he had the boy tortured and dismembered, thus contributing to the Christian perception of Muslim brutality. Abd al-Rahman spent the rest of his years in his new palace outside Córdoba. He died on 15 October 961 and was succeeded by his son al-Hakam II. Legacy Abd al-Rahman was a great humanist and patron of arts, especially architecture. A third of his revenue sufficed for the ordinary expenses of government, a third was hoarded, and a third was spent on buildings. After declaring the caliphate, he had a massive palace complex, known as the Medina Azahara, built some five kilometres north of Córdoba. The Medina Azahara was modelled after the old Umayyad palace in Damascus and served as a symbolic tie between the new caliph and his ancestors. It was said that Córdoba contained 3000 mosques and 100,000 shops and homes during his reign. Under his reign, Córdoba became the most important intellectual centre of Western Europe. He expanded the city's library, which would be further enriched by his successors. He also reinforced the Iberian fleet, which became the most powerful in Mediterranean Europe. Iberian raiders moved up to Galicia, Asturias, and North Africa. The colonisers of Fraxinetum came from al-Andalus as well. Due to his consolidation of power, Muslim Iberia became a power for a few centuries. It also brought prosperity, and with this he created mints where pure gold and silver coins were created. He renovated and added to the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. He was very wary of losing control and kept tight reins on his family. In 949, he executed one of his sons for conspiring against him. He was tolerant of non-Muslims, Jews and Christians who were treated fairly. European kingdoms sent emissaries including from Otto I of Germany and the Byzantine emperor. Ancestry Abd al-Rahman III's mother Muzna was a Christian captive, possibly from the Pyrenean region. His paternal grandmother Onneca Fortúnez was a Christian princess from the Kingdom of Pamplona. In his immediate ancestry, Abd al-Rahman III was Arab and Hispano–Basque. Notes and references Bibliography External links |- 9th-century births 961 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century caliphs of Córdoba 10th-century Arabs Emirs of Córdoba Pardon recipients Patrons of the arts People from Córdoba, Spain Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba Spanish humanists Spanish people of Basque descent City founders