ABSTRACT
SIX years had not elapsed from the battle of the Zab 1 when a new Ommeyade kingdom sprang up in the west. Among the members of the proscribed family who eluded the vengeance of Saffah was a grandson of Hisham, named
Abdur Rahman (" the servant of the merciful ").1 His 138-300 flight from Syria to Mauritania, his hairbreadth escapes, A.H. his sojourn among the hospitable Berbers, make a romantic story full at times of a thrilling pathos. Whilst living with the Berbers he could not resist casting longing eyes on the beautiful country across the straits which once belonged to his ancestors. Determined to make a bid for its sovereignty he sent a faithful emissary to his clansmen and clients to enlist their support in his struggle for power. His message was received with enthusiasm, and he was invited to appear in person. In the month of September 755 A.C. this youthful scion of an unhappy race landed on the shores of Spain at a place called Almufiecar (al-Munakkab). The Yemenites, smarting under recent wrongs inflicted on them by the dominant Modhar, flocked to his standard, and he was soon able to meet in open field the governor Yusuf, who had hitherto ruled the Peninsula virtually as an independent sovereign, although owning a nominal allegiance to the Abbasside Caliph. The battle which gave
Abdur Rahman the throne was fQught 2 at Masarah, and The battle proved a second Marj Rahat. 3 Yusuf was defeated with Ma~frah, heavy loss, and was forced to submit. In 141 A.H. he May 13, attempted an unsuccessful rising in which he lost his life. 756 A. c.
