The Caliph as a Good Ruler

Al-Ḥakam II ruled over al-Andalus because, in addition to other factors, he belonged to the Umayyad dynasty, one of the oldest and most illustrious Arab families. In the aftermath of the Prophet Muḥammad's preaching, his ancestors were recognised as caliphs and the major Arab conquests were carried out during their reign. As caliph and a descendant of caliphs, al-Ḥakam was living proof of the impressive survival of a dynasty that had resisted the ravages of time and, despite having been on the point of annihilation on various occasions, had managed to restore itself amid great splendour on the far western edge of the Islamic world. For many, the Umayyads’ endurance must have seemed a clear sign that their dynasty was under divine protection.

Not everyone could make the same claim. Around the time al-Ḥakam II was ruling in Córdoba, the ‘Abbāsid caliphs survived in Baghdad under the protection of the Buwayhids, a family of military leaders of humble Iranian origins, who had seized power in the caliphate's capital despite their well-known Shī‘ī faith. When the Buwayhids took control of Baghdad in 946 (334 ah), they even considered killing the ‘Abbāsid caliph so they could replace him with a descendant of ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib and thereby fulfil the principal aim of Shī‘ī doctrine. However, the sage advice they received from one of their supporters dissuaded them taking this step: ‘While you have to deal with a caliph that neither you nor your followers consider a legitimate sovereign, you can order someone to kill him at any time, it being deemed licit to spill his blood. Yet, if you raise to the throne a descendant of ‘Alī, whom you and your followers consider as having the right to the caliphate, he could induce one of your followers to kill you.’ This advice saved the ‘Abbāsids. Shut up in their palace with a pension assigned to them – one that tended to decrease as the years went by – the ‘Abbāsid caliphs gradually lost all trace of the power once wielded by their ancestors. What is more, they had to undergo humiliations such as having to leave the city to welcome the Buwayhid emir on his return from expeditions.