Abd al-Rahman's establishment of a government in al-Andalus represented a branching from the rest of the Islamic Empire, which had been brought under the Abbasid following the overthrow of the Umayyads from Damascus in 750.

17th century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari poignantly described Abd al-Rahman's reaction as he implored Yahiya to keep going: " O brother!

Although the Umayyads did not have a historical presence in the region ( no member of the Umayyad family was known to have ever set foot in al-Andalus before ) and there were grave concerns about young Abd al-Rahman's inexperience, several of the lower-ranking Yemenite commanders felt they had little to lose and much to gain, and agreed to support the prince.

When some local Berber tribesmen learned of Abd al-Rahman's intent to set sail for al-Andalus, they quickly rode to catch up with him on the coast.

One of the Berbers held on to Abd al-Rahman's vessel as it made for al-Andalus, and allegedly had his hand cut off by one of the boat's crew.

Nevertheless, food was still scarce, and Abd al-Rahman's army suffered from hunger.

In an attempt to demoralize Abd al-Rahman's troops, al-Fihri ensured that his troops not only were well fed, but also ate gluttonous amounts of food in full view of the Umayyad lines.

Even before the fight began, dissension spread through some of Abd al-Rahman's lines.

Abd al-Rahman's progeny would, however, take up the title of caliph.

In the meantime, a call went out through the Muslim world that al-Andalus was a safe haven for friends of the house of Umayya, if not for Abd al-Rahman's scattered family that managed to evade the Abbasids.

Various Arab and Berber tribes fought each other for varying degrees of power, some cities tried to break away and form their own state, and even members of Abd al-Rahman's family tried to wrest power from him.

Revenge for the massacre of his family at the hands of the Abbasids must surely have been the driving factor in Abd al-Rahman's war plans.

By 783 Abd al-Rahman's army advanced on Zaragoza.

Included in the arsenal of Abd al-Rahman's army were thirty-six siege engines.

Abd al-Rahman's warriors spilled into the city's streets, quickly thwarting al-Husayn's desires for independence.

Abd al-Rahman's policy of taxing non-Muslims, which was often carried out by later rulers, changed the religious dynamic of al-Andalus.

The date of Abd al-Rahman's death is disputed, but is generally accepted to be sometime around 785 through 788.

Abd al-Rahman's alleged favorite son was his choice for successor, and would later be known as Hisham I. Abd ar-Rahman's progeny would continue to rule al-Andalus in the name of the house of Umayya for several generations, with the zenith of their power coming during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III.

Abd al-Rahman's mother was a member from the Nafza Berbers with whom he found refuge after the murder of his family in 750.

During ' Abd al-Rahman's term of power, the scholar Moses ben Enoch was appointed rabbi of Córdoba, and as a consequence al-Andalus became the center of Talmudic study, and Córdoba the meeting-place of Jewish savants.

Hasdai retained his high position under ' Abd al-Rahman's son and successor, Al-Hakam II, who even surpassed his father in his love for science.

When Abd al-Rahman's name was mentioned in the document, Umayyah protested, saying " I do not know Ar-Rahman " and requested that the pre-Islamic name " Abdu Amr " should be used, to which Abd al-Rahman yielded.

In 1600, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, the principal secretary to the Moroccan ruler Mulai Ahmad al-Mansur, visited England as an ambassador to the court of queen Elizabeth I, in order to negotiate an Anglo-Moroccan alliance against Spain.

Although the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik had adopted Persian court practices, it was not until al-Mansur's reign that Persian literature and scholarship were truly appreciated in the Islamic world.

In 1600, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud went to the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England to promote the establishment of an Anglo-Moroccan alliance against Spain.

Note that south is at the top of the map. Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti or simply Al Idrisi (; ) ( 1099 – 1165 or 1166 ) was a Muslim geographer, cartographer, Egyptologist and traveller who lived in Sicily, at the court of King Roger II.

Al-Qassam was born in Jableh, Syria in the northern Latakia Governorate as the son of Abd al-Qadar, a Sharia court official during Ottoman rule and a local leader of the Qadari Sufi order.

When he came to power, he was challenged by his uncles Sulayman and Abdallah, sons of his grandfather Abd ar-Rahman I. Abdallah took his two sons Ubayd Allah and Abd al-Malik to the court of Charlemagne in Aix-la-Chapelle to negotiate for aid.

Later he went to Damascus and visited the court of the caliph Abd al-Malik and that of his successor, Al-Walid I.

Ibn Tufail ( c. 1105 – 1185 ) ( full Arabic name: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Tufail al-Qaisi al-Andalusi ; Latinized form: Abubacer Aben Tofail ; Anglicized form: Abubekar or Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail ) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath: a writer, novelist, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theologian, physician, vizier, and court official.

A single leader, Muhammad Ibn ' Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi who was a court judge previously, became the leader of the Berbers in the Rif.

The court of caliph Abd ar-Rahman III

The Persian musician, residing in Iraq, Ziryâb ( d. 857 ), who later became court musician of Abd al-Rahman II in Cordoba, is sometimes credited with its invention.

Well-known writers at his court were Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali, Ahmad Ibn al-Qadi and Al-Masfiwi.

He was a landowner from the village of Saman in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan, who arrived in the early 8th century in Merv to the court of the Caliphal governor of Khorasan, Asad ibn ‘ Abd Allah al-Qasri ( 723-727 ), adopted Islam under his patronage, and named his son Asad in his honor.

Muwaffaq al-Din Muhammad ' Abd al-Latif ibn Yusuf al-Baghdadi (; 1162 – 1231 ), more commonly known as ' Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi or ' Abdallatif al-Baghdadi (), born in Baghdad, Iraq, was a celebrated physician, historian, Egyptologist and traveller, and one of the most voluminous writers of the Near East in his time.

* Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Arab physician and traveller

It is possible that Arabic physicians may have performed dissections, including Ibn Zuhr ( Avenzoar ) ( 1091 – 1161 ) in Al-Andalus, Saladin's physician Ibn Jumay during the 12th century, Abd el-Latif in Egypt circa 1200, and Ibn al-Nafis in Syria and Egypt during the 13th century ..

Appointed physician to the caliph Abd ar-Rahman III ( 912-961 ), he, by his engaging manners, knowledge, character, and extraordinary ability, gained his master's confidence to such a degree that he became the caliph's confidant and faithful counselor.

Ibn Abi Sadiq al-Naishaburi, Abu al-Qasim ‘ Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘ Ali was an 11th century Persian physician from Nishapur in Khorasan.

Ali ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘ Abd al-Rahman was a prominent Persian physician who is thought to have lived in the 17th century.

Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Asfara ' ni, also written Esfarayeni, known as Abu Bakr was a Persian physician from Esfarayen, North Khorasan, Iran.

Muhammad ibn Thalib ibn Abd Allah ibn Ni ` mat Allah ibn Sadr ad-Din ibn Shaykh Baha ' ad-Din ash-Shirazi () was a 15th century Persian physician from Shiraz, Iran.

Shahab al-Din ibn ‘ Abd al-Karim Qivam al-Nagawri was a 14th century Persian physician.