Editing Abd al-Rahman I (section)

===Fight for power===
[[File:Almuñécar, statue of Abd al-Rahman I.jpg|thumb|Modern statue of Abd al-Rahman at [[Almuñécar]]]]
Upon landing in [[Torrox]], al-Andalus, Abd al-Rahman was greeted by clients Abu Uthman and Ibn Khalid and an escort of 300 cavalry.<ref name=Kennedy/> During his brief time in [[Málaga]], he was able to amass local support quickly. Waves of people made their way to Málaga to pay respect to the prince they thought was dead, including many of the aforementioned Syrians. One famous story that persisted through history related to a gift Abd al-Rahman was given while in Málaga. The gift was a beautiful young slave girl, but Abd al-Rahman humbly returned her to her previous master.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

News of the prince's arrival spread like wildfire throughout the peninsula. During this time, emir [[Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri|al-Fihri]] and the Syrian commander al-Sumayl pondered what to do about the new threat to their shaky hold on power. They decided to try to marry Abd al-Rahman into their family. If that did not work, then Abd al-Rahman would have to be killed. Abd al-Rahman was apparently sagacious enough to expect such a plot. In order to help speed his ascension to power, he was prepared to take advantage of the feuds and dissensions. However, before anything could be done, trouble broke out in northern al-Andalus. [[Zaragoza]], an important trade city on the [[Upper March]] of al-Andalus, made a bid for autonomy. Al-Fihri and al-Sumayl rode north to quash the rebellion. This might have been fortunate timing for Abd al-Rahman, since he was still getting a solid foothold in al-Andalus. By March 756, Abd al-Rahman and his growing following of Umayyad clients and Yemeni ''junds'', were able to take [[Sevilla]] without violence. He managed to break the rebellion attempt in Zaragoza, but just about that time the Cordovan governor received news of a [[Basques|Basque]] rebellion in [[Pamplona]]. An important detachment was sent by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman to quash it, but his troops were annihilated. After the setback, al-Fihri turned his army back south to face the "pretender". The fight for the right to rule al-Andalus was about to begin. The two contingents met on opposite sides of the [[Guadalquivir|River Guadalquivir]], just outside the capital of [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] on the plains of Musarah.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The river was, for the first time in years, overflowing its banks, heralding the end of a long drought. Nevertheless, food was still scarce, and Abd al-Rahman's army suffered from hunger. In an attempt to demoralize Abd al-Rahman's troops, al-Fihri ensured that his troops not only were well fed, but also ate gluttonous amounts of food in full view of the Umayyad lines. An attempt at negotiations soon followed in which it is likely that Abd al-Rahman was offered the hand of al-Fihri's daughter in marriage and great wealth. Abd al-Rahman, however, would settle for nothing less than control of the emirate, and an impasse was reached. Even before the fight began, dissension spread through some of Abd al-Rahman's lines. Specifically, the Yemeni Arabs were unhappy that the prince was mounted on a fine Spanish steed and that his mettle was untried in battle. The Yemenis observed significantly that such a fine horse would provide an excellent mount to escape from battle.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Being the ever-wary politician, Abd al-Rahman acted quickly to regain Yemeni support, and rode to a Yemeni chief who was mounted on a mule named "Lightning". Abd al-Rahman averred that his horse proved difficult to ride and was wont to buck him out of the saddle. He offered to exchange his horse for the mule, a deal to which the surprised chief readily agreed. The swap quelled the simmering Yemeni rebellion. Soon both armies were in their lines on the same bank of the Guadalquivir. Abd al-Rahman had no banner, and so one was improvised by unwinding a green turban and binding it round the head of a spear. Subsequently, the turban and the spear became the banner and symbol of the Andalusian Umayyads.<ref name="EB1911"/> Abd al-Rahman led the charge toward al-Fihri's army. Al-Sumayl in turn advanced his cavalry out to meet the Umayyad threat. After a long and difficult fight "Abd ar-Rahman obtained a most complete victory, and the field was strewn with the bodies of the enemy.".<ref>[[Philip Khuri Hitti|Philip K. Hitti]]. ''Makers of Arab History''. (New York. St Martin’s Press), 1968. p. 66</ref> Both al-Fihri and al-Sumayl managed to escape the field (probably) with parts of the army too. Abd al-Rahman triumphantly marched into the capital, [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]]. Danger was not far behind, as al-Fihri planned a [[counterattack]]. He reorganized his forces and set out for the capital Abd al-Rahman had usurped from him. Again Abd al-Rahman met al-Fihri with his army; this time negotiations were successful, although the terms were somewhat changed. In exchange for al-Fihri's life and wealth, he would be a prisoner and not allowed to leave the city limits of Córdoba. Al-Fihri would have to report once a day to Abd al-Rahman, as well as turn over some of his sons and daughters as hostages. For a while al-Fihri met the obligations of the one-sided truce, but he still had many people loyal to him—people who would have liked to see him back in power.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Al-Fihri eventually did make another bid for power. He quit Córdoba and quickly started gathering supporters. While at large, al-Fihri managed to gather an army allegedly numbering 20,000. It is doubtful, however, that his troops were "regular" soldiers, but rather a [[wikt:hodge-podge|hodge-podge]] of men from various parts of al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman's appointed governor in [[Seville|Sevilla]] took up the chase, and after a series of small fights, managed to defeat al-Fihri's army. Al-Fihri himself managed to escape to the former Visigoth capital of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in central al-Andalus; once there, he was promptly killed. Al-Fihri's head was sent to Córdoba, where Abd al-Rahman had it nailed to a bridge.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} With this act, Abd al-Rahman proclaimed himself the emir of al-Andalus.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} However, in order to take over southern [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], al-Fihri's general, al-Sumayl, had to be dealt with, and he was garroted in Córdoba's jail. Still, most of central and northern al-Andalus ([[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Zaragoza]], [[Barcelona]], etc.) was out of his rule, with large swathes remaining in the hands of [[Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri]]'s supporters until 779 (submission of Zaragoza).{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}