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Rh dynasty, and had executed two sons of Caliph Walīd II for some indiscreet remarks which he had overheard. "Wandering from tribe to tribe and from town to town," says Dozy, "'Abd-ar-Raḥmān passed from one end of Africa to the other." For some five years it is clear he had never thought of Spain.

At length he turned his eyes towards Andalusia, of which his former servant Sālim, who had been there, gave him some account. Badr went over to Spain, to the clients of the Umayyads, of whom some few hundreds were scattered among the Syrians of Damascus and Ḳinnasrīn in Elvira and Jaen; he bore a letter to them, in which 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān told his plight and set forth his claim to the Emirate as grandson of the Caliph Hishām. At the same time he asked their help and offered them important posts in the event of a victory. As soon as they had received this letter, the chiefs of the Syrians of Damascus, 'Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn Khālid, joined with Yūsuf ibn Bukht, chief of the Syrians of Ḳinnasrīn. It was as much from a sense of their duty as vassals as from hope of office and self-interest that they decided to forward the undertaking. But what means had they at their disposal? They resolved to consult Ṣumail the Ḳaisite, a hero of the civil wars. He put off giving an answer in a matter of such importance, but entertained Badr and the other Umayyads. Afterwards he left for Cordova, where the Emir Yūsuf was collecting forces to punish the Yemenites and Berbers who had revolted at Saragossa. Yūsuf bought the help of the Umayyads for the campaign.

When Yūsuf crossed the Guadalquivir, 'Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn Khālid appeared before him and begged they might first be allowed to get in their crops and then they would join him at Toledo – a request which was granted. Thereupon they urged 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān's cause on Ṣumail, who had just risen from one of his frequent orgies: he was out of temper with Yūsuf and gave way to their demands, and so the Umayyads started on their homeward journey well satisfied. However, as soon as Ṣumail reflected that it would end in the extinction of the independence of the tribal chiefs and of his own authority, he sent messengers to overtake the Umayyads, and informing them that he could not support their master, advised them not to attempt any change of government.

Seeing that all hope was lost of forming an alliance with Ḳaisites, the Umayyads threw themselves into the arms of the Yemenites, who were burning to shake off the yoke of the Ḳaisites. The answer to their call surpassed their expectations. As soon as the subject Umayyads felt sure of the support of the Yemenites and could count on Yūsuf and Ṣumail being engaged in the north, they sent to Tammām in Africa money for the Berbers, who had refused to allow 'Abd-ar Raḥmān to leave them till a ransom was paid. Then 'Abd-ar-Raḥmān left for Spain and reached Almuñecar in September 755. There 'Ubaid-Allāh and Ibn Khālid awaited him, and put him in possession of the castle of Torrox between Iznajar and Loja.