Al Hakam II

Al-Hakam II
16th Caliph of Umayyad Dynasty 2nd Caliph of Córdoba
Reign	15 October 961– 16 October 976
Predecessor	Abd-ar-Rahman III
Successor	Hisham II
Born	13 January 915
Died	16 October 976 (aged 61)
Father	Abd-ar-Rahman III
Mother	Murjan

Al-Hakam II (al-Ḥakam II ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III; Arabic: الحكم الثاني ابن عبد الرحمن‎‎) (January 13, 915 – October 16, 976) was the second Caliph of Córdoba, in Al-Andalus and son of Abd-ar-Rahman III (al-Nasir) and Murjan. He ruled from 961 to 976.

Al-Hakam II succeeded to the Caliphate after the death of his father Abd-ar-Rahman III in 961. He secured peace with the Catholic kingdoms of northern Iberia, and made use of the stability to develop agriculture through the construction of irrigation works. Economic development was also encouraged through the widening of streets and the building of markets.

Hakam himself was very well versed in numerous sciences. He would have books purchased from Damascus, Baghdad, Constantinople, Cairo, Mecca, Medina, Kufa, and Basra. His status as a patron of knowledge brought him fame across the Muslim world to the point that even books written in Persia, which was under Abbasid control, were dedicated to him. During his reign, a massive translation effort was undertaken, and many books were translated from Latin and Greek into Arabic. He formed a joint committee of Muladi Muslims and Mozarab Catholics for this task.

His personal library was of enormous proportions. Some accounts speak of him having more than 600,000 books. However, Hitchcock (2014: 91-92) argues that any number in excess of 600 is "inconceivable". The catalogue of library books itself was claimed to be 44 volumes long. According to Hitchcock (ibid.), this may be because "volume" and "page" were confused. Of special importance to Al-Hakam was history, and he himself wrote a history of al-Andalus. Following his death, Hajib Almanzor had all "ancient science" books destroyed.

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