756-788 Abd ar-Rahman I (Independent Emirate)

In the year 756 the future emir ‘Abd al-Rahman I entered al-Andalus. Anxious in his conquest of power he forgot the ancient boundaries of the Visigoth kingdom. Abd al-Rahman I, or his full name by patronymic record being Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu’awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (731–788), was the founder of a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries (including the succeeding Caliphate of Córdoba). The Muslims called the regions of Iberia under their dominion al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman’s establishment of a government in al-Andalus represented a branching out from the rest of the Islamic Empire which had been brought under the Abbasid following the overthrow of the Umayyads from Damascus in 750. In 784 Abd ar Rahman I ordered the construction of a mosque in Cordoba. In its place was a Christian church, so he bought the building and demolished it. The new mosque was close to the emir’s palace. The date of Abd al-Rahman’s death is disputed, but is generally accepted to be sometime around 785 through 788. He was succeeded by Hisham I of Córdoba. In the last six years of the reign of Abd al-Rahman I, Rayyu, Elvira, and Tudmir were recorded as being held the Amir’s sons and so they were presumably within his power.

Gaspar Ramiro  intensively deals with the story of ‘Abd-ar-Rahman ibn Habib, surnamed “The Slav” that he lent from  the French edition, Histoire  (Histoire des Musulmans d’Espagne, Leiden, 1861), because Todmir played a role in the texts. The English edition of Reinhart  Dozy  is as follows:

«In central Spain the Berber revolt was not suppressed until after ten years of Warfare -when Shakya was assassinated by two of his adherents- and it was still in progress when a formidable confederacy summoned to Spain a foreign conqueror. The members of the confederacy were the Kelbite Al-Arabi, Governor of Barcelona; the Fihrite, ‘Abd-er-Rahman ibn Habib, Yusuf’s son-in-law, surnamed  “The Slav”—since his tall, slender figure, fair hair, and blue eyes resembled the type of that race of which many representatives were to be found among the slaves in Spain- and Abu ’l-Aswad, Yusuf’s son, whom ‘Abd-er-Rahman had condemned to perpetual imprisonment, but who had evaded the vigilance of his jailers by posing as a blind man.
(At first Abu ’l-Aswad’s blindness was discredited. He was subjected to the most difficult tests; but his yearning for liberty lent him the ability not to betray himself in the smallest particular, and he played his part with such perseverance and talent for imposture that in the end he was universally believed to be sightless. Having thus lulled his jailers into carelessness, he concerted a plan of escape with one of his clients, who had obtained permission to visit him from time to time. One morning when the prisoners had been led through a subterranean passage to perform their ablutions in the river, the client and some friends posted themselves, with horses, on the opposite bank.  At a moment when he was unobserved Abu ’l-Aswad plunged into the stream, swam across, sprang into the saddle, and riding at full gallop to Toledo, reached that city in safety.)
So bitter was the hatred of these three chiefs for ‘Abd- er-Rahman, that they resolved to implore the aid of Charlemagne, although that conqueror  -the fame of whose exploits already resounded through the world-  was the most implacable enemy of Islam. The confederates accordingly, in 777, journeyed to Paderborn, where Charlemagne was then holding a “May-field,” and proposed an alliance with him against the Emir of Spain. Charlemagne fell in with the proposal without hesitation. Just then his hands were free, and he could meditate new conquests. The Saxons had submitted -as he supposed- to his dominion and to Christianity; thousands of them were then at Paderborn awaiting baptism; Wittekind, their most formidable chief, had been banished from his country to seek refuge with a Danish prince. It was decided, therefore, that Charlemagne should cross the Pyrenees with a large force; that Al-Arabi, and his allies to the north of the Ebro, should reinforce him and acknowledge him as their Sovereign, and that “The Slav,” after raising levies among the African Berbers, should lead them into the province of Tudmir, where he would cooperate with the northern invaders by raising the standard of the ‘Abbasid Khalif as Charlemagne’s ally.This powerful confederacy, whose plan of attack had been formed after mature deliberation, threatened to prove vastly more dangerous for ‘Abd-er-Rahman than any which had preceded it. Fortunately for him the projects of the allies were less ably executed than devised.»

Tudmir
The rebellions of the three sons of Yusuf in 760, 762 and 766 were drowned in blood.
‘Abd-ar-Rahman, ibn Habib surnamed  “The Slav” landed in Tudmir with a Berber army; but he arrived prematurely, for Charlemagne had not crossed the Pyrenees; and when he sought help from Al-Arabï, the latter replied that according to the plan of campaign agreed upon at Paderborn, it was his duty to  remain in the North and support Charlemagnes army. The blood-feud between Fihrites and Yemenites was too deeply rooted for the suspicion of treachery not to arise. Believing himself betrayed by Al-Arabi, Ibn Habib marched against him, was defeated, and returning to the province of Tudmir was assassinated by a Berber of Oretum, of whom he had imprudently made a confidant, little suspecting that he was one of the Emir’s agents .

 

Abd ar Rahman I

Supporters of Abu ’l-Aswad, Yusuf’s son, advised him to surrender to the mercy of the emir, but he replied that a secret force prevented him from doing so. He lost a battle in 784 and finally died in Alarcon in 785. However, Yusuf had two other sons Casim and Hafila in Todmir. They were still a threat to Abd ar Rahman I. 

In 785 Casim, a child of Jusuf the Fehri and Hafila shook the mood of Murcians, and kicked up a rebellion against Abderrarnen, the first king of Córdoba. The scandal in Spain got to a point when the king was obliged to go from his court to Murcia, afraid that if he lost this gem of his ring, the whole kingdom and he would be in danger. The purpose of this trip and the king’s conduct was political. Quietening things down and winning hearts, rather than punishing the guilty, despite their crime had a degree of gratitude to the king for his application and advancement in the culture of the land.

Upon his arrival in the mountains of Alcaraz he heard news of defeat of the rebels by the walies of Tudmir, and that Abdala, son of Abdelmelic ben Omar the Meruan managed to arrest the warlord Casim ben Jusuf the Fehri, and had him safe; and the king visited the Fort of Secura which is like a city built on top of a large mountain, making it impossible to access the fortress.  Two rivers originated there - one of them is called Guadalquivir and flows from Cordoba, the other is Guadalabiad and passes through Murcia. The one going through Cordoba comes out of this mountain from a buildup of water from a clear lake in the heart of the mountain and descends to the foothill, comes out of the deep side of the mountain, and goes to the west to mount Nágida, Gadira and close to Medina Ubeda, and the plains of Medina Bayesa, Alcozir, Hisn Aldujar, Cantara Extesan, and Córdoba. The Guadalabiad comes from the foothill of the mountain to Hosain Alfered, Hisn Mula, Murcia, Auriola, Almodwar, and reaches the sea. Abderahman went from there to Denia, and while there he took the head of the luckless Hafila, who so often had escaped from dangerous trances of bloody battles. No one can avoid the shot of the bolt of his destination. King Abderahman then came to Lorca where he stayed for a few days.

Then Abderramen appeared in Murcia with an army of knights and nobles, feeling hurt by the disaffection of its inhabitants. Many prominent Murcians who were faithful introduced themselves to the king. They recounted these events in the city and when people began to squeal, the king ordered them to be silenced. Some witnesses soon returned to the city and were in the streets publishing the sublime thoughts of the Sovereign.

The shock and fear of neighbours suddenly changed into hope and joy. Abderramen was in Cantarac Askeya and in Murcia he already had no disaffection. The main engines of discord were also of the peace; because with their faces wet with tears of sorrow they were the first to beg forgiveness and offer the sacrifice of their lives in defense of their king. Opening the gates of the city, arranging it to unprecedented celebrations, and its inhabitants going to pay homage and welcome Abderramen with his entourage, everything happened at the same time.

The king got along fairly quickly with Murcians and in the confused hubbub of people the most cordial acts of human kindness were seen. So Abderramen entered Murcia victoriously and his horses were walking on plants that covered the streets.  Great were the parties, joys, and gifts they gave to their king, among which were some aromatic essences for baths. The prince stayed in the city for some time to ensure peace and manage public affairs. Its resolutions proved their virtues, and confirmed the hope of the people. Forgiveness of their offences, forgetting the past, the prize to the application and merit, and protection dispensed to agriculture were the guides of real politics. Amazed to see so much care and fertility he doubted if art could do more than nature in Murcia; and repeated that the land was to be the mirror where the noble and powerful Arabs should be looked for in Spain. The king accompanied by the wali Abdala ben Abdelmelic went back to Córdoba in 787. 

A few days after arriving in the capital they presented him Yusuf’s youngest son in chains. Casim begged forgiveness and kissed in humility the soil at the feet of the Emir, who commanded to take off the irons. From this moment Casim was always obedient to his benefactor who gave him many possessions in Sevilla .

Totana
Tawtana (Totana) appears 11km from Alhama.  Al-Udri considered Tawtana as one of the jurisdictions of the province of the Cora of Tudmir that was invaded by the troops of  Abd al-Rahman I in 779, bringing the population to the stronghold of Aledo, situated in Sierra Espuña.