Alhaken II

Alhaken II, al-Hakam II or Alhaken II (Arabic: الحكم بن عبد الرحمن, al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān (Al-Hákam son of Abderramán); Córdoba, January 13, 915 – Id., October 1, 976) second Umayyad caliph of Córdoba, from October 16, 961 until his death. During his reign —one of the most peaceful and prosperous of the dynasty on the peninsula— the mosque of Córdoba, a city that reached its peak during the Caliphate period, was expanded.He is recognized as a great bibliographer and a ruler of great culture.

He succeeded Abderramán III at the age of 47 and nine months, in 962, continuing his father's policy and maintaining peace and prosperity in al-Andalus. Not only did he maintain the height that the caliphate reached with his father, but with him he achieved the maximum splendor of him.

At the age of 8 he was appointed successor to Abderramán III, and his education was exquisite, participating intensely in the activities of the reign, as well as in the military campaigns, accompanying the caliph on several occasions. Throughout his life he retained great appreciation for the arts and letters. When he took power on his father's death, he was 47 years old and adopted the title of al-Mustánsir bi-l-Lah ("he who seeks the victorious help of Allah"). Until then, and despite his union with Radhia, he had no children. Upon reaching the throne, offspring became necessary and he managed to give it to a slave concubine, of Basque origin named Subh (also called Zohbeya and Aurora), to whom Alhakén gave the male name of Chafar.

Youth

He was seven months old and was born on January 20, 915.

Appointed successor to the throne as a young man, he gained ample experience in the Administration, since he reached the throne when he was over forty years old. His father, concerned about his education as an heir, forced him to reside in the palace with him and his not take a wife, which sparked rumors of homosexuality.

Caliph

He adopted the honorary title of al-Mustánsir bi-l-Lah ("he who seeks the victorious help of Allah") and continued the policy initiated by his father, of whom he was essentially a follower His fifteen years of reign were quiet, like the second half of his father's.

Unlike his father, Alhakén relied on two court figures: the general Gálib, a freedman of Slavic origin, and the chamberlain Yaáfar al-Mushafi, who together with the concubine Subh practically exercised the government, reaching high levels of power. The first was in charge of defending the northern border against the Asturian kingdom and its Castilian county, and the second ruled during the caliph's final illness. Al-Mushafi was a personal friend of the caliph, son from his own tutor. Thanks to Alhakén's protection, he achieved the title of chamberlain; He enjoyed the caliph's maximum confidence for his integrity.The general became the supreme commander of the caliph's armies and had the last opinion in all military decisions, serving the first three Cordovan caliphs.

Foreign policy and military campaigns

The Christian Kingdoms

Among the first measures he took when he was appointed caliph, was the claim to the Christian kingdom of León of the ten fortresses that its king, Sancho I, had promised his father Abderramán III for the support provided in the dynastic dispute that that he maintained with Ordoño IV and that had allowed him to recover the throne in 960.

Faced with the refusal of the Leonese king to fulfill his promise, Alhakén welcomed the deposed Ordoño IV to the Cordovan court, promising to restore him to the throne, which made Sancho I retract and send an embassy to Córdoba with the promise of fulfilling what was agreed. However, the death of Ordoño IV —in Córdoba itself, in 962— caused Sancho I to change his position again and make an alliance with the Navarrese king García Sánchez I, with the Castilian count Fernán González and with the Count of Barcelona Borrell II to face the power of the caliph.

Alhakén began in response, in 963, a military offensive that was culminated in the success of conquering the squares of San Esteban de Gormaz, Atienza and Calahorra which, together with the dynastic crises that arose in the Christian kingdoms, they returned to place the Cordovan caliphate in its position of supremacy. Gormaz was also reinforced as a center of defense against any Castilian attack. years; his minority and the regency of his aunt Elvira led to the crisis of the kingdom and the caliphate was left arbitrator of the numerous disputes of its feudal lords. Not only numerous lords from Leon, but also the new Castilian count García Fernández and the Navarrese king Sancho Garcés, rushed to pay homage to Alhakén in the late 1960s and early 1960s.

Thus began a period of military calm that lasted until 974, when the new Castilian count García Fernández, who had succeeded Fernán González, taking advantage of the fact that the bulk of the Caliphate army was in Africa, attacked the Plaza de Deza. García allied with the Leonese and Navarrese and surrounded Gormaz in April 975. His incursion was accompanied in 974 by the assault of the also new king of León Ramiro III of the Plaza de San Esteban de Gormaz. The return of General Gálib from his African campaign put an end to the Christian attacks by defeating them in the battles of Gormaz (June 975), Langa and Estercuel.

The Maghreb

Alhakén's African policy was marked by the attempt to stop the expansion of the Fatimid Caliphate, with its capital in Kairouan, in present-day Tunisia, through the Maghreb. Policy that was favored by the conquest, in 969, of Egypt by the Fatimids, who moved their capital to Cairo three years later and with it their area of influence away from the Strait of Gibraltar. In addition, they sought to ensure the direct access to Saharan trade by controlling some cities in the Rif.

After the setbacks suffered by his father, when he reached the caliphate he barely kept possession of Ceuta and Tangier in the region. Somewhat minimal, if one takes into account that between 945 and 952 the Umayyads controlled the lands between Algiers, Siyilmasa and the Atlantic. During the first ten years of his reign, however, he was content to try to maintain his influence by buying loyalties and occasional military raids. After stirring up the revolt of some Zanata against the Fatimid vassal in the area, the Sinhaya Ziri Manad responded to the harassment and, with the approval of the Fatimid caliph, counterattacked and won a crushing victory in February 971. Manad's death that same year at the hands of a former Fatimid supporter handed over to the Umayyads and an alliance with some Cenete tribes, it was a Pyrrhic triumph that was followed by a harsh Zirid reaction. From that year on, the recruitment of Berber forces increased notably, which continued during the subsequent government de Almanzor and played an important role in the civil war.

The Fatimid relocation made Alhakén decide in 972 to recover his area of influence in the Maghreb, for which he had to confront the last representative of the Idrisid dynasty, the emir al-Hasan ben Kannun. General Muhammad ibn Qasim ibn Tumlus, mobilized the squadrons of Seville and Almería and sent money to the zanata Muhammad ben al-Jayr to recruit an army and go on the offensive. The general crossed the strait on August 7 and went to face the Idrisid while the fleet took charge of Tangier. That same month, the Umayyad forces of Admiral Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Rumahis recaptured Tangier, which had earlier driven out the Caliphate garrison and which Ben Kannun controlled. At the same time, General Qasim recaptures Tetouan. On September 2, Kannun is defeated and must flee, allowing Qasim to take Asilah. After losing Asilah, the Idrisid launched a successful counterattack in December that forced the Andalusians to take refuge in Ceuta.

Requested reinforcements to the peninsula, Alhakén sent General Gálib, to whom he gave complete freedom, both to bribe and to fight enemies. The general left Medinaceli, passed through the capital, embarked in Algeciras on June 15 from 973, where he is in charge of the last details of the expedition. His objective was Tangier, but the wind diverted it to Marsá Qabála. Gálib achieved the subjugation of the Idrisí in March 974. The mission to bribe the Berbers it was run by the young mayor Abu ʿAmir Muhammad ben Abi ʿAmir.

In 975, and given the great expense that maintaining its forces in the Maghreb entailed for the Andalusian treasury, they were returned to the peninsula and replaced by local forces. Thus, control of the southern coast of the Mediterranean It was ensured by the direct presence in some strategic strongholds such as Ceuta and Melilla, and through a policy of establishing protectorates, such as the Emirate of Nekor.

Norman invasion

He also had to face the maritime offensive of the Norman Vikings who, under the command of a certain Gundurendo, toured the ports of Europe spreading terror: they attacked Lisbon in 966, but were defeated off Silves by a fleet that the caliph had displaced from Seville under the command of its admiral Muhammad ibn Rumahis. Almería, the caliphate's main military port, had begun to fortify itself by order of Alhakén in 964. This guaranteed surveillance of the Strait of Gibraltar and trade with the Maghreb.

In the year 971, the Vikings attempted a new incursion into Caliphate territory, Alhakén responded by sending the Almerian squadron to the aid of the Sevillian one and the Normans failed to land. At the end of his reign his fleet had shipyards, apart from the main, in Alcacer do Sal, Silves, Seville, Algeciras, Denia, Tortosa, Ceuta and Melilla, dominating the Atlantic and the Western Mediterranean with only its Fatimid rival as a real threat. Arab chronicles speak of up to three hundred warships in the caliphal squadrons. More moderate calculations reduce them to one hundred and twenty ships, including transports and pataches, operated by seven thousand crew members, five thousand of them sailors and one thousand professionals. Thanks to their naval power, the Umayyads were able to hold the enclave of Fraxinetum, in Saint-Tropez, between 894 and 972.

Domestic policy

Mosque of Cordoba.

Medina Azahara.

The caliphate was based on the equality of all ethnic and religious groups to gain access to government posts, putting an end to the Arab, Barbary, Slavic or any other origin military nobility. Respect for Christians, Jews and the vast majority of the population, as well as the establishment of a meritocratic bureaucracy and a commercial and administrative middle class, were the foundations of this welfare state.

In the year 966, paying attention to the most intransigent alfaquíes, contrary to the production of wine, he ordered the uprooting of two thirds of the vineyards.

Public works

• He dedicated himself to the Mosque of Cordoba, from which his father had already inspected the works, performing the most beautiful expansion and the richest decoration, knocking down the wall of the qibla and extending the oratory into twelve croissants, providing it with a series of lucernals covered with beautiful domes, and a macsura with the presence of polylobed arches and crossroads, in addition to the construction of mihrab, conceived for the first time as an octagonal room, whose cover was decorated with beautiful mosaics made by Byzantine teachers sent by the basileus Constantinople, Constantine VII.
• It finished building Medina Azahara, with the same type of construction and decoration. He used his dependencies from spring to autumn, and if he ever did so in winter it was to preside over solemn receptions and receive ambassadors.
• He reformed the Andalusian Alcazar and built castles for several areas as a defense against the Christian kingdoms.
• He did public works in Cordoba, which became the most important city in Europe both for its population and for the political and cultural spheres. It was the first city of the Peninsula that had paved its streets, lighted by night and sewered public, which was distributed through a perfectly organized network, something extraordinary taking into account the time. There is also evidence of such works in other cities.
• It built the castle of Baños de la Encina.

Economy

Silver coin minted during the reign of Alhakén II in Medina Azahara.

The Koranic taxes were almost never enough to cover State spending, but the economy reached unsuspected development thanks to the long period of peace that the caliphate gave its subjects, which provided the treasury with healthy income that allowed the construction of large public works.

Ivory and silver box with carved decoration (Medina Azahara).

• The economic life itself was based on agriculture and livestock. The cultivation of cereals and vegetables was particularly intense. The surpluses of olives, grapes, and figs were exported with smug benefits to the East. Rice, orange and grapefruit were introduced and irrigation systems and canals were built. The forest layer probably reached its maximum extension on the peninsula and was used for the construction of ships, especially in the shipyards of Tortosa.
• The domain of Morocco and Algeria facilitated the protection of the caravans brought to it by the gold of Sudan, with which coins were minted.
• The cattle ranch was in the hands of the Berbers. At the time of Abderramán II the first camels had been introduced in Spain, which were raised for the army.
• Mining techniques did not experience significant advances with respect to those of the Roman era, and the metals exploited were the same as in ancient times: gold and silver.
• The artisan industry focused on the manufacture of luxury objects.

Culture

Herbolario.

The development of science and letters was due to the facilities that the caliphs gave to the immigrated oriental scholars, since the Abbasids relentlessly persecuted those who cultivated knowledge beyond the rudiments necessary for the solution of problems. legal-religious problems. The diffusion of Andalusian culture throughout Europe was ensured thanks to the continuous trips of the Mozarabic monks to Christian Spain, to the Hispanic March up to Lorraine.

• The medicine was in the hands of the Mozarabs until the middle of the centuryIX. At this time came practical from the East that displaced the Christians, and a century later adapted the eastern translation of the Dioscorides to the botanical terminology of al-Andalus, thanks to the collaboration of the Jewish Hasday ibn Saprut, the Byzantine monk Nicholas and the Muslim physician Ibn Yulyul.
• It founded 27 public schools in which scholars taught the poor and orphans free of charge in exchange for attractive wages, and decreed compulsory education for all children.

Al-Andalus Koran Volume.

• He created a library, symbol of this Andalusian culture, pluralist, tolerant and universalist, with more than 400 000 volumes covering all branches of knowledge. He had an old-fashioned scribe workshop with copyists, miniaturists and bookmakers, and the names of the two most important players are known: Lubna, secretary of Alhaken II, and Fatima. According to chroniclers, in a single suburb of the city there could be about one hundred and seventy women dedicated to the copy of books, giving an idea of the culture to which the Cordoba woman arrived at those dates. He also had agents to watch and buy books in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Alexandria. From the library he subsidized not only the writers and scholars of Al-Andalus, but from all over the world: when he knew that Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani had begun his famous anthology of poetry and Arab songs (the Book of songs), sent him a thousand gold coins to have a copy. Isfahani sent him a special, with the genealogy of the Omeyas, because Alhakén, who read and wrote many of the thousands of books in his library, was a famed genealogist, the most important one that had this discipline; still today is the highest authority. It happened centuries before a library like his was gathered in Spain, only because he wrote, forgiving, protecting the philosophers and paying all the poets, even the most shameless.

Succession

Of the career of this caliph, intelligent, enlightened, sensitive and extremely pious, it is only regrettable that he reigned for only 15 years, and that he made the big mistake of not naming a capable and effective successor.

Elder and childless when he attained the throne, he had his first offspring, Abder-Rahman, in 962, the son of the Basque concubine Subh. The heir, however, died a few years later, in 970. Subh returned to give birth three years later, in 965, to the future Hisham II; thanks to his birth she became the most influential woman in the palace.

Perhaps because he felt his death near due to the attack of hemiplegia he suffered, he hastened to appoint his son, Hisham II, as his successor who, upon accessing the throne as a minor, became a puppet used cunningly by some- Mansur and his supporters. In 976, when Hisham was just eleven years old, Alhakén swore the oath of allegiance to the heir. Eight months later, he died. The appointment of a minor to the caliphate, although not without precedent, aroused opposition.

Alhakén died of angina pectoris in the presence of two of his main courtiers on the night of September 30, 976. Some sectors of the court proposed his younger brother, Abū-l-Muțarrif al-Mughira, as the new caliph on the grounds that Hisham, a child, could not properly hold the office. Prince al-Mughira was Abder-Rahman III's third son and his favourite, aged about twenty-seven at the time. Chamberlain al-Mushafi, eagerly seizing the regency, he sent Abu ʿAmir Muhammad to the prince's palace and assassinated him. Abdur-Rahman III's second and fourth sons, Abū-l-Qāsim al-Așbag and Abū-l-Așbag' Abd al-'Aziz, respectively, did not participate in these events.

Portrait of the Caliph

Physically blond, but bordering on redhead, with an aquiline nose, large black eyes, corpulent, with short legs and overly long forearms, he had a perceptible undergnathism. His voice was very strong, almost loud.

Alhakén was never in good health. In 974, he suffered an attack of hemiplegia from which he never recovered and which ended up killing him two years later. The proximity of death led him to accentuate his pious deeds, although he had always been devout, in contrast to his father.

He was an intelligent, enlightened, sensitive and extremely pious caliph, so much so that, concerned about his subjects' habit of drinking, he tried to avoid it by uprooting the vineyards. His advisers dissuaded him, mentioning that fig brandy also made you drunk and that the measure would have been unpopular.