But, at the early period we are considering, the "Christian kingdom"
was composed of a handful of men and women who had fled from the
Moslems to the mountains of the Asturias. Its one stronghold was the
cave of Covadonga, where Pelagius, or Pelayo, had gathered thirty men
and ten women. Here, in the dark recesses of this cave,--which was
approached through a long and narrow mountain pass, and entered by
a ladder of ninety steps,--was the germ of the future kingdoms of
Castile and Aragon, and also of the downfall of the Moor. An Arab
historian said later: "Would to God the Moslems had extinguished
that spark which was destined to consume the dominion of Islam in the
north" and, he might have added, "_in Spain._"
When Alfonso of Cantabria married the daughter of Pelayo in 751, the
cave of Covadonga no longer held the insurgent band. He roused all the
northern provinces against the Moors and gathered an army which drove
them step by step further south, until he had pushed the Christian
frontier as far as the great Sierra, so that the one-time Visigoth
capital of Toledo marked the line of the Moslem border fortresses.
Too scanty in numbers and too poor in purse to occupy the territory,
Alfonso and his army then retreated to their mountains, there to enjoy
the empty satisfaction of their conquest.
But the Moors in Andalusia had too many troubles of their own at that
time to give much heed to Alfonso I. and his rebellious band hiding
in the mountains. The Berbers and the Arabs on the African coast
were jealous and antagonistic; the one was devout, credulous, and
emotional; the other cool, crafty, and diplomatic. Suddenly the
long-slumbering hatred burst into open revolt, and the Khalif sent
thirty thousand Syrians to put down a formidable revolution in his
African dominions.
In full sympathy with their kinsmen across the sea, the Moors in Spain
began to realize that while that land had been won by twelve thousand
Berbers, led by one Berber general, that the lion's share of the
spoils had gone to the Arabs, who were carrying things with a high
hand! There were signs of a general uprising, in concert with the
revolution in Africa; and it looked as if the new territory was to be
given up to anarchy; when suddenly all was changed.
The Khalif, who was the head of all the Mahommedan empire, was
supposed to be the supreme ruler in spiritual and temporal affairs.
But as his empire extended to such vast dimensions, he was obliged to
delegate much of his temporal authority to others; so gradually it had
become somewhat like that of the Pope. He was the supreme spiritual
head, and only nominally supreme in affairs of state.
The family of _Omeyyad_ had given fourteen Khalifs to the Mahommedan
empire from 661 to 750; at which time the then reigning Omeyyad
was deposed, and the second dynasty of Khalifs commenced, called
_Abbaside_, after Abbas, an uncle of the Prophet.
Abd-er-Rahman was a Prince belonging to the deposed family of
the Omeyyads. He was the only one of his family who escaped the
exterminating fury of the Abbasides. There was no future for him
in the east, so the thoughts of the ambitious youth turned to the
west--to the newly won territory of Spain.
The coming of this last survivor of the Omeyyads to Andalusia is one
of the romances of history, and was not unlike the coming of another
young Pretender to Scotland, one thousand years later. It aroused the
same wild enthusiasm, and as if by magic an army gathered about him,
to meet the army of the Governor, Yusuf, which would resist him.
Victory declared itself for the Prince, and he entered Cordova
in triumph. Before the year had expired the dynasty of the
Omeyyads--which was to stand for three centuries--was finally
established, and its first king--Abd-er-Rahman--reigned at Cordova.
His hereditary enemies the Abbasides followed him to Spain, and found
supporters among the disaffected. But it was in vain. The Abbaside
army of invasion was utterly annihilated; and the qualities slumbering
in this son of the Khalifs may be judged when we relate that the heads
of the Abbaside leaders were put into a bag with descriptive labels
attached to their ears, and sent to the reigning Khalif as a present.
This little incident does not seem to have injured him in the
estimation of Mansur, the new Khalif, who said of him: "Wonderful
is this man! Such daring, wisdom, prudence! To throw himself into a
distant land; to profit by the jealousies of the people; to turn their
arms against one another instead of against himself; to win homage and
obedience through such difficulties; and to rule supreme--lord of all!
Of a truth there is not such another man!" Abd-er-Rahman (the Sultan,
as he was called) merited this praise. He knew when to be cruel and
when to show mercy; and how to hold scheming Arab chiefs, fierce,
jealous Berbers, and vanquished Christians, and could placate or
crucify as the conditions required.