Name: Abdur Rahman I. Born: 731CE in Damascus, Syria. Died: 788 in Cordova, Spain.
Abdur Rahman I was emir of Muslim Spain (Andalus) from 756 to 788. He was the son of the Umayyad prince Muawiya and a Berber lady and a grandson of Hisham, the 10th Umayyad Caliph. In 750 he was one of the few members of his family to escape slaughter by the Abbasids who overthrew the Umayyad Caliphs. He fled, travelling across North Africa for 5 years, finally gaining refuge among his mother's tribe, the Berbers of Morocco. In 755, Abdur Rahman landed in Spain and was accepted as chief by the Syrian immigrants, loyal to his family. After defeating the governor he entered the capital, Cordova, and was proclaimed emir.
He became known as the Falcon of Andalus and founded a Muslim dynasty that ruled Spain for 3 centuries. He was skilled in poetry and the military arts. He subdued many rebellions. He perfected the administration, built roads, aqueducts, and the famous Musjid called the Mezquita de Cordova. Jews and Christians were allowed to retain and practice their faiths. 80% of Andalus converted to Islam. In his rule and after Muslims introduced the sugar-cane, cotton, rice, and fruits such as peaches and oranges. It was through them that the arts of making paper and glass passed into Europe. The potteries of Malaga, the cloth of Murcia, the silk of Almeria and Granada and the weapons of Toledo, were world-renowned.
Some say Abdur Rahman is buried under the Musjid he began, the Mezquita de Cordova.
BIOGRAPHY: FALCON OF SPAIN
