Political

A 10th- or 11th-century Description

This snippet is from Ibn Hayyan, a historian from Cordoba who worked at the caliphal court in the 10th and 11th centuries. Here he is describing the political ties of Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman II (not III).

Source, p. 57.

A 16th-century Description

This snippet is from Maqqari’s description of the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman III. Maqqari was a North African historian who wrote his history of Andalus in Arabic; it is one of the most important sources on Andalusi history. Here, he describes a letter from the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII to the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Rahman.

Source, p. 100.