Abd al-Rahman III Declares Himself Caliph

Abd al-Rahman III declares himself caliph in Córdoba, openly challenging the Abbasids in Baghdad and countering the claim of the Shi’i Fatimids in North Africa. Al-Andalus flourishes, and Córdoba becomes a large, prosperous, and cosmopolitan capital city, according to such visitors as Hroswitha, a Benedictine nun from Germany.