Abd ar-Rahman I
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- For individuals with the same or similar name, see Abd-ar-Rahman
Abd ar-Rahman I (Arabic: عبد الرحمن الداخل) (born 731; ruled 756; died circa 788) was the founder of a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries. The Muslims called the regions of Iberia under their dominion al-Andalus. Montgomery Watt said that the name al-Andalus "was used exclusively for that part of the peninsula under Muslim rule".[1] Note that he is also spelled Abd al-Rahman in English.
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[edit] Origin
Abd ar-Rahman was the grandson of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, the tenth Umayyad Caliph. Abd ar-Rahman was a prince, and was groomed from an early age to be a caliph. More specifically, he was the son of Muawiya, son of Hisham, son of Abd al-Malik. The precocious child was tall and slender. His mother was a Berber, and from her he inherited red hair. Abd ar-Rahman was unable to see from one of his eyes, had a distinctive mole on his face, and had a poor sense of smell.[2]
[edit] Flight from Syria
Abd ar-Rahman was about 20 when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by a popular revolt known as the Abbasid Revolution. This occurred in the year 749. Abd al-Rahman and a small selection of his family fled the Damascus, where the center of Umayyad power had been. Some of the family which fled with Abd ar-Rahman were his brother Yahya, his 4-year old son Sulayman, and some of his sisters. Also fleeing with Abd ar-Rahman was his former Greek slave (now a freedman) Bedr. The family fled south from Damascus following the River Euphrates. All along the way the path was filled with danger. The Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try and find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found. While hiding in a small village, Abbasid agents closed in on Abd ar-Rahman and his family. Knowing that it was him and his brother that they were after, he left his young son with his sisters and fled. Accounts vary, but Bedr likely initially escaped with Abd ar-Rahman. Some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd ar-Rahman at a later date.[3] Abd ar-Rahman, Yahya, and Bedr quit the village narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins. Later, on the way south, Abbasid horsemen again caught up with the trio. In a desperate attempt to save themselves, Abd ar-Rahman and his companions threw themselves into the River Euphrates. While trying to swim across the dangerous Euphrates, Abd ar-Rahman became separated from his brother Yahya. Yahya began swimming back towards the horsemen, possibly from fear of drowning. The horsemen beseeched the escapees to return, and that no harm would come to them. 17th century Egyptian historian Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari (AKA: al-Makkari) poignantly described Abd ar-Rahman's reaction as he implored Yahya to keep going: "O brother! Come to me, come to me"![4] Yahya returned to the near shore, and was quickly dispatched by the horsemen. They cut the head off their prize, leaving Yahya's body to rot. Al-Makkari quotes prior Muslim historians as having recorded that Abd ar-Rahman said he was so overcome with fear at that moment, that once he made the far shore he ran until exhaustion overcame him.[5] Only he and Bedr were left to face the unknown.
[edit] Exile
After barely escaping Syria with their lives, Abd ar-Rahman and Bedr continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and into Egypt. Abd ar-Rahman had to keep a low profile as he traveled. He intended to go at least as far as the land of his mother; that is northwestern Africa. Muslims referred to that part of the Islamic Empire as the "Mahgreb", or the "west". Abd ar-Rahman was also very aware that his Umayyad predecessors had conquered parts of Iberia. The journey across Egypt would prove perilous. Ibn Habib was the governor of east Africa, and had been a former supporter of the Umayyad Dynasty. However, with the Abbasids now in control Ibn Habib dispatched spies to look for the surviving Umayyad prince. With his red hair, Abd ar-Rahman would not be difficult to discern. Abd ar-Rahman and Bedr stayed at the camp of a Berber chieftain friendly to their plight. Ibn Habib's soldiers one day entered the camp looking for the wayward Umayyad. The Berber chieftain’s wife Tekfah hid Abd ar-Rahman under her personal belongings to help him go un-noticed.[6] It would take several years for Abd ar-Rahman to slowly make his way into the west. In 755 Abd ar-Rahman and Bedr reached modern day Morocco near Ceuta. It was from here that he first glanced upon the thin strip of land on the horizon: al-Andalus! Abd ar-Rahman was not sure if he would be welcomed or not in that far-flung province of the empire. He eventually sent Bedr to Iberia with a message; a message in which he boldly proclaimed himself the rightful Umayyad heir to the land. Al-Andalus had been conquered during Abd al-Rahman's grandfather's reign. A great deal of Syrians were in al-Andalus, and Abd ar-Rahman hoped to appeal to their inherent Umayyad loyalty. The province however was in a state of confusion caused by the weak rule of the current Emir Yusef al-Fihri. He was a puppet ruler controlled by a tribal faction. The Muslim community was torn by tribal dissensions between the Arabs and racial tensions between the Arabs and Berbers. Abd ar-Rahman saw an opportunity he had failed to find in Africa. Bedr made haste to return to Africa. He brought with him tidings of hope! At the invitation of loyal Umayyad followers, Abd ar-Rahman was told to go to al-Andalus. Shortly thereafter, Abd ar-Rahman set off with Bedr and a small group of followers for Europe. When some local Berber tribesmen learned of Abd ar-Rahman's intent to set sail for al-Andalus, they quickly rode to catch up with him on the coast. The tribesmen figured that they could hold Abd ar-Rahman as hostage, and force him to buy his way out of Africa. Unfortunately for Abd ar-Rahman, he did indeed have to hand over some amount of dinars to the suddenly hostile local Berbers. Just as Abd ar-Rahman launched his boat yet another group of Berbers arrived, also with the intent of making Abd ar-Rahman pay a fee for leaving. One of the Berbers held on to Abd ar-Rahman's vessel as it made for al-Andalus, and had his hand cut off by one of the boat's crew![7] Abd ar-Rahman landed at Almuñécar in al-Andalus, to the east of Málaga, in September 755.
[edit] The Fight for the Right
Abd ar-Rahman was greeted by local chieftains upon landing in al-Andalus. During his brief time in Malaga, Abd ar-Rahman quickly amassed local support. Waves of people made their way to Malaga to pay respect to the prince they thought was dead, including many of the aforementioned Syrians. One famous story which persisted through history related to a gift Abd ar-Rahman was given while in Malaga. The gift was a beautiful young slave girl, but Abd ar-Rahman humbly returned her to her previous master while saying, "I will not indulge in any distraction, be it of sight or of the heart, until Spain is within my grasp”.[9] News of the prince's arrival spread like wildfire throughout the peninsula. During this time, emir al-Fihri and the commander of his army, al-Sumayl (who was also the vizier and al-Fihri's son-in-law), pondered what to do about the new threat to their shaky hold on power. They decided to try and marry Abd ar-Rahman into their family. If that did not work, then Abd ar-Rahman would have to be killed: “if he refuse, we shall strike his bald (un-helmeted) head with our swords”.[10] Abd ar-Rahman was sagacious enough to expect such a plot. In order to help speed his ascenion to power, he was prepared to “take advantage of the mortal feuds and dissensions” [11] However, before anything could be done, trouble broke out in northern al-Andalus. Sarakusta (Zaragoza), an important trade city on al-Andalus' Upper March made a bid for autonomy. Al-Fihri and al-Sumayl rode north to squash the rebellion. This might have been fortunate timing for Abd ar-Rahman, as he was still getting a solid foothold in al-Andalus. By March of 756, Abd ar-Rahman and his growing following were able to take Sevilla without violence. After settling his bloody business in Sarakusta, al-Fihri turned his army back south to face the "pretender".[12] The fight for the right to rule al-Andalus was about to begin. The two contingents met on opposite sides of the River Guadalquivir, just outside the capital of Cordova on the plains of Musarah.[13] The river was, for the first time in years, overflowing its banks; heralding the end of the long drought. Never-the-less, food was still scarce, and Abd ar-Rahman's army went with hunger. In an attempt to demoralize Abd ar-Rahman's troops, al-Fihri ensured his troops were not only well fed, but that they ate gluttonous amounts of food in full view of the Umayyad lines. An attempt at negotations soon followed in which it is likely that Abd ar-Rahman was offered the hand of al-Fihri's daughter in marriage, and great wealth. Abd ar-Rahman would settle for nothing less than control of the emirate, and an impasse was reached. Even before the fight began, dissension spread through some of Abd ar-Rahman's lines. Specifically, the Yemeni Arabs were unhappy that the prince was mounted on a fine Spanish steed. The prince's mettle was untried in battle after all! The Yemenis scoffed that such a fine horse would provide an excellent escape vehicle from battle. Being the ever-wary politician, Abd ar-Rahman acted quickly to regain Yemeni support, and rode to a Yemeni chief who was mounted on a mule. Abd ar-Rahman said that his horse proved difficult to ride, and was wont to buck him out of the saddle. Abd ar-Rahman offered to exchange his horse for the mule, a deal which the surprised chief took advantage of. A possible Yemeni rebellion was stopped with the swap. The mule's name was 'Lightning'.[14] Soon both armies were in their lines on the same bank of the Guadalquivir. Abd ar-Rahman had no banner, so one was improvised by unwinding a green turban and binding it round the head of a spear. Subsequently the turban and the spear became the banner and symbol of the Andalusian Umayyads. Abd ar-Rahman led the charge toward al-Fihri's army. Al-Sumayl in turn advanced his cavalry out to meet the Umayyad threat. After a long and difficult fight “Abd ar-Rahman obtained a most complete victory, and the field was strewn with the bodies of the enemy”.[15] Both al-Fihri and al-Sumayl managed to escape the field (probably) with parts of the army too. Abd ar-Rahman triumphantly marched into the capital, Cordova. Danger was not far behind, as al-Fihri planned a counter-attack. He reorganized his forces and set out for the capital usurped from him. Again Abd ar-Rahman met al-Fihri with his army; however this time negotiations were successful. In exchange for al-Fihri's life and wealth, he would be a prisoner not to leave the city limits of Cordova. Al-Fihri would have to report once a day to Abd ar-Rahman, as well as turn over some of his sons and daughters as hostages. For a while al-Fihri met the obligations of the one-sided truce, but he still had many people loyal to him; people that would have liked to have seen him back in power.
Al-Fihri eventually did make another bid for power. He quit Cordova and quickly started gathering supporters. While at large, al-Fihri managed to gather an army allegedly numbering to 20,000! However it is doubtful that his troops were 'regular' soldiers, but rather a hodge-podge of men from different parts of al-Andalus. Abd ar-Rahman's appointed governor in Sevilla took up the chase, and after a series of small fights, managed to defeat al-Fihri's army. Al-Fihri himself managed to escape to the former Visigoth capital of Toledo in central al-Andalus; however once there he was promptly killed. Al-Fihri's head was sent to Cordova, where Abd ar-Rahman had it nailed to a bridge. With this act, Abd ar-Rahman proclaimed himself the emir of al-Andalus. One final act had to be committed however: al-Fihri's general, al-Sumayl, had to be dealt with. He was garroted in Cordova's jail.
[edit] A Tenuous Rule
Indeed, Abd ar-Rahman only proclaimed himself as emir, and not as caliph. This was likely because al-Andalus was a land besieged by many different loyalties, and the proclamation of caliph would have likely caused much unrest. Abd ar-Rahman's progeny would, however, take up the title of caliph. In the meantime, a call went out through the Muslim world that al-Andalus was a safe haven for friends of the house of Umayya, if not for Abd ar-Rahman's scattered family that managed to evade the Abbasids. Abd ar-Rahman probably was quite happy to see his call answered by waves of Umayyad faithful and family. He was finally reacquainted with his son Sulayman, whom he last saw weeping on the banks of the Euphrates with his sisters. Abd ar-Rahman's sisters were unable to make the long voyage to al-Andalus. Abd ar-Rahman placed his family members in high offices across the land, doubtless that he felt he could trust them more than non-family. The Umayyad family would again grow large and prosperous over successive generations. However, by 763 Abd ar-Rahman had to get back to the business of war. Al-Andalus had been invaded by an Abbasid army!
Far away in Baghdad, the current Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, had long been planning to depose the Umayyad who dared to call himself emir of al-Andalus. Al-Mansur installed al-Ala ibn-Mugith (AKA: al-Ala) as governor of Africa (whose title gave him dominion over the province of al-Andalus). It was al-Ala who headed the Abbasid army that landed in al-Andalus, possibly near Beja (in modern day Portugal). Much of the surrounding area of Beja capitulated to al-Ala, and in fact rallied under the Abbasid banners against Abd ar-Rahman. Abd ar-Rahman acted quickly, as he knew the Abbasid army to be replete with skillful warriors. The Abbasid contingent was vastly superior in size, said to have numbered 7,000 men. Abd ar-Rahman gathered his men as he was "resolved on an audacious sally" [15]. Abd ar-Rahman hand-picked 700 fighters from his army and led them to Carmona's main gate. There, he started a great fire and threw his scabbard into the flames. Abd ar-Rahman said, “Let us throw our scabbards into the flame and swear to fall like soldiers if victory cannot be ours. We conquer or we die”! [16] The gate lifted and Abd ar-Rahman's men fell upon the unsuspecting Abbasids, thoroughly routing them! Most of the Abbasid army was killed. The heads of the main Abbasid leaders were cut off. Their heads were perserved in salt, and identifying tags pinned to their ears. The heads were bundled together in a gruesome package and sent to the Abbasid caliph who was on pilgrimage at Mecca. Upon receiving the evidence of his defeat in al-Andalus, al-Mansur gasped, “God be praised for placing a sea between us”! [17] Al-Mansur hated, yet respected Abd al-Rahman to such a degree that he dubbed him the "Hawk of Quraysh" (The Umayyads were from a branch of the Quraysh tribe). [18]
Despite such a tremendous victory, Abd ar-Rahman had to continuously put down rebellions in al-Andalus. [19] Various Arab and Berber tribes fought each other for varying degrees of power, some cities tried to break-away and form their own state, and even members of Abd ar-Rahman's family tried to wrest power from him. During a large revolt, dissidents marched on Cordova itself! However, Abd ar-Rahman always managed to stay one step ahead, and crushed all opposition; as he always dealt severely with dissidence in al-Andalus. [20]
TO BE CONTINUED
[edit] Bibliography
1. W. Montgomery Watt. "Islamic Surveys 4: A History of Islamic Spain". (Edinburgh, Scotland; Edinburgh University Press, 1965), page 17
2. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari. "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain; extracted from the Nafhu-T-Tib Min Ghosni-L-Andalusi-R-Rattib Wa Tarikh Lisanu-D-Din Ibni-L-Khattib". Translated by Pascual de Gayangos, member of the Oriental Translation Committee, and late professor of Arabic in the Athenæum of Madrid.In Two Volumes. VOL. II. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York, NY. 1964. Pages 58-94 (Book VI, chapters 1 & 2). It should be noted that al-Makkari quotes from historian Ibnu Hayyan's "Muktabis" when describing Abd al-Rahman's physical features.
3. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari. "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain", 96. It should be noted that al-Makkari quotes from historian Ibnu Hayyan's "Muktabis" when detailing Abd al-Rahman's flight from Syria.
4. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari. "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain",60.
5. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari, "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain", 60.
6. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari, "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain". Again al-Makkari cited Ibnu Hayyan for the vast majority of the preceding information, 58-61.
7. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari, "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain". 65-68.
Note that several bibliographical citations are missing. They will be placed back as time allows.
15. Philip K. Hitti. "Makers of Arab History". (New York, New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. Pg 66
16. Philip K. Hitti. "Makers of Arab History". (New York, New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. Pg 66
17. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari, "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain". Pg 81
18. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari, "The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain". Pg 82
19. W. Montgomery Watt. "Islamic Surveys 4: A History of Islamic Spain". (Edinburgh, Scotland; Edinburgh University Press, 1965), pg 32
20. Thomas F. Glick. "Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages". (Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University Press), pg 38
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Banu Umayyad Cadet Branch of the Banu Quraish |
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| Preceded by Marwan II |
Umayyad Leader | Succeeded by Hisham I |
| Emir of Cordoba 756–788 |
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