PART TWO:
In which are contained Chronicles of the Glorious Reign Abd-ar-Rahman III, and how he Ended the Abominable Rebellion of Umar ibn Hafsun, and how he Expanded the Dominions of Algharbia
Continued from the
Kitab Qadim W'alealam Aljadid W'tarikhiha
The ascension of Abd-ar-Rahman III "the Magnificent" to the throne of Cordoba is somewhat paradoxical, if one knew not the circumstances. He was born the year after the First Great Voyage, and he was not one of al-Umawi's sons, but the son of the emir's first son, Muhammad who the emir had killed. His mother was a Christian concubine called Muzayna. Nevertheless, ar-Rahman was the chosen heir to the kingdom. He was raised and reared in his mother's harem, and taught it the ways of statecraft by his sister, known as al-Sayyida, "the Woman." He was possessed of white skin, blue eyes and an attractive face. It is said that he was handsome, although somewhat sturdy and stout. His legs were short, to the point that the stirrups of his saddle were mounted just one palm under it. When mounted, he looked tall, but on his feet he was quite short. He dyed his beard black. For this description, I am indebted to ibn Idhari, may he be blessed....
The old emir passed away at the age of 72. For years, ar-Rahman had been his favorite; he was allowed to reside in the emir's tower, something none of the emir's own sons were allowed to do. Thus, it was no surprise that he was the chosen heir, a thing cemented by the fact that he was given the total signet ring before his antecedent's death. He inherited the realm, such as it was, when he was 21 years of age. Cordoba was in an awful state at this point. The insidious Christian kings of Asturias was attempting to destroy all Muslim influence on the peninsula, and to the south sat the dastardly Idrisids and the Egyptian Fatimids. Finally, the realm was rocked by internal insurgencies; not just the exploits of Umar ibn Hafsun, but also revolting petty emirs, as well...
ar-Rahman was determined to do a number of things during his reign. First and foremost, he wished to stabilize his realm, defeat the myriad rebellions, and centralize it as well. Finally, he was fascinated by Algharbia, and thus, he was determined to expand Cordoban influence in the new world. To further the first set of goals, he began hunting the rebellions; within the first ten days of his rule, he had exhibited a rebel's head in the capital. He also began leading expeditions to the realms of the southern tribes to keep them under control...
Beginning in the year 300, an army of the new emir's, led by the eunuch amir Badr, began seizing the rebel city of Écija, which was quite near the capital. He then personally began an expedition to the south, where he subjugated the rebel muladi lords of Jaén and Elvira. Meanwhile, a cavalry detachment was sent to free the city of Málaga from ibn Hafsun's siege. The emir also retook the city of Fiñana. After this, he advanced to the castle of Juviles in the Alpujarras region. After a short siege, the muladi lords surrendered.
He also took advantage of dynastic feuds within the Banu Hayyay lords of Seville and Carmona, to force their ultimate submission to the capital. After gaining the support of the lord of Carmona, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Hayyay (fie upon him!), the Sevillan lord's cousin, the Cordoban forces surrounded Sevilla. The Sevillan lord requested assistance from ibn Hafsun (again, fie!), but he had been defeated, and returned to Bobastro. Finally, ar-Rahman went to the south, to retake the cities of Granada, Elvira, and Jaen, held by ibn Hafsun. Meanwhile, in middle 301, the city of Seville surrendered; Ibn al-Mundir al-Qurays, later the Vizier of al-Anawaq, was appointed as the city's governor, and ibn Hayyay as vizier. However, his duplicity was soon discovered after he had held the post for a single day...
After defeating most of the rebellious muladis in glorious combat, the emir's next objective was to defeat the evil Umar ibn Hafsun. In late 301, the troops advanced on the rebel strongholds of Turrus and Balda, taking them. He continued on to Bobastro, then to Málaga, the siege of which took only a day. Finally, they went on to Suhayl and Algeciras, where the rebellious lords were subdued. By the end of 301, nearly all of the rebel castles had been subdued. In desperation, the thrice-cursed Umar ibn Hafsun fled to the Fatimid capital of Raqqada with his three sons, Ja'far, 'Abd-ar-Rahman and Hafs. (The Fatimids were supporters of the rebellion.)
The glorious emir politely demanded the rebel be returned to the realm to face justice. However, the Fatimids refused. With the realm centralized and stabilized, rallied behind the rightful emir, the time for war was ripe. In early 302, war was declared. This began the Great Maghreb War.
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From
A History of Algharbian Colonization During the Reign of Abd-ar-Rahman III by Dr. Yahya ibn David, al-Najed University, 1434
A variety of diverse tactics were used in the subjugation of the Algharbian landmass. Most noteworthy here are those use for the conquest of al-Anawaq. The first and foremost of these was simple, bloodthirsty, combat. The Toltaq Empire, the former dominators of the al-Anawaqi continent, were greatly inclined towards one-on-one combat, as was required by their faith, and the Cordoban mubarizun were more than happy to comply. They saw it as honorable. Mubarizun, famed warriors of great lineage, were used as duelists to gain morale. Whensoever a Toltaq leader agreed to this, though, it would prove disastrous, for they had no metal, and thus, no steel swords. Even the least warrior could overcome their weapons, made of wood, stone, feathers, blood and obsidian. These duels, while not particularly destructive from an army standpoint, would often be great morale boosts to the Cordoban men. The Toltaqs were extremely disciplined; their empire was nearly a stratocracy, but their morale could go just as quickly as the average mamluke.
When this first stage of battle was over, and when the formal fighting began, the army relied on light swordsmen to middle infantry, highly zealous and courageous, the kind of men who would advance in battle. Cordoban armies often used the tactic of using quick, coordinated and deadly strikes under heavy arrow fire to devastate their foes. The Toltaqs, in addition to having no steel, were entirely bereft of horses, or cavalry in general. Thus, the use of said (namely, horses and camels) proved to be a massive advantage, both tactically and psychologically. Toltaq troops had never seen anything like a horse or a camel, and these creatures often paralyzed armies with terror. Camels were the particular hatred of the Toltaq divisions. The beasts were large and bizarre in appearance, and their odor was unlike anything these men had ever known. Thus, they often drew the particular ire of the Toltaqs. However, the horse-mounted cavalry of Al-Andalus was its particularly pride. The Berber men were far more fearsome and deadly than a normal contingent, and more experienced. These groups would often play pivotal roles striking against Toltaq positions...
But when the battle was done, the generals had better plans. The depopulated areas they would give to ersatz tribes, composed of those who had been disgraced in battle or committed crimes, or merely volunteers. These tribes, called "al-alaistinaeia," or false, were given autonomy to wage war as they wished; they could conduct their own further invasions as they wished into Toltaq territory however they liked. "Baqiyyah wa-Tatamaddad" was the name of the war. They were to remain in territory, and expand continuously at all costs, for there was no rest in conquest. The alaistinaeia were allowed to move as they pleased, and greta numbers of these made it monstrously difficult for the enemy to respond, for they were forced to defend everywhere, but this same defense was broken as well, unresponsive. This system assured victory...
Meanwhile, a more subtle tactic was used. While the actual existence of ashya saghirih [microbes] was unknown back then, a number of scientists had ideas about it, and these ideas were not unknown to the colonial classes. In other words, biological warfare, or at least an early version of it, was used. It is a definite fact that during the conquest of al-Titeniza that gifts were given to the local princes, laden with disease, which served to aid the siege. But even it was used without malicious intent. The Toltaqs had never developed a resistance to the diseases of Cordoba, and thus, these often proved devastating to the Toltaq regiments and civilians, killing thousands without any swords.