Abd-ar-Rahman III

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Marwānī al-Umawī al-Qurashī (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن عبد الله بن محمد بن عبد الرحمن بن الحكم بن هشام بن عبد الرحمن المرواني، الأموي، القرشي; 890–961), or simply ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the eighth and final Emir of Córdoba from 912 to 929. In 929, he elevated the emirate to the Caliphate of Córdoba, serving as its first caliph until his death. Abd al-Rahman won the laqab (sobriquet) al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (lit. 'the Defender of God's Faith') in his early 20s when he supported the Maghrawa Berbers in North Africa against Fatimid expansion and later claimed the title of Caliph for himself. His half-century reign was known for its religious tolerance.

Domestically, Abd al-Rahman crushed internal rebellions and constructed the palace-city of Medina Azahara. Northern Christian kingdoms engaged him in military conflict, such as at the Battle of Valdejunquera and the Battle of Simancas, before ultimately submitting to his diplomatic supremacy by the end of his reign, leading neighboring Christian rulers to pay him homage.