Abd-ar-Rahman III (
'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn 'abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Hakam ar-Rabdi ibn Hisham ibn 'abd ar-Rahman ad-Dakhil; ; 11 January 889/91 – 15 October 961) was the
Emir and
Caliph of Córdoba (912–961) of the
Umayyad dynasty in
al-Andalus. Called
al-Nasir li-Din Allah ("the Defender of God's Faith"), he ascended the throne in his early 20s, and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia. Although people of all creeds enjoyed tolerance and
freedom of religion under his rule, he repelled the
Fatimids, partly by supporting their
Maghrawa enemies in
North Africa, and partly by claiming the title
Caliph (ruler of the
Islamic world) for himself.