fwo_558341 - AL-ANDALOUS - ABD AL-RAHMAN III Dirhem n.d. Madinat Al-Zahra

AL-ANDALOUS - ABD AL-RAHMAN III

(891-961)

Calif

Abd Al-Rhaman III, sometimes francized in Abderraman III was born in Cordoba on January 7, 891. He is the grandson of the seventh independent Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus. First named Emir of Cordoba on October 15, 912, he was the first to emancipate himself from the power of Baghdad by assuming the title of Caliph on January 16, 929. Although an Umayyad, he had blue eyes, blond and light-skinned by his close ancestry, in particular his grandmother, Christian, the Royal Infanta Onneca Fortunez. He is best known for the Medina Al-Zahara, the palace he had built in honor of his wife Zahra from 936, which employed more than 10,000 workers for 25 years. Since 2009, this monument has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its immense ruins are located 8 kilometers from Cordoba. Abd Al-Rahman III died on October 15, 961 and his son Al-Hakam II succeeded him..