Editing Abd al-Rahman I (section)

===Exile years===
After barely escaping with their lives, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr continued south through [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], the [[Sinai Peninsula|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 [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|partly conquered]] by his Umayyad predecessors. The journey across Egypt would prove perilous. At the time, [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri]] was the semi-autonomous governor of [[Ifriqiya]] (roughly, modern [[Tunisia]]) and a former Umayyad vassal. The ambitious Ibn Habib, a member of the illustrious [[Fihrid]] family, had long sought to carve out Ifriqiya as a private dominion for himself. At first, he sought an understanding with the Abbasids, but when they refused his terms and demanded his submission, Ibn Habib broke openly with the Abbasids and invited the remnants of the [[Umayyad dynasty]] to take refuge in his dominions. Abd al-Rahman was only one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make their way to Ifriqiya at this time.

But Ibn Habib soon changed his mind. He feared the presence of prominent Umayyad exiles in Ifriqiya, a family more illustrious than his own, might become a focal point for intrigue among local nobles against his own usurped powers. Around 755, believing he had discovered plots involving some of the more prominent Umayyad exiles in [[Kairouan]], Ibn Habib turned against them. At the time, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr were keeping a low profile, staying in [[Kabylie]], at the camp of a Nafza [[Berbers|Berber]] chieftain friendly to their plight. Ibn Habib dispatched spies to look for the Umayyad prince. When Ibn Habib's soldiers entered the camp, the Berber chieftain's wife Tekfah hid Abd al-Rahman under her personal belongings to help him go unnoticed.<ref>Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, ''The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain''. Again al-Maqqari cited [[Ibn Hayyan]] for the majority of the preceding information, 58–61.</ref> Once they were gone, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr immediately set off westwards.

In 755, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr reached modern-day Morocco near [[Ceuta]]. Their next step would be to cross the sea to [[al-Andalus]], where Abd al-Rahman could not have been sure whether or not he would be welcomed. Following the [[Berber Revolt]] of the 740s, the province was in a crisis, with the [[Ummah|Muslim community]] torn by tribal dissensions among the [[Arab]]s (the [[Qays–Yemeni feud]]) and racial tensions between the Arabs and Berbers.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Abd-ar-Rahman|display=Abd-ar-Rahman s.v. Abd-ar-Rahman I|volume=1|page=31}}</ref> At that moment, the nominal ruler of al-Andalus, emir [[Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri]]—another member of the [[Fihrids|Fihrid]] family and a favorite of the old Arab settlers (''baladiyun''), mostly of south Arabian or "[[Yemen]]i" tribal stock—was locked in a contest with his vizier (and son-in-law) al-Sumayl ibn Hatim al-Kilabi, the head of the "Syrians"—the ''shamiyun'', drawn from the ''[[jund]]s'' or military regiments of Syria, mostly of north Arabian [[Qays]]id tribes—who had arrived in 742.<ref name=Kennedy>H. Kennedy (1996) ''Muslim Spain and Portugal: a political history of al-Andalus''. London: Longman.</ref>

Among the Syrian ''junds'' were contingents of old Umayyad clients, numbering perhaps 500,<ref name=Kennedy/> and Abd al-Rahman believed he might tug on old loyalties and get them to receive him. Bedr was dispatched across the straits to make contact. Bedr managed to line up three Syrian commanders—Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman and Abd Allah ibn Khalid, both originally of Damascus, and Yusuf ibn Bukht of Qinnasrin.<ref name=Kennedy/> The trio approached the Syrian arch-commander al-Sumayl (then in [[Zaragoza]]) to get his consent, but al-Sumayl refused, fearing Abd al-Rahman would try to make himself [[emir]].<ref name=Kennedy/> As a result, Bedr and the Umayyad clients sent out feelers to their rivals, the Yemeni commanders. Although the Yemenis were not natural allies (the Umayyads are cousins of the Qaysid tribes), their interest was piqued. The emir Yusuf al-Fihri had proven himself unable to keep the powerful al-Sumayl in check and several Yemeni chieftains felt their future prospects were poor, whether in a Fihrid or Syrian-dominated Spain, so that they had a better chance of advancement if they hitched themselves to the glitter of the Umayyad name.<ref name=Kennedy/> 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 Yemeni commanders felt they had little to lose and much to gain, and agreed to support the prince.<ref name=Kennedy/>

Bedr returned to Africa to tell Abd al-Rahman of the invitation of the Umayyad clients in al-Andalus. Shortly thereafter, they set off with a small group of followers for Europe. 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. The tribesmen might have figured that they could hold Abd al-Rahman as hostage, and force him to buy his way out of Africa. He did indeed hand over some amount of dinars to the suddenly hostile local Berbers. Just as Abd al-Rahman launched his boat, another group of Berbers arrived. They also tried to obtain a fee from him for leaving. 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.<ref>Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Maqqari, ''The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain''. pp. 65–68.</ref>

Abd al-Rahman landed at [[Almuñécar]] in al-Andalus, to the east of [[Málaga]], in September 755; however, his landing site was unconfirmed.