Umayyad state of Córdoba

The Emirate of Córdoba, and from 929, the Caliphate of Córdoba, was an Arab Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 756 to 1031. Its territory comprised most of the Iberian Peninsula (known to Muslims as al-Andalus), the Balearic Islands, and parts of North Africa, with its capital in Córdoba (at the time Qurṭubah). From 756 it was ruled as an emirate until Abd al-Rahman III adopted the title of caliph in 929.

The state was founded by Abd al-Rahman I, an Umayyad prince who fled the defeat and persecution of the Umayyad clan amid the Abbasid revolution. The polity then flourished for the best part of three centuries, before disintegrating in the early 11th century during the Fitna of al-Andalus, a civil war between the descendants of caliph Hisham II and the successors of his hajib (court official), Almanzor. In 1031, after years of infighting, the caliphate collapsed and fractured into a number of independent Muslim taifa (kingdoms).

The period was characterized by an expansion of trade and culture, including the construction of well-known pieces of Andalusi architecture.