Tudmir

Origins

Theodemir, a Visigothic noble who governed the south-east, resisted the Muslim invaders and then negotiated. In April 713 he signed a treaty with Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, keeping control of seven towns, including Orihuela, Mula, Lorca and Alicante, in return for submission and tribute.

Rule and society

The treaty guaranteed the Christians their lives, property and churches as long as they paid an annual tax in coin and in kind, wheat, barley, vinegar, honey and oil, and did not shelter enemies. Theodemir ruled as a client prince, and the region became known in Arabic as Tudmir after him. His successor Athanagild kept the autonomy for a time.

Decline and legacy

Arab settlers, especially Syrian troops after 743, moved into the region, eroding Christian autonomy. By the reign of Abd al-Rahman I it was absorbed into the Emirate of Córdoba, and in 825 Abd al-Rahman II founded Murcia as the capital of the province of Tudmir.