Abd-ar-Rahman III. (912-961) was the greatest and the most successful of the princes of his dynasty in Spain.He ascended the throne when he was barely twenty-two and reigned for half a century. His life was so completely identified with the government of the state that he offers less material for biography than his ancestor Abd-ar-rahman I. Yet it supplies some passages which show the real character of an oriental dynasty even at its best. Abd-ar-rahman III was the grandson of his predecessor, Abdallah, one of the weakest and worst of the Spanish Omayyads. His father, Mahommed, was murdered by a brother Motarrif by order of Abdallah. The old sultan was so far influenced by humanity and remorse that he treated his grandson kindly. Abd-ar-rahman III. 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 Mahommedans 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 Fatimites of Egypt and northern Africa, who claimed the caliphate, and who aimed at extending their rule over the Mahommedan world, at least in the west. Abd-ar-rahman subdued the nobles by means of a mercenary army, which included Christians. He repelled the Fatimites, partly by supporting their enemies in Africa, and partly by claiming the caliphate for himself. 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 the 16th of January 929, and the assumption of the title gave him increased prestige with his subjects, both in Spain and Africa. His worst enemies were always his fellow Mahommedans. After he was defeated by the Christíans at Alhandega in 939 through the treason of the Arab nobles in his army he never again took the field. He is accused of having sunk in his later years into the self-indulgent habits of the harem. When the undoubted prosperity of his dominions is quoted as an example of successful Mahommedan rule, it is well to remember that he adminístered well not by means of but in spite of Mahommedans.
An embassy to Rahman III
Painting of Dionisio Baixeras i Verdaguer, 1885
The high praise given to his administration may even excite some doubts as to its real excellence. We are told that a third of his revenue sufficed for the ordinary expenses of government, a third was hoarded and a third spent on buildings. A very large proportion of the surplus must have been wasted on the palace-town of Zahra, built three miles to the north of Cordova, and named after a favourite concubine. Ten thousand workmen are said to have been employed for twenty-five years on this wonder, of which no trace now remains.
The great monument of early Arabic architecture in Spain, the mosque of Cordova, was built by his predecessors, not by him. It is said that his harem included six thousand women. Abd-ar-Rahman was tolerant, but it is highly probable that he was very indifferent in religion, and it is certain that he was a thorough despot. One of the most authentic sayings attributed to him is his criticism of Otto I. of Germany, recorded by Otto’s ambassador, Johann, abbot of Gorze, who has left in his Vita an incomplete account of his embassy (in Pertz, Mon. Germ. Scriptores, iv. 355-377). He blamed the king of Germany for trusting his nobles, which he said could only increase their pride and leaning to rebellion. His confession that he had known only twenty happy days in his long reign is perhaps a moral tale, to be classed with the “omnia fui, et ni expedit” of Septimius Severus.
Rahman III
Orihuela
Ishâq b. Muhammad al-Qurasî started campaigning against the Cora of Tudmir. He conquered the fortress of Orihuela and instated order among the population of this Cora .
Todmir
In 915, a terrible famine, caused by a long drought, rendered a campaign impossible. The populace of Cordova died by thousands, and there were scarcely men left to bury the dead. The Sultan and his Ministers did all they could to alleviate the distress, but they found it difficult to check the insurgents, who, pressed by hunger, issued forth from the mountains to snatch the scanty food remaining in the plains. Next year Orihuela and Niebla were subdued, and the Sultan had so thoroughly established his authority that he was able to order raids to be made against the Christians in the North, when death delivered him from the most formidable enemy: in the year 917, Ibn Hafsun breathed his last. This event caused great rejoicing at Cordova, where confidence was felt that the insurrection would now soon be extinguished.
‘Abd Rabbihi was the court poet and freedman of the Umayyads who wrote the encyclopaedia of Arabic literature entitled Al-‘Iqd al- Farid, “the unique necklace”, which was dubbed “the string of garlic” by his enemies. He lived into the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman III .
Ishâq b. Muhammad al-Qurasî started campaigning against the Cora of Tudmir. He conquered the fortress of Orihuela and instated order among the population of this Cora .
Todmir
In 915, a terrible famine, caused by a long drought, rendered a campaign impossible. The populace of Cordova died by thousands, and there were scarcely men left to bury the dead. The Sultan and his Ministers did all they could to alleviate the distress, but they found it difficult to check the insurgents, who, pressed by hunger, issued forth from the mountains to snatch the scanty food remaining in the plains. Next year Orihuela and Niebla were subdued, and the Sultan had so thoroughly established his authority that he was able to order raids to be made against the Christians in the North, when death delivered him from the most formidable enemy: in the year 917, Ibn Hafsun breathed his last. This event caused great rejoicing at Cordova, where confidence was felt that the insurrection would now soon be extinguished.
‘Abd Rabbihi was the court poet and freedman of the Umayyads who wrote the encyclopaedia of Arabic literature entitled Al-‘Iqd al- Farid, “the unique necklace”, which was dubbed “the string of garlic” by his enemies. He lived into the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman III .
The Year 304 (916)
83.After it came the campaign of the fourth year, and what good deed did our Lord not perform.
84.During its course, by cheering up the grieving sovereign both of whose hands strove in God’s path!
85.This was so because he sent out two commanders who manifested both divine Victory and support;
86.The one towards the frontier and its adjacent areas, against The polytheist enemy or his supporters,
87. And the other to the fragrant gardens of Murcia, while the Part that went on travelled as far as Valencia.
The main theme of the arjuza of Ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi is the restoration of divine order in al-Andalus through the heroic efforts of the Caliph ‘Abd al-Rahmān III, who is courageous in battle, loyal to God and generous in pardoning his enemies. The arjuza of ‘Abd Rabbihi refers certain military activities in Todmir:
The Year 312 (924)
271.He campaigned with the sword of victory in his right hand and the rising star of good fortune on his forehead,
272.While the officer in charge of the army and the government was the eminent Mūsā, the Amír’s chamberlain.
273.He destroyed the fortresses of Todmir and made the wild animals descend from the rocky peaks.
274.So that the people unanimously agreed [to obey] him and the leaders of the rebellion acknowledged him as chief,
275.Until, when he had taken all of their fortresses and inscribed the truth elegantly on their texts,
276.There set forth, travelling in the shadow of the army, under the banner of the great lion,
277.The men of Todmir and their kinfolk, of every tie that could trace back its lineage to them.
While Abderahman was busied with his various affairs in Cordova, he received letters from his uncle Almudafar, communicating many advantages gained over the rebels, who, being driven from all parts, bad been compelled to shut themselves up so closely amidst the wilds, that, not daring to appear in the peopled districts, the means of life had failed them, and it was a pity to see them thus perishing amidst the asperities of those deserts. The prince therefore judged it better to make an end of those evils by reducing the remnant still holding out at one blow, thus assuring to the towns that repose and security of which they stood so much in need. He was consequently preparing to assemble the whole force of the province of Tadmir, and pursue the rebels to their destruction without any considerations of indulgence or injudicious lamenting for the fate which they had themselves provoked.
The king was convinced that the reasonings advanced by his uncle were of force, and he wrote to his Alcaides in the Comarcas of Todmir and Valencia to that effect, commanding them to hold their levies, both of cavalry and foot-soldiers, ready for the ensuing spring, when they were to pass through the entire province, subjecting every town still remaining attached to the party of the rebel Calib Hafsun Ben Arius. Abderahman himself also left Cordova, the time being come, and repairing to the land of Todmir, made his entry into the cities of Murcia, Auriola, Lorca, and Kenteda, in all of which he was received with acclamations by the people, while the principal inhabitants of each place came forth from their towns, requesting permission to join themselves to the forces already conducted by the king .
Some years later, Jaffar, the son of Ibn Hafsun is assassinated by some of his father’s men. Jaffar is promptly replaced by his brother Sulayman who dies in battle. He is succeeded by his brother Hafs who is defeated later on in 928 when the amir’s forces enter Bobastro .
Ibn Mas’ud reflected in its al-Aniq with respect to the year 925 some events that were collected by ibn Hayyan in his Muqtabis . It deals with the case of the Arabic ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Waddah, one of the rebels who were still rebellious in the Tudmir and Valencia area in the year 312/924, the date at which ‘Abd al-Rahman III went to Christian lands with regards to the campaign of Pamplona, country of God’s enemies, the infidels.
He came from the Cora of Tudmir with his vizier 'Sa'id b. al-Mundhir to accompany him in the campaign and sent Muhammad b. Ishaq there as his replacement.
‘Abd al-Rahman b. Waddah of Lorca had rebelled, but not too long after the siege. He surrendered under aman and was sent with his family to Cordoba.
People commented that this man was very corpulent and had a very large and thick beard, so when he came to Cordoba, accompanied by a big dog, the people were so impressed that poets composed satirical verses about him, such as:
“To Córdoba Ibn Waddah came,
ahead with the dog, but the dog does not matter;
dragging on the ground came the beard:
sometimes he looked, sometimes he hid;
his daily product suffices
seventy faces unabated;
his woven wool and hair,
in all its abundance could clothe the poor.”
Once having submitted to the emirs of Murcia, Orihuela, Lorca, and other towns in the region of Todmir, Abd ar Rahman III could get troops from them. We know that in 925 Abd ar Rahman arranged the output of Murcia of Said, son of Almondir, the vizier. This way Said could assist that year in the campaign launched against Monteleón and other castles in the Heart of Jaén who obeyed the rebel leader Abdullah son of Said, son of Hudail. Said had to admit the authority of the caliph, and was deprived of his castles. Thereafter Said went with his people of Murcia to help Abd ar Rahman III against rebels who still remained strong in some castles in the Heart of Elvira (Granada). However, the insurrection appeared again in the land of Murcia. This time the kaid Ahmed, son of Alyas, had to stop there when his army was underway. The army was intended to campaign against Christians in Aragon and Catalonia in 941 to 942. The kaid Ahmed managed to pacify Murcia completely, taking some hostages .
“To Córdoba Ibn Waddah came,
ahead with the dog, but the dog does not matter;
dragging on the ground came the beard:
sometimes he looked, sometimes he hid;
his daily product suffices
seventy faces unabated;
his woven wool and hair,
in all its abundance could clothe the poor.”
Once having submitted to the emirs of Murcia, Orihuela, Lorca, and other towns in the region of Todmir, Abd ar Rahman III could get troops from them. We know that in 925 Abd ar Rahman arranged the output of Murcia of Said, son of Almondir, the vizier. This way Said could assist that year in the campaign launched against Monteleón and other castles in the Heart of Jaén who obeyed the rebel leader Abdullah son of Said, son of Hudail. Said had to admit the authority of the caliph, and was deprived of his castles. Thereafter Said went with his people of Murcia to help Abd ar Rahman III against rebels who still remained strong in some castles in the Heart of Elvira (Granada). However, the insurrection appeared again in the land of Murcia. This time the kaid Ahmed, son of Alyas, had to stop there when his army was underway. The army was intended to campaign against Christians in Aragon and Catalonia in 941 to 942. The kaid Ahmed managed to pacify Murcia completely, taking some hostages .
Callosa
In 928, the sultan concentrated his arms against rebels in other provinces. That time Mohamed, child of Abderrahman named the sheik Aslami shared with Daisam the lordship of Tudmir. He was a rebel and rose in Callosa until the end of the emirate of Abdala. However, shortly thereafter he once again rendered obedience to the emir, who rewarded him leaving entrusted the government of that district. Once dead Abdala, the Sheikh broke with Abderrahman III fortifying him in Alicante that was the most formidable of all the castles. Different than Daisam This Arab, who was a free-booter and scoundrel of the very worst kind, had always professed zeal for religion. Growing old, he had abdicated in favour of his son ‘Ab-der-Rahman, wishing –so he said- to devote his remaining days to his own salvation. He attended, indeed, with the utmost regularity all sermons and public prayers, but this show of piety did not prevent him from occasionally marauding in his neighbours’ lands, and when his son was killed in a fight with the royalists, he once more assumed power. When Abderrahman III entered in Tudmir and Valencia he invited the Sheikh to render him obedience, pero the Sheikh did not wish him to obey. So Abderrahman despatched an expedition against the sheik Aslami, lord of Alicante and Callosa, in the province of Tudmir. The sheikh did not, however, long enjoy it; the general Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Ourasî captured Alicante and his fortressses one after another, and Aslami compelled to surrender, was conveyed to Cordova with all his family . The rebel sheik Aslami died later on in Cordova at the age of 100 years in 940 or 1941.
Lorca
After Daisam there is another Lord of Lorca, Aberderraman Abenuadah and his authority was extended to as much territory as Daisam. This Abenuadah arose independently in Lorca in the latest years of the emirate of Abdallah (888-912).
The biographer Abenalfaradi relates to Abenuadah who had killed the excellent traditionalist originally from Lorca, Sami, son of Hani during his rebellion in 921-922. Once submitted to Abenuadah, Abd ar-Rahman III transferred him to Cordoba, where he granted him favours and protection and gave him some important posts. In this situation death surprised Abenuadah in this capital around 934. As a famous traditionalist and natural philosopher of Lorca one finds Khalaf Khalaf, son of Hixem, who died in 916 to 917 .
Orihuela
Carmen Barceló Torres informed in her study of Almodóvar (al-Mudawwar), ancient name for the present name Guardamar, that Orihuela was the capital of Tudmir till 916-917 . However, the hypothesis of Antonio García Menarquez is different, because he feels that the place of Almodóvar was situated nearer Rojales than Guardamar and had nothing to do with Guardamar.
In 928, the sultan concentrated his arms against rebels in other provinces. That time Mohamed, child of Abderrahman named the sheik Aslami shared with Daisam the lordship of Tudmir. He was a rebel and rose in Callosa until the end of the emirate of Abdala. However, shortly thereafter he once again rendered obedience to the emir, who rewarded him leaving entrusted the government of that district. Once dead Abdala, the Sheikh broke with Abderrahman III fortifying him in Alicante that was the most formidable of all the castles. Different than Daisam This Arab, who was a free-booter and scoundrel of the very worst kind, had always professed zeal for religion. Growing old, he had abdicated in favour of his son ‘Ab-der-Rahman, wishing –so he said- to devote his remaining days to his own salvation. He attended, indeed, with the utmost regularity all sermons and public prayers, but this show of piety did not prevent him from occasionally marauding in his neighbours’ lands, and when his son was killed in a fight with the royalists, he once more assumed power. When Abderrahman III entered in Tudmir and Valencia he invited the Sheikh to render him obedience, pero the Sheikh did not wish him to obey. So Abderrahman despatched an expedition against the sheik Aslami, lord of Alicante and Callosa, in the province of Tudmir. The sheikh did not, however, long enjoy it; the general Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Ourasî captured Alicante and his fortressses one after another, and Aslami compelled to surrender, was conveyed to Cordova with all his family . The rebel sheik Aslami died later on in Cordova at the age of 100 years in 940 or 1941.
Lorca
After Daisam there is another Lord of Lorca, Aberderraman Abenuadah and his authority was extended to as much territory as Daisam. This Abenuadah arose independently in Lorca in the latest years of the emirate of Abdallah (888-912).
The biographer Abenalfaradi relates to Abenuadah who had killed the excellent traditionalist originally from Lorca, Sami, son of Hani during his rebellion in 921-922. Once submitted to Abenuadah, Abd ar-Rahman III transferred him to Cordoba, where he granted him favours and protection and gave him some important posts. In this situation death surprised Abenuadah in this capital around 934. As a famous traditionalist and natural philosopher of Lorca one finds Khalaf Khalaf, son of Hixem, who died in 916 to 917 .
Orihuela
Carmen Barceló Torres informed in her study of Almodóvar (al-Mudawwar), ancient name for the present name Guardamar, that Orihuela was the capital of Tudmir till 916-917 . However, the hypothesis of Antonio García Menarquez is different, because he feels that the place of Almodóvar was situated nearer Rojales than Guardamar and had nothing to do with Guardamar.
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