THE UMA YVAD REGIME 197the Umayyad Caliphate. Religion was not a major determining factor
in political alliances or in the relations between the realms. Thus
Al-Man~iir, on his expedition of 997 that culminated in the sack of
Santiago and the destruction of the cathedral that housed the re-
puted body of St James, was accompanied by Christian lords, who all
received a share of the spoils at the end of the campaign.29 This is not
to say that the Christian states became regularly tributary to Cordoba.
However, their freedom of action was related directly to the condi-
tions that prevailed in the south. Economic links, of which we are
now too ill-informed, may have reinforced the interdependence of
the parts of the peninsula that was stronger than is often recognised.^30
The political ties of the Asturias to Cordoba became more explicit
in the period of instability following the death of Ramiro II in 95l.
Factions developed, with the participation of the King of Pamplona-
Navarre and the Count of Castille in supporting the claims of contest-
ing candidates for the throne. One of these, Sancho I 'the Fat', was
expelled by his own subjects after a brief reign (956-958) for being
too obese even to mount a horse. On the advice of his uncle King
Sancho of Navarre, who was also related to the Umayyads by mar-
riage, he appealed to 'Abd al-Ral].man III for help. In 959, having
been slimmed down by the caliph's doctor, he was restored to his
throne by an Arab army. His ejected supplanter, Ordoiio IV 'the
Bad', in turn took the road to Cordoba to supplicate the aid of the
Umayyad ruler.
Ibn l:Iayyan has left us a long description ofOrdoiio's reception by
the new caliph Al-I:Iakam II (961-76), which illustrates something of
the splendour of the Umayyad court in its heyday in the tenth cen-
tury. Prostrating himself before Al-l:Iakam II, Ordoiio addressed him:
'I am the slave of the Commander of the Faithful (one of the caliphal
titles), my lord and master, and I am come to implore his favour, to
witness his majesty and to place myself and my people under his
protection. May he be pleased to grant me his powerful patronage
and consent to receive me into the number of his slaves.' Having
presented his petition, Ordoiio 'rose to retire, walking backwards so
as not to turn his face from the caliph ... he plainly exhibited on his
countenance the reverential awe with which he had been struck, and
his utter astonishment at the magnificence and splendour displayed
before him as indicative of the power and strength of the Caliphate.
In passing through the hall, the eyes of Ordoiio fell on the vacant
throne of the Commander of the Faithful; unable to repress his