Abd al-Rahman

Abd al-Rahman III was an Arab Emir and Caliph of Córdoba (912-961) of the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah ("the Defender of God's Faith"), he ascended the throne in his early 20s and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia. Although people of all creeds enjoyed tolerance and freedom of religion under his rule, he repelled the Fatimids, partly by supporting their Maghrawa enemies in North Africa, and partly by claiming the title Caliph (ruler of the Islamic world) for himself. Abd al-Rahman was born in Córdoba, the grandson of Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, seventh independent Umayyad emir of al-Andalus. His parents were Abdullah's son Muhammad and Muzna (or Muzayna), a Christian concubine.