The death of al-Hakam II in 976 marked the beginning of the end of the Caliphate of Córdoba. Before his death, al-Hakam named his 14 year old son Hisham II (976–1008) as successor. Seeing that the child was in no way competent to be Caliph, yet having sworn an oath of obedience to him, Ibn Abi 'Amir (the top adviser to Hisham's father) pronounced him Caliph. Ibn Abi 'Amir played guardian for the young Hisham, taking the Caliph's powers until h...