Early life and flight from Damascus Abd al-Rahman was born in Palmyra, near Damascus in the heartland of the Umayyad Caliphate, the son of the Umayyad prince Mu'awiya ibn Hisham and his concubine Rah, a Berber woman from the Nafza tribe, and thus the grandson of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, caliph from 724 to 743.Peter C. Scales, The fall of the caliphate of Córdoba: Berbers and Andalusis in conflict, Brill, 1994, p. 111Arnold Joseph Toynbee, A study of history, Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1934, Vol. 8, p. 372 According to ibn Idari he was ""tall, blonde, one-eyed, beardless, with a mole in the face, he carried two earlocks".Manuela Marín,A GALLERY OF ROYAL PORTRAITS: ANDALUSI UMAYYAD SOVEREIGNS (2TH-4TH/8TH-10TH CENTURIES) IN ARAB CHRONICLES, ANUARIO DE ESTUDIOS MEDIEVALES (AEM) 41/1, enero-junio de 2011 pp. 273-290 ISSN 0066-5061, https://estudiosmedievales.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosmedievales/article/view/344/348 He was twenty when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750. Abd al-Rahman and a small part of his family fled Damascus, where the center of Umayyad power had been; people moving with him included his brother Yahya, his four-year-old son Sulayman, and some of his sisters, as well as his Greek mawla (freedman or client), Bedr. The family fled from Damascus to the River Euphrates. All along the way the path was filled with danger, as the Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found. Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village. He left his young son with his sisters and fled with Yahya. Accounts vary, but Bedr likely escaped with Abd al-Rahman. Some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd al-Rahman at a later date.Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari. The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, 96. Al-Maqqari quotes from historian Ibn Hayyan's Muktabis when detailing Abd al-Rahman's flight from Syria.
Early life and flight from Damascus Abd al-Rahman was born in Palmyra near Damascus in the heartland of the Umayyad Caliphate the son of the Umayyad prince Mu'awiya ibn Hisham and his concubine Rah a Berber woman from the Nafza tribe and thus the grandson of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik caliph from 724 to 743Peter C Scales The fall of the caliphate of Córdoba Berbers and Andalusis in conflict Brill 1994 p 111Arnold Joseph Toynbee A study of history Oxford University Press H Milford 1934 Vol 8 p 372 According to ibn Idari he was ""tall blonde one-eyed beardless with a mole in the face he carried two earlocks"Manuela MarínA GALLERY OF ROYAL PORTRAITS ANDALUSI UMAYYAD SOVEREIGNS (2TH-4TH/8TH-10TH CENTURIES) IN ARAB CHRONICLES ANUARIO DE ESTUDIOS MEDIEVALES (AEM) 41/1 enero-junio de 2011 pp 273-290 ISSN 0066-5061 https//estudiosmedievalesrevistascsices/indexphp/estudiosmedievales/article/view/344/348 He was twenty when his family the ruling Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750 Abd al-Rahman and a small part of his family fled Damascus where the center of Umayyad power had been; people moving with him included his brother Yahya his four-year-old son Sulayman and some of his sisters as well as his Greek mawla (freedman or client) Bedr The family fled from Damascus to the River Euphrates All along the way the path was filled with danger as the Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village He left his young son with his sisters and fled with Yahya Accounts vary but Bedr likely escaped with Abd al-Rahman Some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd al-Rahman at a later dateAhmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain 96 Al-Maqqari quotes from historian Ibn Hayyan's Muktabis when detailing Abd al-Rahman's flight from Syria