Muhammad II al-Mahdi ( ar, محمد المهدي بالله, Muḥammad al-Mahdī bi-ʾllāh) was the fourth
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 ...
of the
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In t ...
in
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 ...
(
Moorish 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 ...
). After disbanding his army of 7,000 troops, he became the source of opposition to many of his subjects. Al-Mahdi sought to defend his title as Caliph after the rise of Suleiman II as a political opponent. After a turbulent rule, in which many warring factions rose to power in an attempt to supplant al-Mahdi, he was eventually deposed. After his death, many Muslim historians accused him of destroying the sanctity of the Amirid Harem.
Sources
Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba
11th-century caliphs of Córdoba
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