Abd ar-Rahman II.

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Abd ar-Rahmans statue in Murcia

Abd ar-Rahman II ( Arabic عبد الرحمن بن الحكم, DMG ʿAbd ar-Raḥman ibn al-Ḥakam , also Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Hakam , Spanish Abderramán ; * 792 in Toledo ; † September 22, 852 in Córdoba ) was the fourth emir of Córdoba from the Umayyad dynasty (822-852). It was above all his work to create a centralized Muslim unitary state based on the Abbasid model , in which the economy also flourished.

Life

Abd ar-Rahman II was a great-grandson of Abd ar-Rahman I. On May 21, 822, he succeeded his father al-Hakam I according to his will in the rule of the emirate of Cordoba. Soon after his accession to the throne, his great-uncle Abdallah ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Balansi contested the rule. Abdallah wooed an army from the Berber tribes in the area of Tangier for large sums of money and landed with them in Algeciras in 823 , but was defeated by Abd ar-Rahman II and, pursued by him, withdrew to Valencia . Eventually Abdallah submitted to the Emir, and Abd al-Rahman II forgave him and even appointed him governor of Todmir in 824 . Abdallah died the following year.

In 825, Abd ar-Rahman II founded Murcia to replace the former capital of the Levant , Ello. In 826 he sent an army to the Spanish Mark (today Catalonia ), which was then ruled by Bernard of Septimania . Louis the Pious had declared war on the Moors in 821 ; A Goth named Aizón , insulted by this emperor, had called the dissatisfied Catalans to arms and united with Abd ar-Rahman II against the Franks . Too late, Pippin , the emperor's son, crossed the Pyrenees with an army . The allies had already taken most of the places in Catalonia, such as Tortosa and Tarragona , except for Barcelona and Girona , and the headquarters of Abd ar-Rahman's general was in Zaragoza . Pippin returned without having achieved anything, since the emir's troops had already withdrawn on his arrival.

Thereupon Abd ar-Rahman II. 828 led his army against Mérida , which had revolted . After stubborn resistance, the city fell into his power in 832. Toledo then revolted . Abd ar-Rahman's forces were defeated twice; he himself had to lift the siege. Finally his general Velid seized the city in 837, whereupon the emir had a new citadel built, which ruled the city. Abd ar-Rahman II also took up the fight against the Christian countries on the borders of al-Andalus and often waged wars, some personally, against the Kingdom of Asturias , for example against King Ramiro around 846 . He also ordered military clashes with the Basque Empire of Pamplona at regular intervals ;

The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos sent an embassy to Abd ar-Rahman II in 840 to demand the return of Crete, which was occupied by the Andalusian adventurer Abu Hafs Umar al-Balluti . He received a negative answer, but a delegation from Cordoba, of which the poet al-Ghazal was one of the members , went to Constantinople at the time . In addition, the emir also developed friendly relations with some principalities in the Maghreb , especially with the Rustamids and Salihids .

In 844 the Normans attacked the Emirate of Córdoba. First the Normans attacked Lisbon , then sailed the Guadalquivir with their fleet from its mouth upstream and sacked Seville and its surroundings. Abd al-Rahman II led a counter-attack and, after a bloody battle, succeeded in retaking Seville from the Normans in November 844. In the period that followed, the army and navy were therefore reinforced to prevent further looting.

In the 850s, Mozarab Christians in Córdoba and Toledo sparked a religious conflict with the Muslim rulers. Many of them were executed for reviling Islam and its prophet ; they are referred to as the martyrs of Cordoba . The two main characters Eulogius of Córdoba and Paulus Álvarus documented these events as contemporary authors, but there is no corresponding parallel Arabic tradition. Apparently the Islamization tendencies in the emirate had increased strongly at that time, and some worried about the preservation of an independent Christian community. These religious riots lasted until the reign of Abd ar-Rahman's son and successor Muhammad I. continued.

Abd ar-Rahman II devoted himself to promoting art and literature based on the oriental model during his reign. He was particularly interested in philosophy , medicine , astronomy , poetry and music . Abbas ibn Firnas and al-Ghazal were among his court poets. The famous musician and singer Ziryab , who traveled from Baghdad at his invitation, came to Cordoba as early as 822, where he founded a sound school. Under Abd ar-Rahman II, the Persian court ceremony was introduced in Cordoba. The emir kept a harem; reportedly he had 45 sons and 42 daughters.

In order to finance the promotion of culture, the administration and finances were reorganized according to the model of corresponding institutions among the Abbasids . State monopolies were established for coinage. Abd ar-Rahman II was one of the richest Muslim rulers of his time due to the flourishing economy of Al-Andalus. Under him, Cordoba was expanded considerably and received a water pipe with leaden pipes. The Great Mezquita de Córdoba was also included in the construction work (833–848).

The last years of Abd ar-Rahman II's life were overshadowed by palace intrigues, instigated by his concubine Tarub. After his death in 852, his son Muhammad I (852–886) became Emir of Córdoba.

As a poet

Has Allah ever done a better work
than this young maiden since he created creation?
Jasmine blooms on her rose cheeks,
which surpasses a garden in glory.

Oh, can I live without a heart and without eyes,
I tore it out and hung it with pleasure
- like the collar I recently gave her -
around her neck and chest.

literature

Web links

Commons : Abd al-Rahman II  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abd ar-Rahman II. , In: The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge , Vol. I, 1 (1842), pp. 89 f.
  2. ↑ a b Hasse: Abdorrhaman II. , In: Johann Samuelansch , Johann Gottfried Gruber (Hrsg.): Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste , 1st section, 1st volume (1818), p. 62.
  3. ↑ Évariste Lévi-Provençal: Abd al-Rahman II , in: Encyclopaedia of Islam , 2nd edition, Vol. 1 (1960), p. 82.
  4. ↑ a b c d Évariste Lévi-Provençal: Abd al-Rahman II , in: Encyclopaedia of Islam , 2nd edition, vol. 1 (1960), p. 83.
  5. ↑ Évariste Lévi-Provençal: Abd al-Rahman II , in: Encyclopaedia of Islam , 2nd edition, vol. 1 (1960), p. 82 f.
  6. ^ Klaus Herbers : History of Spain in the Middle Ages. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-018871-2 , p. 85.
  7. ↑ a b Klaus Herbers: History of Spain in the Middle Ages , p. 94.
  8. ↑ Janheinz Jahn (transfer): Diwan from Al-Andalus. Adaptations of Hispano-Arabic poetry. Harriet Schleber, Kassel 1949, p. 36.
predecessor Office successor
al-Hakam I. Emir of Cordoba
822–852 		Muhammad I.
personal data
SURNAME Abd ar-Rahman II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emir of Córdoba (822–852)
DATE OF BIRTH 792
PLACE OF BIRTH Toledo
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 852
Place of death Cordoba