Muhammad II of Córdoba

Mohammed II al-Mahdi
محمد بن هشام بن عبد الجبار
al-Mahdī bi'llah
4th Caliph of Córdoba
Reign1009
PredecessorHisham II
SuccessorSulayman ibn al-Hakam
Born976
Córdoba, Caliphate of Córdoba
Died1010 (aged 3334)
Córdoba, Caliphate of Córdoba
DynastyUmayyad
FatherHisham bin Abd al-Jabbar bin Abd ar-Rahman III
MotherMuzna
ReligionIslam

Muhammad II al-Mahdi (Arabic: محمد المهدي بالله, romanized: Muḥammad al-Mahdī bi-ʾllāh) was the fourth Caliph of Córdoba of the Umayyad dynasty in Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia). 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.