How a Refugee became a Prince — Transcript

The story of Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman’s perilous journey to Al-Andalus and his rise to power amid political turmoil and rebellion.

Key Takeaways

The Abbasid revolution was fueled by ethnic and social tensions within the Muslim community.
Abd al-Rahman’s survival and journey were critical to preserving the Umayyad legacy in Al-Andalus.
Geopolitical and ethnic complexities shaped the power struggles in North Africa and Iberia during the 8th century.
Unfair taxation and exclusion from military service caused significant discontent among non-Arab Muslims and Berbers.
Strategic alliances and local support were essential for Abd al-Rahman’s eventual success in establishing a new caliphate.

Summary

The video explores the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 due to the Abbasid revolution sparked by unfair treatment of non-Arab Muslims.
Prince Abd al-Rahman escapes the genocide of his family and aims to reach Al-Andalus to rally support and reclaim power.
Three possible routes to Al-Andalus are analyzed: through the Eastern Roman Empire, by sea, or walking along Africa, each with challenges.
The video discusses the complex ethnic and political landscape, including the role of Berbers and their revolt against Umayyad rule.
Unfair tax systems like jizya and kharaj imposed on non-Arab Muslims and non-Muslims are highlighted as causes of unrest.
Abd al-Rahman’s journey takes about five years, facing dangers from hostile territories, pirates, and political enemies.
Upon arrival in Morocco, Abd al-Rahman gains local support and protection despite some Berber opposition.
The video concludes with Abd al-Rahman establishing the Umayyad dynasty in Cordoba in 756, reviving his family's legacy.
The fate of Abd al-Rahman’s loyal companion, Better, is left uncertain but hopeful.
Throughout, the video blends historical facts with engaging narration and commentary on the socio-political context of the era.

Chapters

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

This video is sponsored by my—you know what, I'm sick of this sponsorship stuff. Why don't we sponsor ourselves? That's right, we updated our Patreon. If you like our work and want your doodle to be seen in a video or maybe a cute artwork, consider supporting us so we can make videos even faster.

Speaker A

St consider supporting us so we can make videos even faster all right let's do a quick recap year 750 umat califit very big umats not nice to non-arab Muslims non-arab Muslims come together as abits and fight umats umats get defeated

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All right, let's do a quick recap. Year 750, Umayyad Caliphate, very big Umayyads, not nice to non-Arab Muslims. Non-Arab Muslims come together as Abbids and fight Umayyads. Umayyads get defeated.

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caught up very nice let's continue to show historically fact part seven and a half and chapter 3 [Music] The Prince and better goal was clear get to alalo to get a support and to Rally up an army but how will they get there

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Opposites take over the caliphate, and the Umayyad family gets genocided. Many people die, and we are left with Prince Abd al-Rahman and his loyal free slave, better. Oh, and they are sad because literally everyone who was with them died. I'll

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anything Arab and then pass through the Christian European world we were anything but friendly to the Muslims because because you know they are actively invading it from Spain this route being roughly 5,000 km long would take around 300 days if we take into

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caught up, very nice. Let's continue to show historically fact part seven and a half and chapter three. [Music] The prince and better goal was clear: get to Al-Andalus to get support and to rally up an army. But how will they get there?

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just any they needed one that is super sturdy and made for longdistance deep sea for voyaging good luck finding that in a time where basically everyone sticks to the coast and ships are generally not sturdy enough to get into

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Basically, they had three choices. First, they could sneak to the Eastern Roman Empire and through Europe to get to Spain that way. But that would mean they had to face, first of all, the Romans who held a burning hate to

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need around 10 to 20 people to operate it good luck funding them not to mention finding those who won't step abdalah Rahman in the back because he's an um Prince then they had to sail out that's a problem then they needed to sell the

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anything Arab, and then pass through the Christian European world, which was anything but friendly to the Muslims because, you know, they were actively invading it from Spain. This route, being roughly 5,000 km long, would take around 300 days if we take into

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option was option C walk along Africa though it's definitely the longest route with approximately 350 days of travel it is the safest kind of depends if you are a sweet talk ER or not why well before the Arabs conquered Northern Africa it

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account the need to scavenge for food and avoid detection. The second option was to cross through the sea, why bother risking getting caught by evil Romans and Abbids if they can just hop on a boat? Well, for starters, they had to find a boat, and not

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black people but the majority of them were lighter skinned European lucal likes due to the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire having control of this region before the Arabs arrived allowing plenty of white people to arrive and settle either way the bber were all part

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just any. They needed one that is super sturdy and made for long-distance deep-sea voyaging. Good luck finding that in a time where basically everyone sticks to the coast, and ships are generally not sturdy enough to get into

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series I also mentioned this unfair tax system towards non-arab Muslims you know the one that caused the abis Revolution and basically ignited the entire fou of the umats well some people kept commenting that actually it was fair oh

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open seas. But maybe they find the genie stuck in a lamp, and instead of wishing to teleport to Spain, they asked for a beautiful long-distance ship. Stupid. Next up, they would need a crew, and for a journey and ship like this, they would

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year they each made a total of $100 sweet but before they can enjoy that money they have to pay their taxes yeah that's right even 1500 years ago the evil system existed the taxes for non-muslims were different from those

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need around 10 to 20 people to operate it. Good luck funding them, not to mention finding those who won't stab Abd al-Rahman in the back because he's an Umayyad prince. Then they had to sail out, that's a problem. Then they needed to sell the

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Muslims not berbers then if they made big money from farming the Muslims also had to give up 10% of the farmy profits also known as Usher totaling to $125 a year moving over to the other side we have the non-muslim instead of paying

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ports to get food, that's a problem. And then there were pirates, that is a problem. But if they were to go for this route, it would take max 20 days, which is a lot faster than 300 days. The final

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tax hm let's see the requirment male check masculine check Muslim oh the non-muslims couldn't go to the Army even if they wanted to so they had to pay the tax whether they liked it or not 10% secondly there is the haraj if you own a

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option was option C: walk along Africa. Though it's definitely the longest route, with approximately 350 days of travel, it is the safest. Kind of depends if you are a sweet talker or not. Why? Well, before the Arabs conquered Northern Africa, it

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sound fair even if the bber converted to Islam they often still had to pay the old taxes including the new ones even if they were told they didn't have to so Mr blurry name how fair was it really huh

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was home to the Berbers. Who are the Berbers? Well, factually, they are everyone who was here before the Arabs arrived. But to give you a better idea of who they are and what they look like, obviously because it's Africa, there were

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opponents but now that they had a common enemy the greedy umats they had a reason to combine and start the revolution the Revolt starting in current day Morocco gained widespread popularity among the other bber tribes and spread to the

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black people, but the majority of them were lighter-skinned European locals due to the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire having control of this region before the Arabs arrived, allowing plenty of white people to arrive and settle. Either way, the Berbers were all part

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recruit into their army result in the umats massively losing the influence on most of the northern part of Africa and even some key cities and fortresses in Spain this was embarrassing for the umats to say the least but to tie this

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of smaller communities or tribes, and because of that, they were pretty easy to defeat and conquer by the Umayyad invaders. But conquering something isn't often as easy as governing it. Q in the unfair taxes in part one of this two-party

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berbers defeated the umats they all realized that now that there's no common enemy anymore they have no reason to be United I mean it would be rational to use this new alliance to create the great Berber Empire that would stand for

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series, I also mentioned this unfair tax system towards non-Arab Muslims, you know, the one that caused the Abbids revolution and basically ignited the entire fall of the Umayyads. Well, some people kept commenting that actually it was fair. Oh,

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all about umats being sad that they lost their Homeland with Christians taking Revenge upon them in the north bbus being bararan in the South and the rebellious Governor trying to take the peninsula for himself would would be a

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is it? Conveniently blurred name of the commenter. Let's talk about that. On the right side is a Muslim Arab, on the left side a non-Muslim Berberian Berber. They are both farmers and both own their own piece of land, and after working hard all

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that easily either anyway enough beating her at the bush and state of thee World updates y Habibi go take revenge to make a name out of yourself the journey to alalo ended up taking way longer than just 350 days as a matter of fact it

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year, they each made a total of $100 sweet. But before they can enjoy that money, they have to pay their taxes. Yeah, that's right, even 1,500 years ago, the evil system existed. The taxes for non-Muslims were different from those

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this Abdullah Rahman he was the governor of ifia which is roughly modern day Tunisia and he wanted to establish his own rules just like that Governor did people weren't really original at the time okay he tried to be miss a nice guy

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who were affiliated with Islam. Let's start with the Muslims. First of all, they had to pay the zakat, which is a religious tax of 2.5% of all your wealth that then gets spent on improving the lives of less fortunate Muslims. Quote,

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his region so abdal Rahman during his journey went there to take a briefer and to improve his relations with the berbers what you think he's just going to find an army laying around just like that nuh-uh connections are everything

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Muslims, not Berbers. Then, if they made big money from farming, the Muslims also had to give up 10% of the farm profits, also known as Usher, totaling to $125 a year. Moving over to the other side, we have the non-Muslim. Instead of paying

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throne that they both hated the episodes with a passion that abdal Rahman was a charismatic talker and the fact he promised prestigious positions in his new Empire that he was going to conquer meant that it kind of made sense to

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zakat and Usher, they had to pay the jizya and kharaj. The jizya was a tax Berbers had to pay for not having to go to the military. Well, why don't they just go to the military then to avoid paying this

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the governor himself was made Abdullah Rahman wor that abdar Rahman was going to do something sinister and this time it doesn't matter which ABD Rahman you have in mind they both thought that pts the incoming because that night while

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tax? Hmm, let's see: the requirement, male, check; masculine, check; Muslim, oh. The non-Muslims couldn't go to the army even if they wanted to, so they had to pay the tax whether they liked it or not. Ten percent. Secondly, there is the kharaj. If you own a

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according to sources ABD Rahman and better only managed to hide from the governor Hunters because the chieftain's wife hit them under her quote personal belonging see it's moments like this where as a historian you're allowed to make edicated guesses to fill in the blanks

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land, there is, say, 20% tax for that, and sometimes it goes up to 50%, but for the benefit of the doubt, let's keep it at a low 20%. That's a final $30 on the left and $125 on the right. Does it still

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BS and continueed their journey westwards to Morocco after five long years of travel abdalah Rahman had finally arrived in Morocco he was welcomed with love and offered protection against the few Berber tribes who weren't that happy that he was here

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sound fair? Even if the Berber converted to Islam, they often still had to pay the old taxes, including the new ones, even if they were told they didn't have to. So, Mr. Blurry Name, how fair was it really, huh?

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for support in alandus while the prince himself would stay in Morocco to look for support there and with determination in the hearts and probably a slight tear in their eyes the iconic Duo split their ways to assure their

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If I asked this Berber, he would say it's definitely unfair, and it was so unfair, in fact, that before the episode started their revolution, the Berbers were already at it. Usually, these Berber tribes were very divided, which made them quite weak

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well aware of the upcoming arrival of the umat prince now as opposed to his idiotic cousin Yu had already planned what to do with abdal Rahman he knew his Peninsula was a mess and that the people urged the leader who would bring order

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opponents, but now that they had a common enemy, the greedy Umayyads, they had a reason to combine and start the revolution. The revolt, starting in current-day Morocco, gained widespread popularity among the other Berber tribes and spread to the

Speaker A

this back again very clever I know I know option A attack get the Army and Crush abdal Rahman before he can get too much support after that quietly pild The Rook over the W Refuge Prince story and blame the abits for killing abdal Rahman

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bottom of Al-Andalus, all the way to modern-day Tunisia. The Umayyads obviously didn't like what happened and sent a massive army to teach those rebels a lesson, but somewhat ironically, they lost decisively against those who they didn't want to

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men like to do marrying someone's daughter brilliant idea Yu tell the prince that if he stops claiming the throne to get revenge on the abits that he would get to marry a daughter let's see how that [Music] goes my friends the remaining umat

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recruit into their army, resulting in the Umayyads massively losing influence on most of the northern part of Africa and even some key cities and fortresses in Spain. This was embarrassing for the Umayyads, to say the least. But to tie this

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[Music] peninsula after politely declining The woman there was only one final way for YF to stop abdalah Rahman from droning him go for option A anyway as abdalah rahman's influence grew in the region YF had no time to waste and marched

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back in with Abd al-Rahman's story and with option C, which is where this war segment started with, because the Berber revolt happened semi-recently at the time, Abd al-Rahman had to flee Africa, and Al-Andalus were in a struggle for power. After the

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berbers umats and local andalucian this was nothing compared to the governor who came walking in with over 10,000 well equ equipped soldiers as the citizens of Cordoba mounted their walls to witness the two armies in a standoff it was

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Berbers defeated the Umayyads, they all realized that now that there's no common enemy anymore, they have no reason to be united. I mean, it would be rational to use this new alliance to create the great Berber Empire that would stand for

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so in classic Ancient Warfare tactics both armies set up camp somewhat close to each other to catch some sleep and to delay the fight for when it wasn't pitch black outside but this time it's not abdalah Rahman getting jumped while trying to

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centuries, but who cares about long-term pleasure if you can result in short-term pleasure, AKA kill each other? So Africa right now is basically all about infighting, while the Abbids tried to keep their control of it, and Al-Andalus was

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Rahman stood in the entrance of their tent a tsunami of fire spread through the camps as the alfies desperately tried to regroup and defend themselves Abdullah Rahman and better knowing exactly how it is to be on the receiving

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all about Umayyads being sad that they lost their homeland, with Christians taking revenge upon them in the north, Abbids being Berber in the south, and the rebellious governor trying to take the peninsula for himself. Wouldn't it be a

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their own camp and slept out the night the following day after assessing the damage done by the umat prince the governor was fueled with rage and decided he has been toyed with long enough he set off his army to take

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shame if someone with a righteous claim to power would show up and take it for himself? But yeah, getting to Al-Andalus to Africa wasn't going to be easy, but that wasn't specifically a bad thing because it also meant that the Abbids couldn't go

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soldiers were merely a secondary Target that night the real Target was the Army's moral and it was absolutely shattered before YF alfery could comprehend the state this Army was in it was already too late abdal Rahman leading the Army himself rushed into the

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that easily either. Anyway, enough beating around the bush and state of the world updates. Ya habibi, go take revenge, make a name out of yourself. The journey to Al-Andalus ended up taking way longer than just 350 days. As a matter of fact, it

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the governor or well ex-governor ended up getting captured that morning but instead of being beheaded which like you know was customary at the time abdalah Rahman offered youf peace in an attempt to show the rest of alalo how merciful

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took a whopping five years before Abd al-Rahman and better arrived at the peninsula. What he exactly did in all that time isn't too clear, but there was a notable event because let's talk about Abdullah.

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could mobilize and take revenge the supporters of abdalah Rahman already caught up with him and delivered his hat to the prince who was still in Cordoba as he looked the deceased governor in his dead eyes abdalah Rahman knew now

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was the time and in the year 756 6 years after his calipat was taken from him he revived it and established the umat dynasty also known as the umat caliphate of Cordoba finally he could take revenge on the episodes and slowly but painfully

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take back all that was taken from him or so he wished turns out being a ruler of a massive country especially a newly established one takes a lot of effort and time and before abdalah Rahman knew it was time for him to pass away he

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never got to take revenge on the absit though he did repel many of their attacks in the following years his emirat became a safe haven for political opponents of the Opposites and Cordoba specifically became one of the most

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prosperous cities during the medieval times but as years turned into centuries the umat pride and the story of our heroic Refugee Prince slowly and surely turned forgotten and the country in the 11th century split off into many smaller

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factions which oped a huge opportunity for the holy Templars to take back the peninsula decisive blow after blow pushed the Muslims out of the peninsula and officially in the 15th century the ray conquista came to an end and all

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that remains of abdal rman is a statue in a coastal city the city where he entered the peninsula though it isn't clear what happened to better we like to think they stay together after all that happened living a long life with his

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Prince ruler and most importantly his friend oh um by the way this guy that tried to kill ABD Rahman is actually a patreon supporter if you want to get your own dutly in a video as well check out the patreon and thanks for watching

Speaker A

goodbye

Topics:Umayyad CaliphateAbd al-RahmanAl-AndalusBerber revoltAbbasid revolutionIslamic historyNorth AfricaMedieval Spaintaxation in Islamhistorical journey

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Abd al-Rahman and why is he significant?

Abd al-Rahman was an Umayyad prince who escaped the Abbasid massacre and later established the Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba, preserving his family's legacy.

What were the main challenges Abd al-Rahman faced on his journey?

He faced political enemies, hostile territories, the difficulty of finding a sturdy ship or safe land route, pirates, and the need to secure local support.

Why did the Abbasid revolution occur?

The revolution was largely caused by unfair treatment and taxation of non-Arab Muslims by the Umayyads, which led to widespread discontent and rebellion.

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