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Abd-ar-Rahman III (Arabic: عبد الرحمن الثالث) was the Emir and Caliph of Cordoba (912-961), and a prince of the Ummayad dynasty in the Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia). He ascended the throne when he was twenty-two and reigned for half a century. His life was so completely identified with the government of the state that he offers less material for biography than his ancestor Abd-ar-Rahman I. Abd-ar-Rahman III was the grandson of his predecessor, Abdullah, one of the Andalusian Umayyads. Although under his rule, people of all creeds enjoyed tolerance and freedom of religion,he repelled the Fatimids, partly by supporting their enemies in Africa, and partly by claiming the title caliph, ruler of the Islamic world, for himself. On January 16, 929, Abd-ar-rahman III declared himself as the Caliphate of Cordoba, effectively breaking all ties with the Fatimid and Abbasid caliphs. His ancestors in Iberia had been content with the title of emir. The caliphate was thought only to belong to the prince who ruled over the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina. But the force of this tradition had been so far weakened that Abd-ar-Rahman could proclaim himself caliph, and the assumption of the title gave him increased prestige with his subjects, both in Iberia and Africa. Abd-ar-Rahman based his claim to the caliphate on his Umayyad ancestry who held undisputed control of the caliphate until they were overthrown by the Abbasids. After declaring the caliphate, Abd-ar-Rahman built a massive palace complex known as the Medina Azahara. The Medina Azahara was modeled after the old Umayyad palace in Damascus and served as a symbolic tie between the new caliph and his ancestors.