and other monotheistic religions to retain and practice their faiths, in exchange for the jizya. Possibly because of tribute taxes, "the bulk of the country's population must have become Muslim". However, other scholars have argued that though 80% of al-Andalus converted to Islam, it did not truly occur until near the 10th century. Christians more often converted to Islam than Jews although there were converted Jews among the new followers of Islam. There was a great deal of freedom of interaction among the groups: for example, Sarah, the granddaughter of the Visigoth king Wittiza, married a Muslim man and bore two sons who were later counted among the ranks of the highest Arab nobility. Abd al-Rahman I was able to forge a new Umayyad dynasty by standing successfully against Charlemagne, the Abbasids, the Berbers, and other Muslim Spaniards. His legacy started a new chapter for the Umayyad Dynasty ensuring their survival and culminating in the new Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba by his descendants. Death Abd al-Rahman died c. 788 in Córdoba, and was supposedly buried under the site of the Mezquita. Abd al-Rahman's alleged favorite son was his choice for successor, and would later be known as Hisham I. Abd al-Rahman's progeny would continue to rule al-Andalus in the name of the house of Umayya for several generations, with the zenith of their power coming during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III. Family Abd al-Rahman was the son of Mu'awiya, son of Hisham, son of Abd al-Malik, according to Abd el-Wahid Merrakechi when reciting his ancestry. Abd al-Rahman's mother was a member of the Nafza Berbers with whom he found refuge after the murder of his family in 750. Abd al-Rahman married a Spanish Sephardi woman named Hulal. She is said to have been very beautiful and was the mother of Hisham. Abd al-Rahman was the father of several sons, but the identity of their mother(s) is not clear: Sulayman (745–800), Governor of Toledo. Exiled after he refused to accept his brother Hisham's rule. Returned to challenge his nephew in 796, captured and executed in 800. Omar (died before 758), captured in battle and executed by Fruela I of Asturias. Hisham I (757–17 Apr 796), Emir of Cordoba. Abdallah Legends In his lifetime, Abd al-Rahman was known as al Dakhil ("the Entrant"), but he was also known as Saqr Quraish ("The Falcon of the Quraish"), bestowed on him by one