Al-Hakam I

Al-Hakam Ibn Hisham Ibn Abd-ar-Rahman I (Arabic: الحكم بن هشام‎) was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in the Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia).

Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came to power, he was challenged by his uncles Sulayman and Abdallah, sons of 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. In the mean time Sulayman attacked Cordoba, but was defeated and driven back to Merida where he was captured and executed. Abdallah was pardoned, but was forced to stay in Valencia.[1]

Al-Hakam spent much of his reign suppressing rebellions in Toledo, Saragossa and Merida. The uprisings twice reached Cordoba. In 805 an attempt was made to dethrone Al-Hakam and replace him with his cousin Mohammed ibn al-Kasim. When the plot was discovered 72 nobles were captured, crucified and displayed along the banks of the river Guadalquivir. In 818 he crushed a rebellion led by clerics in the suburb of al-Ribad on the south bank of the Guadalquivir river. Some 300 notables were captured and crucified, while the rest of the inhabitants were exiled. Some moved to Alexandria in Egypt, some to Fez and Crete. Others joined the Levantine pirates.[1]

Al-Hakam I died in 822 after having ruled for 26 years.

Family

Al-Hakam was the son of Hisham I, Emir of Cordoba and a concubine named Zokhrouf.[2]

Al Hakam was the father of[3]:

Al-Hakam had a concubine named Ajab. She established a foundation for lepers in the suburbs of Cordoba.[5] The leper colony was funded by the proceeds of the Munyat 'Ajab, an estate built for or named after Ajab.[6] Ajab was the mother of[5]:

Another concubine was named Mut'a. She established a cemetery which was still in existence in the 10th century.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Nagendra Kr Singh, International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties, Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2002
  2. ^ Fagnan, E. (trans. & ed.) (1893) Histoire des Almohades d´Abd el-Wahid Merrakechi (Algiers) p. 15.
  3. ^ [1] Moorish Spain page at Medieval Lands
  4. ^ Barrau-Dihigo, L. (1989) Historia politica del reino Asturiano (718-910), p. 138.
  5. ^ a b c Caroline Goodson, Anne E. Lester, Carol Symes, Cities, texts, and social networks, 400-1500: experiences and perceptions of medieval urban space, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010
  6. ^ D. Fairchild Ruggles, Gardens, landscape, and vision in the palaces of Islamic Spain, Penn State Press, 2003

External links

Al-Hakam I
Cadet branch of the Banu Quraish
Preceded by
Hisham I
Emir of Cordoba
796 – 822
Succeeded by
Abd ar-Rahman II