between his sons, Sancho and Alfonso IV, while Sancho of Navarre
was so far humbled that ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān had leisure to stamp out
the rebellion in the south. As he had now attained the height of
his ambition, he changed his title and henceforth from 16 January 929
he styled himself Caliph, Amīr al-mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful)
and An-Nāşir lidīn Allāh (Defender of the Faith).
In Africa he now began a more active policy, and the Maghrawa
Berbers, after he had driven the Fātimites out of the central part of North
Africa (Algiers and Oran), acknowledged his suzerainty. In 931 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān occupied Ceuta, the key to Mauretania.
In the north the civil war left Ramiro II king in the end (932).
This warlike monarch marched to the rescue of Toledo, which stood
alone in its resistance to the Caliph. He took Madrid on the way, but
failed to save Toledo which, as we have already mentioned, surrendered.
In 933 he defeated a Muslim army at Osma, but the following year
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān revenged himself by a terrible raid as far as Burgos.
Ramiro II formed an alliance with Mahomet ibn Hāshim at-Tujibi,
the disaffected governor of Saragossa.
In 937 the Caliph advanced against the allies, capturing some thirty
castles. He next turned his arms against Navarre and then against
Saragossa, which surrendered. Ibn Hāshim was pardoned owing to his
great popularity. Tota (Theuda), the Queen-regent of Navarre, recog-
CH. XVI.
## p. 422 (#468) ############################################
422
Rise of Castile
nised the Caliph as suzerain, so that with the exception of Leon and
part of Catalonia the whole of Spain had submitted to 'Abd-ar-
Raḥmān III.
From 939 onwards the fortune of war turned somewhat against the
Caliph. Carrying out his policy of humbling the great nobles, he had
given all the highest civil and military posts to the slaves, who included
Galicians, Franks, Lombards, Calabrians, and captives from the coast
of the Black Sea ; he had increased their number and compelled the
Arab aristocracy to submit to them. In the campaign of 939, during
which Najda the slave was in command, the nobles had their revenge on
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān. They allowed themselves to be beaten by Rainiro
and Tota at Simancas, and they also were responsible for a terrible
defeat at Alhandega, in which Najda was killed and ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān
himself narrowly escaped. Their victory did not profit the Christians,
however, since Castile, under its Count Fernan (Ferdinand) Gonzalez,
the hero of the medieval epic, took advantage of the Caliph's inactivity
to declare war on Ramiro II.
During this period Abu Yazīd of the Berber tribe of Iforen came
forward to oppose the Fātimites in Africa. He declared himself a
khārijā or nonconformist, and united all the Berbers. · He recognised
‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān, to whom he gave military help, as the spiritual
suzerain of the dominions which he had wrested from the Fātimites.
But when Abu Yazid discarded his ascetic sackcloth for more splendid
silk, and fell out with the Sunnites (orthodox Muslims), he suffered
defeat from the Fātimite Caliph Manşūr, and the Fātimite dynasty re-
covered all the territory it had lost.
The civil war in the north among the Christians ended favourably
to Ramiro II. He took Fernan Gonzalez prisoner, and only set him
free on swearing fealty and obedience; and forced him further to give
up his county and to marry his daughter Urraca to Ordoño, Ramiro's
Ramiro thus lost the real loyalty of Castile, which henceforth
was opposed to León. Ramiro II died in 951 and a war of succession
broke out between his sons Ordoño III and Sancho, supported by the
Navarrese and his uncle Fernan Gonzalez, who preferred his nephew
to his son-in-law. Ordoño III, the final victor in the civil strife, sought
peace with the Muslims, and ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmān was thus left free to
fight the Fātimites, whose power was increasing every day. In 955
the fourth Fātimite Caliph Mu'izz was planning an invasion of Spain
and sent a squadron to Almería, which set fire to all the vessels it en-
countered and plundered the coast. In 959 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān replied
by an expedition against Ifrīķiya (Tunis), but gained no advantage. To
leave himself free for Africa he had made peace with Ordoño III; but
owing to Ordoño's death in 957 and the accession of Sancho the Fat
the calm was broken.
Sancho, who attempted to crush the nobles and to restore the
.
son.
## p. 423 (#469) ############################################
Height of the Caliphate
423
absolute power of his predecessors, was deposed in 958, for reasons
which included excessive corpulence, through a conspiracy headed by
Fernan Gonzalez. Ordoño IV the Bad was elected king, while Sancho,
who was supported by his grandmother, the aged and ambitious Tota
of Navarre, sent ambassadors to ask the Caliph of Cordova for aid.
The ambassador, whom 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān sent to Navarre, was an excellent
Jewish physician who cured Sancho, while by his diplomatic ability he
brought to Cordova the rulers of Navarre. They were welcomed there
with a splendour that dazzled them. 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān had now at his
feet not only the haughty Tota whose valour had guided her armies to
victory, but also the son of his enemy, Ramiro II, the other victor of
Simancas and Alhandega. To induce the Caliph to renew his attack
on Leon, the unfortunate Sancho was obliged to hand over ten fortresses.
With the help of the Arabs Sancho, who no longer could claim the
name of Fat, took Zamora in 959 and Oviedo in 960. Afterwards
he invaded Castile and took Count Fernan prisoner, while Ordoño IV
fled to Burgos. At this point 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān fell ill and died on
16 October 961 at the age of seventy, after reigning for forty-nine years.
'Abd-ar-Raḥmān III was the greatest of the Umayyad princes. He
saved Andalusia not only from the civil wars but also from the possible
foreign domination in the north and south. He established order and
prosperity at home and imposed respect and consideration abroad.
He encouraged and developed agriculture, commerce, industry, art and
science; he beautified Cordova, so that it bore comparison with Bagdad,
and he built beside it the city of Az-Zahrā, called after his favourite
wife. Outside his realm he contested the command of the Mediterranean
with the Fātimites. The Eastern Emperor and the kings of Western
Europe opened up a diplomatic friendship with him? To quote the very
words of Dozy, our indispensable guide throughout, “But when his
glorious reign comes to be studied, it is the worker rather than the
work that rouses our admiration. Nothing escaped that powerful com-
prehensive intellect, and its grasp of the smallest details proved to be
as extraordinary as that of the loftiest conceptions. The sagacity
and cleverness of this man who by his centralising policy firmly es-
tablished the unity of the nation and the foundations of his own
authority, who by his system of alliances set up a kind of balance of
power, whose broad tolerance led him to summon to his council men of
different religions, these characteristics are typical of the modern monarch
rather than of the medieval caliph. "
His successor, Hakam II, was pacific, but when Sancho and Garcia of
Navarre failed to fulfil their treaties with his father and Fernan Gonzalez
1 It was 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's own ambassador at the Court of Otto the Great,
Recemund, Bishop of Elvira, who suggested to Liudprand the composition of his
history, the Antapodosis. This is a striking instance of the influence of the Caliphate
of Cordova on the culture of the West.
CH. XVI.
## p. 424 (#470) ############################################
424
Almanzor
began hostilities, he was forced to prepare for war. Meanwhile Ordoño
the Bad implored the Caliph to help him against his brother Sancho,
and had a splendid reception at Cordova. As soon as Sancho saw that
the Caliph's army was supporting Ordoño, he assured the Caliph that
he would fulfil his obligations. Hakam therefore broke his promise to
Ordoño, who soon died at Cordova. Sancho still refused to carry out
the treaty, whereupon Hakam declared war on the Christians, and com-
pelled Fernan Gonzalez, Garcia of Navarre and Sancho of Leon to sue
for peace; the Catalan counts, Borrel and Miron, followed their example
at the same time?
Hakam was content to leave the Christians to their internal strife.
A civil war broke out, during which Sancho died of poison towards
966: he was succeeded by Ramiro III, to whom his aunt, the nun Elvira,
was guardian. Under her the kingdom split into pieces. Fernan Gonzalez
died in 970, and thenceforth Hakam was able to devote himself to
literature, his favourite pursuit.
Under him one commanding personality fills the scene of the Cali-
phate. Mahomet ibn Abi-“Āmir, known to history as Almanzor, belonged
to the noble family of the Beni-Abi-Amir, and from earliest youth he
dreamt of becoming prime minister: natural ability and audacity in
action made his dream a reality. From a subordinate official of the cadi
of Cordova he rose at the age of twenty-six to administer the property
of 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān, the son of Hakam. By his courtesy and wit he won
the favour of the Sultana Aurora, became administrator of her property
and shortly after inspector of the mint, in which post he made many
friends. Other offices, all of them lucrative, were heaped upon him. He
lived in princely grandeur and he soon became popular.
The Fātimite danger had disappeared in 969 when Mu'izz moved
from Ifrīķiya to the new city of Cairo, but Hakam had still to fight the
Idrīsids in Morocco, and the war opened up a connexion with the African
princes and Berber tribes.
Shortly afterwards the Caliph fell ill, and on 1 October 976 he died.
Next day Hishām II took the oath, and his accession raised even higher
the power of Ibn Abi-Amir who was made vizier, while Muşħafī, the
ex-vizier, was appointed ḥājib or prime minister.
The Christians in the north had renewed hostilities at the time
of Hakam's illness. Ibn Abi--Amir undertook the command of an
army
and returned to Cordova laden with plunder. This triumph made
him still more popular in Cordova, and brought about a friendship
between him and the commanders of the army.
Soon came the inevitable struggle between the two ministers. On
25 March 978 Mushafī was deposed and imprisoned on a charge of
embezzlement. All his property was confiscated and after five years
of
the utmost destitution he was executed.
1 See for Catalonia supra, Chap. Iv. pp. 89-90.
## p. 425 (#471) ############################################
Almanzor's victories
425
he
>
Ibn Abi--Amir was appointed ḥājib. His relations with the
Sultana Aurora were much criticised in Cordova, and he had to face
faction and conspiracy. When his chief enemies, the faķāhs, asserted
that he was given over to philosophy, he ordered all the books on
that subject in the library of Hakam II to be burnt, and in this way
achieved a great reputation for orthodoxy. He had shut up the Caliph
in his newly-built palace of Zāhira, adjoining Cordova, and determined
to reform the army. But as he could not rely on the Arabs for this
task, he brought Berbers from Ceuta in Morocco, whom he loaded with
wealth, and unpatriotic Christians from Leon, Castile and Navarre,
drawn by high pay. At the same time he carried through the re-
organisation of the military system by abolishing the identity of tribes
and regiments. Then, to shew the superiority of the army he had
created, he turned his arms against the Leonese. He invaded Leon,
captured and sacked Zamora (981). Ramiro III of Leon was joined by
Garcia Fernandez, Count of Castile, but they were beaten at Rueda to
the east of Simancas. He then advanced against Leon, but although
he reached its gates in triumph, he failed to take the city. On his
return from this campaign he took the title of Al-manşūr billah, “ the
Victorious by the help of God” (whence his Spanish name of Almanzor
is derived), and had royal honours paid him. Owing to the disastrous
campaign of 981 the nobles of Leon proclaimed as their king Bermudo II,
a cousin of Ramiro III, who being besieged in Astorga sought the aid
of Almanzor, but died soon after. Bermudo also asked his help in
crushing the nobles, but after giving it Almanzor allowed the Muslim
troops to remain in the country. Thus Leon ended by becoming a tribu-
tary of Almanzor. He now advanced into Catalonia and took Barcelona
by storm on 1 July 985.
Almanzor's tyranny and cruelty at home, however, were making him
hated. To make good his position he resolved to enlarge the mosque
at great expense. He even worked like an ordinary labourer among
à crowd of Christian prisoners. Meanwhile Bermudo II drove out
a
of Leon the Muslim troops who had been left there ; but in 987
Almanzor in a terrible raid seized Coimbra and routed all who opposed
his march to Leon. He captured the city and only spared one tower to
shew posterity its grandeur. After he had also taken Zamora his
sovereignty was acknowledged by all the country, while Bermudo kept
only the districts near the sea.
Almanzor, already the real ruler, aimed at being even more. For
this design he had no fear of the Caliph, who was his prisoner, nor
of the army which yielded him blind obedience; but he feared the
nation, for whom unreasoning devotion to the dynasty was its very
life, and he also feared Aurora, whose affection for him had now turned
to hatred. She succeeded in inspiring Hishām II with a semblance of
will and energy. She sought the aid of Ziri ibn 'Atīya, the viceroy of
CH, XVI.
## p.
