Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/337

 OMAYYADS, 822-1031.] SPAIN 313 provoke the indignation of his own race against the emir. Luckily for him the Spaniards had an old debt to pay off against the Arabs, who had long treated them with insufferable contempt. In various districts a desperate civil war broke out, which was destructive of all law and order, but was not directly aimed against the central Government. The most violent struggle was in the pro- vince of Elvira, where for a time the natives got the upper hand, and it was only after a desperate conflict that the Arab domination was maintained by the heroism of two successive leaders, Sauwar and Sa'id. In Seville a similar contest arose, and 'Abdallah, after attempting in vain to hold the balance between the two parties, was at last compelled to espouse the cause of the Arabs. An insurrection, in which the life of Mohammed, the emir's eldest son, was in imminent danger, was punished with ruthless severity; but it was the Arab nobles who profited by the success to make themselves absolute masters of the province. The central authority was almost powerless. Most of the provincial governors had thrown off all con- nexion with Cordova, and the others only rendered obedience when it was convenient to themselves. But at the moment when matters seemed at their worst the tide turned. In 890 'Abdallah won his first victory over Ibn- Hafsun, and during the remainder of his reign he gradu- ally recovered power in the revolted provinces. The 'AM al- work was continued by his son and successor, 'Abd al- Rahman. Rahman (or Abderame) III. (912-961), the greatest of the rulers of Cordova. Under this prince, who at last assumed the title of caliph, the unity of Mussulman Spain was for the time restored. No sooner had e Abd al-Rahman completed the first part of his task by the reduction of the family of Ibn-Hafsun than he found himself confronted by two dangers. In Africa the Fatimites were establishing a great empire, and it was almost certain that they would turn their attention to Spain- as soon as their power was secure in the southern continent. In the north the Christian states had profited by the long anarchy among their old foes and were assuming a very threatening attitude. Alfonso III. had moved his capital across the mountains to Leon, and Saucho had recently created the kingdom of Navarre. As regards Africa, 'Abd al-Rahman contented himself with encouraging and subsidizing the princes that still held out against the Fatimites, and with obtaining possession of Ceuta, so as to have complete command of the straits. The northern danger was the more pressing. In 914 Ordoiio II. made a successful raid into the territory of Merida, and two years later he defeated the army which had been sent to avenge the insult. Although Merida had not yet returned to submission, 'Abd al-Rahman was determined to conciliate his subjects by proving his ability to defend them. He spared no pains to collect a magni- ficent army, and his efforts were rewarded in 918 by a great victory over the combined forces of Leon and Navarre. This was the first of a series of successful campaigns, in the course of which he penetrated as far as Sancho's capital, Pamplona. But his victories brought him little beyond glory and revenge. As soon as his troops were withdrawn, the enemy showed himself to be really unconquered. In 921 Ordono is said to have advanced within a day's journey of Cordova, and in 923 Sancho excited a panic in Mussulman Spain by the cap- ture of Viguera. But the disorders in Leon that followed Ordono II. 's death were a great blow to the Christians, and enabled 'Abd al-Rahman to complete his work of internal reorganization and to turn his attention to resist- ing the Fatimite conquest of Mauretania. On the death of Sancho, his widow Tota recognized the caliph as suze- rain of Navarre. In his later years 'Abd al-Rahman was less uniformly successful. The Arabs were disgusted by his policy of excluding the nobles from all share in the government and of filling the chief offices with " Slavs," the generic title for all foreign servants of the court. Rainiro II. had succeeded in restoring unity to Leon, and resumed the warlike policy of his predecessors. In 939 he inflicted a serious defeat upon the army of the caliph at Alhandega, and was only prevented from following up his victory by a quarrel with the famous count of Castile, Fernan Gon- zales. The divisions which followed Ramiro's death were an additional advantage to 'Abd al-Rahman ; and in 960 he gained the most conspicuous success of his reign when his troops restored the deposed Sancho I, to the throne of Leon. This was almost his last act, as he died in October 961. " Among the Omayyad princes of Spain 'Abd al-Rahman III. incontestably holds the first place. His achievements bordered on the fabulous. He had found the empire in a state of anarchy and civil war, divided amongst a crowd of chiefs of different race, exposed to constant raids from the Christians of the north, and on the verge of being absorbed either by Leon or by the Fatimites. In spite of innumerable obstacles he had saved Andalusia both from itself and from foreign rule. He had given to it internal order and prosperity and the consideration and respect of foreigners. He found the treasury in disorder ; i he left it in the most flourishing condition. A third of the annual revenues, which amounted to 6,245,000 pieces of gold, sufficed for the ordinary expenditure ; another third was kept as a reserve ; the rest was devoted to buildings. The condition of the country was equally prosperous. Agriculture, industry, commerce, the arts and sciences, flourished together. The foreigner was lost in wonder at the scientific system of irrigation, -which gave fertility to lands that appeared most unpromising. He was struck by the perfect order which, thanks to a vigilant police, reigned in the most inaccessible districts. Commerce had developed to such an extent that, accord- ing to the report of the superintendent of the customs, the duties on imports and exports constituted the most con- siderable part of the revenue. A superb navy enabled e Abd al-Rahman to dispute with the Fatimites the empire of the Mediterranean, and secured him in the possession of Ceuta, the key of Mauretania. A numerous and well-disciplined army, perhaps the best in the world, gave him a preponder- ance over the Christians of the north. The most haughty sovereigns were eager for his alliance. Ambassadors were sent to him by the emperor of Constantinople and by the sovereigns of Germany, Italy, and France." Dozy, iii. 90. The new caliph, Al-Hakam II. (961-976), was distin- Al- guished as a patron of literature and a collector of books. Hakam The number of volumes in his library was reckoned at ' 400,000, and he is said to have read and annotated them all. For politics he had comparatively little taste. Naturally averse to war, he was only forced into hostilities by the obstinate refusal of Sancho I. to fulfil the treaty which he had signed on his restoration, and he hastened to conclude peace on an empty renewal of the treaty. The disorders which arose during the minority of Ramiro III. put an end to all danger on the side of Leon, and the death of Fernan Gonzales in 970 removed a ruler who had always been a thorn in the side of the infidel. The most notable event of Al-Hakam's reign is the rise to influence of a man who was destined to play a more prominent part in the history of Spain than any of the caliphs, not exclud- ing 'Abd al-Rahman III. Mohammed Ibn-abl-'Amir was the descendant of a family Avhich had long been distin- guished in the civil administration, but had never been admitted to the higher nobility of the sword. From his XXII. 40