Abd-ar-rahman III
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- For indivduals with the same or similar name, see Abd-ar-Rahman
Abd-ar-Rahman came to the throne when the country was exhausted by more than a generation of tribal conflict among the Arabs, and of strife between them and the Muslims of native Spanish descent. Spaniards who were openly or secretly Christians had acted with the renegades. These elements, which formed the bulk of the population, were not averse from supporting a strong ruler who would protect them against the Arab aristocracy. These restless nobles were the most serious of Abd-ar-Rahman's enemies. Next to them came the Fatimids of Egypt and northern Africa, who claimed the caliphate based on descent from the Prophet Muhammad, and who aimed at extending their rule over the Muslim world. Abd-ar-Rahman subdued the nobles by means of a mercenary army consisting of Slavs.
He repelled the Fatimids, partly by supporting their enemies in Africa, and partly by claiming the caliphate for himself. In the 10th century Abd-ar-rahman III declared himself as the Caliphate of Cordoba, effectively breaking all ties with the Egyptian and Syrian caliphs. His ancestors in Spain had been content with the title of sultan. The caliphate was thought only to belong to the prince who ruled over the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina. But the force of this tradition had been so far weakened that Abd-ar-Rahman could proclaim himself caliph on January 16, 929, and the assumption of the title gave him increased prestige with his subjects, both in Spain and Africa.
Unfortunately, while there is copious Spanish and Arabic literature on this period, little appears to have been translated into English. Coope, Scales and Woolf provide important social and historical overviews of Christian/Muslim relations within the Caliphate of Cordoba during its history that may provide historical context for this subject.
Saint Pelagius and Reconquista Polemic
A story is told of him falling in love with a pious thirteen-year old boy (later enshrined as a Christian martyr and canonized as Saint Pelagius of Cordova) who refused the caliph's favors. Some accounts having him stripping himself naked before he did so. Enraged, Abd-ar-Rahman had the boy tortured and dismembered.Walter Andrews and Mehmet Kalpaklı, The Age of Beloveds, Duke Univesity Press, 2005; p.2Mark D. Jordan, The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology, Chicago, 1997; pp.10-28 After he was defeated by the Christians at Alhandega in 939 through the treason of the Arab nobles in his army (see History of Spain) he never again took the field.
| Preceded by: Abdallah | Umayyad Leader | Succeeded by: al-Hakam II |
| Emir of Cordoba | ||
| — | Caliph of Cordoba |
Bibliography
- Jessica Coope: Martyrs of Cordoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion: Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press: 1995: ISBN 0803214715
- Maribel Fierro: Abd-al-Rahman III of Cordoba: London: Oneworld Publications: 2005: ISBN 1851683844
- Peter Scales: Fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba: New York: EJ Brill:1994:
- Kenneth Wolf: Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 1988: ISBN 0521344166
Notes
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