58 CALIPHS OF SPAIN. 



two branches of the same dynasty, endured for twc 

 centuries and a half; when the victorious arms of 

 the Turks, in 1517, reduced that kingdom to the 

 condition of a province. 



Spain was one of the first of the Moslem conquests 

 that detached itself from the parent stock. In the 

 general proscription and massacre of the Ommiades 

 that ensued on the accession of the house of Abbas, a 

 royal youth of the name of Abdalrahman, a younger . 

 son of Merwan, escaped the fury of his enemies. 

 With his brother and his child he fled, and concealed 

 himself in the woods on the banks of the Euphrates. 

 His persecutors discovered his retreat; the child was 

 slain, and the two brothers plunged into the river. 

 Fainting with fatigue, Solyman accepted the prof- 

 fered mercy of the pursuers, and returned to the 

 shore, where he was basely put to death. The more 

 robust Abdalrahman swam the dangerous passage, 

 and was hunted by the ruthless foe from the deserts 

 of Irak to the recesses of Mount Atlas in Africa. 



The Saracens of Spain retained their attachment 

 to the family of Moawiyah ; their zeal was rekin- 

 dled by the presence of a prince of that race in their 

 neighbourhood, and they immediately invited the 

 wandering exile to ascend the throne of his ances- 

 tors. Dreading the implacable vengeance of his 

 enemies, and dazzled by the splendours of a crown, 

 Abdalrahman received the message with joy, and 

 was saluted with acclamations on the shore of Gra- 

 nada. The cities of Malaga, Ronda, Xeres, and Se- 

 ville, tendered him their allegiance ; and the descend- 

 ants of Merwan saw restored in Spain (A. D. 755) 

 the honours of the caliphate, which they had lost in 

 the East. His elevation was not gained without op- 



