Abd ar-Rahman was born in Córdoba, the grandson of Abdullah, seventh independent Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus. His parents were Abdullah's son Muhammad and Muzna (or Muzayna), a Christian concubine.[17] His paternal grandmother was also a Christian, the royal infanta Onneca Fortúnez, daughter of the captive king Fortún Garcés of Pamplona. Abd ar-Rahman was thus nephew in the half-blood of queen Toda of Navarre. He is described as having:
Emir Abdallah died at the age of 72. Despite the fact that four of his sons (Aban, Abd al Rahman, Muhammad and Ahmad) were alive at the time of his death, all of them were passed over for succession. Abdallah instead chose as his successor his grandson, Abd al-Rahman III (the son of his first son). This came as no surprise, since Abdallah had already demonstrated his affection for his grandson in many ways, namely by allowing him to live in his own tower (something he did not allow for any of his sons), and allowing him to sit on the throne on some festive occasions. Most importantly Abdallah gave Abd al-Rahman his ring, the symbol of power, when Abdallah fell ill prior to his death. Abd al-Rahman succeeded Abdallah the day after his death, 16 October 912.In 929 Abd ar-Rahman III considered himself powerful enough to declare himself Caliph of Córdoba (16 January 929), effectively breaking his allegiance to, and ties with, the Fatimid and Abbasid caliphs. The caliphate was thought only to belong to the prince who ruled over the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, and his ancestors had until then been content with the title of emir. But the force of this tradition had weakened over time; and the title increased Abd-ar-Rahman's prestige with his subjects, both in Iberia and Africa. He based his claim to the caliphate on his Umayyad ancestors who had held undisputed control of the caliphate until they were overthrown by the Abbasids.
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