or.

A solitary Ommiade escaped the miserable fate of his brethren; a prince
named Abderamus. A fugitive wanderer, he reached Egypt, and concealed
himself in the solitary recesses of its inhospitable deserts.

The Moors of Spain, faithful to the Ommiades, though their governor
Joseph had recognised the authority of the Abbassides, had no sooner
learned that there existed in Egypt a scion of the illustrious family to
which they still retained their attachment, than they secretly sent
deputies to offer him their crown. Abderamus foresaw the {53} obstacles
with which he would be compelled to struggle, but, guided by the impulses
of a soul whose native greatness had been strengthened and purified by
adversity, he did not hesitate to accept the proposal of the Moors.

The Ommiade prince arrived in the Peninsula A.D. 755, Heg. 138. He
speedily gained the hearts of his new subjects, assembled an army, took
possession of Seville, and, soon after, marched towards Cordova, the
capital of Mussulman Spain. Joseph, in the name of the Abbassides,
vainly attempted to oppose his progress. The governor was vanquished and
Cordova taken, together with several other cities.

Abderamus was now not only the acknowledged king of Spain, but was
proclaimed _Caliph of the West_ A.D. 759, Heg. 142.

During the supremacy of the Ommiades in the empire of the East, Spain had
continued to be ruled by governors sent thither from Asia by those
sovereigns; but it was now permanently separated from the great Arabian
empire, and elevated into a powerful and independent state, acknowledging
no farther allegiance to the Asiatic caliphs either in civil or religious
matters. Thus was the control hitherto exercised over the {54} affairs
of Spain by the Oriental caliphs forever wrested from them by the last
surviving individual of that royal race whom Abdalla had endeavoured to
exterminate.

Abderamus the First established the seat of his new greatness at Cordova.
He was not long allowed peacefully to enjoy it, however. Revolts
instigated by the Abbassides, incursions into Catalonia by the French,
and wars with the kings of Leon,[7] incessantly demanded his attention;
but his courage and activity gained the ascendency even over such
numerous enemies. He maintained his throne with honour, and merited his
beautiful surname of _The Just_.

Abderamus cultivated and cherished the fine arts, even in the midst of
the difficulties and dangers by which he