Hisham III ( ar, هشام الثالث in full المعتد بالله” هشام بن محمد) was the last

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

ruler in the

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...

(

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

) (1026–1031), and the last person to hold the title

Caliph of Córdoba A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. Hisham III, the brother of Abd ar-Rahman IV, was chosen as Caliph after long negotiations between the governors of the border regions and the people of Córdoba. He could not enter Córdoba until 1029 as the city was occupied by the Berber armies of the Hammudids. Although he tried to consolidate the Caliphate, the raising of taxes (to pay for mosques amongst other things) led to heavy opposition from the Muslim clerics. After the murder of his Vizier al-Hakam by a conspiracy of Cordoban Patricians, Hisham was imprisoned. He managed to escape, but died in exile in 1036 in

Balaguer Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city i ...

. After the Caliphate fell with the overthrow of Hisham III in 1031, the Caliphate's land holdings—already much diminished from its height in power just 100 years past—devolved into a number of militarily weak but culturally advanced

taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

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Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba 11th-century caliphs of Córdoba 973 births 1036 deaths {{Islam-bio-stub