Recemundus (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ''Rabi ibn Sid al-Usquf'' or ''Rabi ibn Zaid'', Castilian: ''Recemundo'') was the

Mozarab The Mozarabs (from ), or more precisely Andalusi Christians, were the Christians of al-Andalus, or the territories of Iberia under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, the Christian ...

ic bishop of Elvira and secretary of the

caliph of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

in the mid-10th century. In 953, following a spate of undiplomatic letters between the two rulers, he served as ambassador for

Abd al-Rahman III ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil (; 890–961), or simply ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba fr ...

German King This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

(and future

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

)

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, he successfully normalised relations between the nominal rulers of

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

dom. It was while in Germany (956) that he met

Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios ( – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, and t ...

, the Italian bishop and diplomat, and convinced him to write a history of the times. The ''Antapodosis'' was dedicated to Recemundus. Upon his return to Spain, he was rewarded with the vacant see of Elvira. He continued his work as an ambassador to Christendom, going to the other European emperor in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and then to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, the holiest city in the three great monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). In 961, Recemundus presented an Arabic calendar of Christian holidays (including some commemorating the

Martyrs of Córdoba The Martyrs of Córdoba were forty-eight Martyrdom in Christianity, Christian martyrs who were executed under the rule of Muslim administration in Al-Andalus (name of the Iberian Peninsula under the Islamic rule). The Hagiography, hagiographical ...

) to the new caliph,

al-Hakam II Al-Hakam II, also known as Abū al-ʿĀṣ al-Mustanṣir bi-Llāh al-Hakam b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (; 13 January 915 – 1 October 976), was the Caliph of Córdoba. He was the second Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba in Al-Andalus, and son of Abd-al-R ...

Sources

*Wintle, Justin. ''The Rough Guide History of Spain''. Penguin Group, 2003. *Gerli, E. Michael, ed. ''Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages: VIII Medieval Iberia, an Encyclopedia''.
Recemund
" *Colbert, E. "The Martyrs of Córdoba (850–859): A Study of the Sources". Ph.D. Diss., Catholic University of America, 1962, 382–86. *Dozy, R., ed. ''Le Calendrier de Cordoue''. Trans. C. Pellat. 2d ed. Leiden, 1961. {{authority control 10th-century bishops in al-Andalus Ambassadors to the Holy Roman Empire Diplomats from al-Andalus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 10th-century diplomats 10th-century Spanish philosophers People from the Caliphate of Córdoba Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire Officials in the medieval Islamic world