Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 87

When Abd al-Rahman III rose to the throne he found a kingdom affected by civil wars and
rebellions. He focused his army in one region at a time and methodically pacified the kingdom.
Nevertheless, if a region was conquered, he could not always rule directly. For example, Toledo
surrendered after two years of siege and several years of rebellion. In this instance, following defeat they
did not pay taxes above the legal minimum of one-tenth and continued to be directly governed by their
own leaders. Rebellions ceased with time, attributable at least in part to the establishment of equilibrium
between control and autonomy of the territories. Every year Al-Rahman III reviewed the right to rule of
the local lords and provided them lavish receptions at Cordoba. By 932, al-Andalus was at peace (Fierro
2012) insofar as we broadly understand this term. However, if we look at instability from the point of view
of the local lords, the military campaigns from Cordoba to bring them into submission constituted the real
cause of conflict. For example, between 852 and 912 the cities of Toledo, Zaragoza and Badajoz were
mostly independent: The Banu Qasi family managed to rule Zaragoza for almost a century.
However, even Abd al-Rahman III who internally pacified al-Andalus still sent military campaigns
against the Christian realms of Northern Spain. These campaigns aimed at weakening enemies and
preventing their attack whilst obtaining resources and captives. He did not try to conquer these realms.
One of the main reasons was he needed his resources to open a second frontier in North Africa. He
conquered Melilla, Ceuta and Tangier in 927, 931 and 951 respectively, and established a protectorate in
North Africa and central Morocco as a defensive policy against the Fatimid Caliphate, an enemy that
needed to be kept in check in case they tried to move to the Iberian Peninsula (Hillgarth 1977).
Abd al-Rahman III’s most important social policy to pacify the kingdom was the assimilation of
Muwallads, Christians and Jews into society and government. He treated them with justice, and they
become more loyal year by year. He introduced a doctrine of no differentiation between Arabs and non-
Arabs, approving non-Arabs governors and giving them important military positions. During his reign,
social statues derived from services rendered and religious merit rather than from ethnic origin.
Furthermore, Berbers do not appear to have suffered discrimination: Berber scholars were thus sent to
talk with the Berber North African allies (Fierro 2012) on behalf of the state.
Another of the policies that Abd al-Rahman III used to extend his authority was his proclamation
to Caliph in 929. He took the title of al-Nasir li-din-Allah, the defender of religion (Hillgarth 1977). The
reasons behind this proclamation were grounded within the devaluation of the title resulting from the
Abbasids having lost power and the recent proclamation of the Fatimid caliphate (Fierro 2012). Minting
gold was a distinctive prerogative for a Caliph and served as a means of state propaganda. Abd al-Rahman
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