Caliphate of Córdoba

Alcázar de Medina Azahara.

Real standard used during the mandate of Abderramán III.

The Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (Arabic: خلافة قرطبة; transliterated Khilāfat Qurṭuba) or Caliphate of the West, and officially as the Second Umayyad Caliphate, was an Andalusian Muslim state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, after the self-proclamation of Emir Abderramán III as caliph in 929. Its territory included Iberia and part of North Africa, with its capital in Córdoba. The Caliphate succeeded the independent emirate established by Abderramán I in 756.

The caliphate disintegrated at the beginning of the XI century during the Fitna of al-Andalus, a civil war between the descendants Caliph Hisham II and the successors of his háyib (court official), Almanzor. In 1031, after years of conflict, the caliphate broke up into a multitude of independent Muslim kingdoms known as taifas. On the other hand, the time of the Caliphate of Córdoba was the period of maximum political, cultural and commercial splendor in Al-Andalus, although it was also It was intense in one of the Taifa kingdoms.

History

Umayyad Dynasty

Ascent

Abderramán I became emir of Córdoba in 756 after six years in exile after the Umayyads lost the position of caliph in Damascus to the Abbasids in 750. Intent on regaining power, he defeated the Islamic rulers of the region and united several local fiefdoms into an emirate. The raids increased the size of the emirate; the first to reach even as far as Corsica occurred in 806.

The emirate's rulers used the title "emir" or "sultan" until the 10th century. At the beginning of the X century, Abderramán III faced a threat of invasion from North Africa by the Fatimid Caliphate., a rival Shiite Islamic empire centered in Ifriquía. As the Fatimids also claimed the title of caliphate for themselves, Abd al-Rahman III in response claimed the title of caliph for himself. Muslim. Even after rejecting the Fatimids, Aberramán retained the more prestigious title. Although his position as caliph was not accepted outside of al-Andalus or its North African affiliates, internally the Spanish Umayyads considered themselves closer to Muhammad, and therefore more legitimate than the Abbasids.

Height of the Caliphate

The reigns of Abderramán III (929-961) and his son Alhaken II (961-976) constitute the heyday of the Umayyad Caliphate, in which the Cordovan state apparatus was consolidated.

To strengthen the administrative organization of a fairly extensive territory and a heterogeneous population, mostly non-Arab, the sovereigns turned to officials loyal to the Umayyad dynasty, which configured a palatine aristocracy of fata'ls (slaves and freedmen of European origin), which progressively increased its civil and military power, thus supplanting the aristocracy of Arab origin. In this tremendously efficient way, the collection of taxes, tithes, tolls, customs duties, rights to markets and jewels was managed centrally and fiscally, subjecting even courtiers to the contribution of the Caliphate.

In the army, the presence of Berber contingents especially increased, due to the intense caliphal policy in the Maghreb. Abderramán III subdued the feudal lords, who paid taxes or served in the army, contributing to the fiscal control of the Caliphate, successfully carrying out a redistribution of wealth, as pointed out by the geographer Ibn Hawqal.

Military companies consolidated the prestige of the Umayyads outside of Al-Andalus and were aimed at guaranteeing the security of trade routes. Foreign policy was channeled in three directions: the Christian kingdoms of the north of the peninsula, North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Fitna

The fitna, civil war, began in 1009 with a coup that led to the assassination of Abderramán Sanchuelo, son of Almanzor, the deposition of Hisham II and the rise to power of Muhammad ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Jabbar, great-grandson of Abderramán III. In the background were also problems such as the crippling tax burden needed to finance the cost of the war effort.

Throughout the conflict, the various contenders called on the Christian kingdoms to their aid. Córdoba and its suburbs were repeatedly looted, and its monuments, including the Andalusian Alcázar and Medina Azahara, destroyed. The capital came to temporarily move to Malaga. In little more than twenty years, 10 different caliphs succeeded each other (including Hisham II restored), three of them belonging to a different dynasty from the Umayyad, the Hammudid.

In the midst of total disorder, the taifas of Almería, Murcia, Alpuente, Arcos, Badajoz, Carmona, Denia, Granada, Huelva, Morón, Silves, Toledo, Tortosa, Valencia, Albarracín and Zaragoza gradually became independent. The last caliph, Hisham III, was deposed in 1031, and a taifa was proclaimed in Córdoba. By then all the coras (provinces) of Al-Andalus that had not yet become independent proclaimed themselves independent, under the regency of Arab, Berber or Slavic clans. The fall of the Caliphate meant for Córdoba the definitive loss of the hegemony of Al-Andalus and its ruin as a metropolis.

Emir Abderramán III took the title of caliph in 929, thus affirming the complete independence of the Caliphate of Córdoba from that of the Abbasids. He followed the example of the Fatimids who had founded a Shi'ite Ismaili caliphate in the Maghreb after the capture of Raqqada (capital of the Aghlabids) in 909, before conquering Egypt in 969 and finally settling there in 973.

The consequence of this decision was that the Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba suffered a bad reputation in Muslim historiography. In fact, the caliph, as "Commander of the believers" it had to be unique; this desire for religious independence was seen as dissent that threatened the spiritual unity of the community of believers in the classical Arab-Muslim world, already undermined by the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate. However, others followed.

Umayyads of Córdoba

The Umayyads of Spain, the Umayyads of Andalusia or the Umayyads of Córdoba first ruled an emirate in 756 in Al-Andalus and later founded a Caliph dynasty in 929. They are a branch of the Marwanid Umayyads who ruled in Damascus over the empire Arab. The last caliph of this dynasty to rule in Córdoba, Hisham III, was deposed in 1031.

Domestic policy

The heyday of the Cordovan caliphate is evidenced by its capacity for fiscal centralization, which managed the country's contributions and income: land taxes, tithes, leases, tolls, capitation taxes, customs duties on merchandise, as well as the rights collected in the markets on jewels, ship's rigging, goldsmith's pieces, etc. Also, the courtiers were subject to tax. Administratively, the caliphate divided its territory into administrative and military demarcations, called coras, roughly following the previous administrative division of the emirate.

During the Caliphate of Córdoba, the maximum official appointment was that of visir, access to a high magistracy allowed the promotion and promotion of children and close relatives, just as dismissal dragged them down. The háyib or chancellor exercised all the actions that the caliph delegated to him, directed the aceifas and organized the administrative policy of the provinces. He was the first of the viziers and responsible for their management. He was also very prominent in the position of zalmedina of Córdoba, with the rank of vizier. Its mission was the application of the law in extremely serious matters, the regency of the kingdom in the absence of the caliph, the headship by delegation of the Royal House, the power to receive the adhesion of the people in the Greater Mosque during the coronation of the emirs. or caliphs and the collection of extraordinary taxes. His subordinates were the chief of police and the market judge. The importance of this position was reflected in Almanzor's own political evolution.

The administration of justice rested with the qadis, who exercised their functions in accordance with the Koran and the orthodox tradition of the Maliki school. The first magistrate had his residence in Córdoba and then each province had its judge with full jurisdiction. The qadis also administered the property of the community and led the prayers in the mosques. In the Caliphate of Córdoba two extraordinary magistracies arose: comes injustitiarum and comes redditornum, the first was an appointment of the caliph with special powers to judge cases of special importance and the second judged complaints against high officials.

The opulence of the caliphate during these years is reflected in the words of the geographer Ibn Hawqal:

Abundance and dishonesty dominate all aspects of life; the enjoyment of goods and means to acquire opulence are common to the great and the small, for these benefits even reach the workers and artisans, thanks to light impositions, to the excellent condition of the country and to the wealth of the sovereign; in addition, this prince does not make the burden of benefits and taxes felt.

To enhance his dignity and in imitation of other previous caliphs, Abderramán III built his own palatine city: Medina Azahara. This most splendor stage of the Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula, although short-lived, since in practice it ended in 1009 with the fitna or civil war that broke out over the throne among the supporters of the last legitimate caliph, Hisham II, and the successors of his prime minister or háyib Almanzor. However, the Caliphate officially continued to exist until 1031, when it was abolished, leading to the fragmentation of the Umayyad State into a multitude of kingdoms known as taifas.

Fall of the Caliphate

In the XI century, the Caliphate collapsed and fragmented into micro-states, the taifas (up to 25) which, weakened, they would be little by little reconquered by the Christians. The last Spanish Muslim kingdom, the kingdom of Granada, fell in 1492. The last Muslims, living under Christian law, would be forced to convert or emigrate in the 19th century XVII.

Foreign Policy

Relations with Christian kingdoms

Genealogical tree of the Omeya family. In blue is the Utman caliph, one of the 4 Orthodox caliphs. In green, the Omega caliphs of Damascus. In yellow, the omeya emires of Cordoba. In orange, the Omeya caliphs of Cordoba (note: Abderramán III was emir until the year 929, in which caliph was proclaimed). It includes the kinship of the omeyas with the prophet Mohammed, pointed in capital letters.

A third objective of the military and diplomatic activity of the Caliphate was oriented towards the Mediterranean. During the first years of the Caliphate, the alliance of the Leonese King Ramiro II with Navarra and Count Fernán González caused the disaster of the Caliphate army in the battle of Simancas. But on the death of Ramiro II, Córdoba was able to develop a policy of intervention and arbitration in the internal disputes between Leonese, Castilians and Navarrese, frequently sending armed contingents to harass the Christian kingdoms. The influence of the Caliphate over the Christian kingdoms of the north became such that between 951 and 961, the kingdoms of León and Navarra, and the counties of Castile and Barcelona paid tribute to it.

Diplomatic relations were intense. Ambassadors from the Count of Barcelona Borrell, Sancho Garcés II of Navarra, Elvira Ramírez de León, García Fernández de Castilla and Count Fernando Ansúrez, among others, arrived in Córdoba. These relations were not without warfare, such as the siege of Gormaz in 975, where an army of Christians confronted General Gálib.

Relations with the Maghreb

Cordoba's policy in the Maghreb was equally intense, particularly during the reign of Alhaken II. In Africa, the Umayyads faced the Fatimids, who controlled cities such as Tahart and Siyilmasa, key points on the trade routes between sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean, although this confrontation was not direct between the two dynasties. The Umayyads relied on the Zenata and the Idrisids and the Fatimid Caliphate, on the Sinhaya Zirids.

Important events were the occupation of Melilla, Tangier and Ceuta, point from which the Fatimid landing on the peninsula could be avoided. After the capture of Melilla in 927 in the mid-X century, the Umayyads controlled the triangle formed by Algiers, Siyilmasa and the ocean Atlantic and promoted revolts that came to endanger the stability of the Fatimid Caliphate. However, the situation changed after al-Muizz's accession to the Fatimid Caliphate. Almería was sacked and the African territories under Umayyad authority came to be controlled by the Fatimids, the Córdoba retaining only Tangier and Ceuta. The handover of the government of Ifriqiya to Ibn Manad provoked the direct confrontation that had previously been tried to be avoided, although Ya'far ibn Ali al-Andalusi managed to stop the Zirid Ibn Manad.

In 972 a new war broke out in North Africa, provoked this time by Ibn Guennun, lord of Asilah, who was defeated by the general Gálib. This war resulted in the sending of large amounts of money and troops to the Maghreb and the continuous immigration of Berbers to Al-Andalus.

Politics in the Mediterranean

The Caliphate maintained relations with the Byzantine Empire of Constantine VII and Cordovan emissaries were present in Constantinople. The power of the Caliphate also extended to the north, and around 950 the Holy Roman Empire exchanged ambassadors with Córdoba, evidence of which remains the protests against Muslim piracy practiced from Fraxinetum and the eastern islands of al-Andalus. Similarly, some years before, Hugo de Arles requested safe-conduct so that his merchant ships could navigate the Mediterranean, thus giving an idea of the maritime power that Córdoba held.

From 942 commercial relations were established with the Amalfi Republic and in the same year an embassy from Sardinia was received.

Economy and population

Asa jars for water of the 10th century of caliph era with painted decoration. Antiquarium Museum, Seville.

The economy of the Caliphate was based on a considerable economic capacity —based on a very important trade—, a highly developed craft industry and agricultural techniques much more developed than in any other part of Europe. It based its economy on the coin, whose coinage played a fundamental role in its financial splendor. The Cordoba gold coin became the most important of the time, which was probably imitated by the Carolingian Empire. Thus, the Caliphate was the first commercial and urban economy in Europe after the disappearance of the Roman Empire.

At the head of the urban network was the capital, Córdoba, the most important city of the Caliphate, which exceeded 250,000 inhabitants in 935 and exceeded 400,000 in 1000, with what it was during the century X one of the largest cities in the world and a major financial, cultural, artistic and commercial center. The second city in Europe after Constantinople.

The most important cities that, together with the Cordoba capital, fostered the splendor of the Caliphate were Toledo as a strategic and cultural point; Pechina or Seville, as the main commercial ports of Al-Andalus; Zaragoza, Tudela, Lérida and Calatayud, located in the strategic Ebro valley. Other important cities were Mérida, Málaga, Granada and Valencia.

Culture

Interior of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, transformed into a Christian temple since its conquest in 1236. One of the best examples of Islamic architecture initiated by the dynasty of the Omeyas.

Abderramán III, eighth Umayyad ruler of Muslim Spain and the first of them to take the title of caliph, not only made Córdoba the nerve center of a new Muslim empire in the West, but also made it the main city of Europe West, rivaling in power, prestige, splendor and culture for a century with Baghdad and Constantinople, the capitals of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire, respectively. According to Arab sources, under his rule, the city reached one million inhabitants, which had 1,600 mosques, 300,000 houses, 80,000 shops and innumerable public baths.

The Umayyad caliph was also a great promoter of culture: he endowed Córdoba with nearly seventy libraries, founded a university, a medical school and another for translators from Greek and Hebrew into Arabic. He had the Mosque of Cordoba enlarged, rebuilding the minaret, and ordered the construction of the extraordinary palatine city of Madínat al-Zahra, of which he made his residence until his death.

Rico Hall of the Palatine City of Medina Azahara. The extraordinary beauty of its buildings was designed to surprise foreign ambassadors.

Aspects of cultural development are no less relevant after Caliph Alhaken II came to power, who is credited with founding a library that would have reached 400,000 volumes. Perhaps this caused the assumption of postulates of classical philosophy —both Greek and Latin— by intellectuals of the time such as Ibn Masarra, Ibn Tufail, Averroes and the Jew Maimonides, although the thinkers stood out, above all, in medicine, mathematics and astronomy.

Statue of Maimonides in his hometown, Cordoba, performed in 1964 by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos.

Dynastic foundation of the Umayyads of Spain

• 750: Battle of the Great Zab. The Abbasids persecute and slaughter the Omegas of the Damascus Caliphate (661-750) and establish a new Caliphate with Kufa as their capital.

• 14 August 755: Abderramán, the only survivor of the massacre of the Omeya family, landed in Al-Munákab, south of Al-Andalus (territories of the Iberian Peninsula and Galia then under Muslim rule), with the firm intention of founding an independent state.

• 756: With the support of the Syrian Yund (military district, army) it is imposed in the battle of Al-Musara and emir was proclaimed, thus breaking the political unity of the Umma, while still recognizing the religious authority of Al-Mansur, the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. To pacify the country, secure its power and independence from the conspiracies of its enemies supported by the Abbasids, Abderramán I, nicknamed "the emigrant", entrusted political responsibilities to members of his family and his clientele. It is supported by the army, which increases the troops, and establishes a mercenary guard, which forces it to increase taxes to pay wages.

• 766-776: His policy was met with the opposition of Yemenis and the Muslim Berbers living in Spain, who rebelled on several occasions.

• September 30, 788: Died in Córdoba Abderramán I, founder of the dynasty and transformer of Al-Ándalus in an independent and structured state.

According to the historian Pierre Guichard, all the Umayyad princes who came to power in Córdoba were the sons of slave concubines, most of them of indigenous “Galician” origin, coming from the remaining Christian areas of northern Spain and the northwest. Thus, according to the author, "with each generation, the proportion of Arab blood flowing through the veins of the reigning sovereign halved, so that the last of the line, Hisham II (976-1013), which according to the only genealogy of male lineage is of pure Arab stock, in reality it only has 0.09% of Arab blood".

Caliphs of Córdoba

• Abderraman III (929-961).
• Alhakén II (961-976).
• Hisham II (976-1009 and 1010-1013).
• Muhámmad II (1009 and 1010).
• Sulaimán al-Mustaín (1009 and 1013-1016).
• Ali ben Hamud al-Násir (1016-1018).
• Abderraman IV (1018).
• Al-Cásim al-Mamun (1018-1021 and 1023).
• Yahya al-Muhtal (1021-1023 and 1025-1026).
• Abderramán V (1023-1024).
• Muhammad III (1024-1025).
• Hisham III (1027-1031).

Caliphate of Córdoba in art

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  Entering the Mosque (1885), Edwin Lord Weeks.

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  Interior of a Mosque at Cordova (circa 1880), Edwin Lord Weeks, The Walters Art Museum.