THE MOST IMPORTANT CELEBRITY IN THE AL- ANDALUS´ HISTORY

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF ABD-AL-RAHMAN I. 

He was born near Damascus in Syria, Abd al-Rahman, was the son of the Umayyad prince Mu'awiyah ibn Hisham and a Berber concubine. He was twenty when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by a popular revolt known as the Abbasid Revolution, occurring in the year 750. Abd al-Rahman and a small selection of his family fled Damascus, where the center of Umayyad power had been. 

Abd al-Rahman quit the village narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins.  Abd al-Rahman continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt. Abd al-Rahman had to keep a low profile as he traveled. It may be assumed that he intended to go at least as far as northwestern Africa (Maghreb), the land of his mother, which had been partly conquered by his Umayyad predecessors. The journey across Egypt would prove perilous. At that time, the governor of Ifriqiya (muslim province of north africa) was a former Umayyad client. The governor broke openly with the Abbasids and invited Abd al Rahman to take refuge in his dominions. In 755 Abd-al-Rahman reached north Africa, near Ceuta. The next step would be to cross the sea to Al Andalus.

Among the arabs of Al Andalus there were former Umayyad clients. Some berber tribes joined Abd al Rahman to cross the mediterranean sea. In september 755 Abd al Rahman landed in Almuñecar. News about the prince's arrival spread throughout the peninsula. Abd al Rahman defeated the abbasid governor and proclaimed himself emir of Al Andalus.

In 763 Abd al Rahman had to fight against an abbasid army which had invaded Al Andalus. Finally, Abd al Rahman defeated the army that the abbasid caliph had sent to Al Andalus. 

In 784 Abd al Rahman ordered the construction of a mosque in Cordoba. In that place there was a Christian Church, so he purchased the building and demolished. The newmosque was close to the palace of the emir.