The collapse of the authority of the Damascus Caliphate over the western provinces is another consequence of the Berber revolt.

With the Umayyad Caliphs distracted by the challenge of the Abbasids in the east, the western provinces of the Maghreb and al-Andalus had spun out of their control.

From around 745, the Fihrids, an illustrious local Arab clan descended from Oqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri, have seized power in the western provinces and rule them almost as a private family empire of their own—Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri in Ifriqiya and Yūsuf al-Fihri in al-Andalus.

The Fihrids welcome the fall of the Umayyads in the east, in 750, and seek to reach an understanding with the Abbasids, hoping they might be allowed to continue their autonomous existence.

But when the Abbasids reject the offer and demanded submission, the Fihrids declare independence and, probably out of spite, invite the deposed remnants of the Umayyad clan to take refuge in their dominions.

It is a fateful decision that they will soon regret, for the Umayyads, the sons and grandsons of caliphs, have a more legitimate claim to rule than the Fihrids themselves.

Rebellious-minded local lords, disenchanted with the autocratic rule of the Fihrids, intrigue with the arriving Umayyad exiles.

Abd al-Rahman and Bedr reach modern day Morocco near Ceuta.

Their next step will be to cross the sea to al-Andalus, where Abd al-Rahman cannot have been sure whether or not he would be welcomed.

Following the Berber Revolt of the 740s, the province is in a state of confusion, with the Muslim community torn by tribal dissensions among the Arabs and racial tensions between the Arabs and Berbers.

At this moment, the nominal ruler of al-Andalus, emir Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri (another member of the Fihrid family, and a favorite of the old Arab settlers (baladiyun), mostly of south Arabian or 'Yemenite' tribal stock) is locked in a contest with his vizier (and son-in-law) al-Sumayl ibn Hatim al-Qilabi, the head of the new settlers (shamiyum, the Syrian junds or military regiments, mostly of north Arabian Qaysid tribes, which had arrived only in 742).

Among the Syrian junds are contingents of old Umayyad clients, numbering perhaps five hundred, and Abd al-Rahman believes he might tug on old loyalties and get them to receive him.

Bedr is dispatched across the straits to make contact.

Bedr manages to line up three Syrian commanders—Obeid Allah ibn Uthman and Abd Allah ibn Khalid, both originally of Damascus, and Yusuf ibn Bukht of Qinnasrin.

The trio approach the Syrian arch-commander al-Sumayl (at this time in Zaragoza) to get his consent, but al-Sumayl refuses, fearing Abd al-Rahman will try to make himself emir.

As a result, Bedr and the Umayyad clients send out feelers to their rivals, the Yemenite commanders.

Although the Yemenites are not natural allies (the Umayyads are a Qaysid tribe), their interest is piqued.

The emir Yusuf al-Fihri has proven himself unable to keep the powerful al-Sumayl in check and several Yemenite chieftains feel their future prospects are poor, whether in a Fihrid or Syrian-dominated Spain, that they have a better chance of advancement if they hitch themselves to the glitter of the Umayyad name.

Although the Umayyads do not have a historical presence in the region (no member of the Umayyad family is known to have ever set foot in al-Andalus before) and there are grave concerns about young Abd al-Rahman's inexperience, several of the lower-ranking Yemenite commanders feel they had little to lose and much to gain, and agree to support the prince.

Bedr returns to Africa to tell Abd al-Rahman of the invitation of the Umayyad clients in al-Andulus.

Shortly thereafter, they set off with a small group of followers for Europe.

When some local Berber tribesmen learn of Abd al-Rahman's intent to set sail for al-Andalus, they quickly ride to catch up with him on the coast.

The tribesmen might have figured that they could hold Abd al-Rahman as hostage, and force him to buy his way out of Africa.

He does indeed hand over some amount of dinars to the suddenly hostile local Berbers.

Just as Abd al-Rahman launches his boat, another group of Berbers arrives.

They also try to obtain a fee from him for leaving.

One of the Berbers holds on to Abd al-Rahman's vessel as it makes for al-Andalus, and allegedly has his hand cut off by one of the boat's crew.

Ibn Habib had soon changed his mind about welcoming the Umayyads, fearing the presence of prominent Umayyad exiles in Ifriqiya, a family more illustrious than his own, might become a focal point for intrigue among local nobles against his own usurped powers.

Believing he has discovered plots involving some of the more prominent Umayyad exiles in Kairouan, Ibn Habib turns against them around 755.

At this time, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr are keeping a low profile, staying in Kabylie, at the camp of a Nafza Berber chieftain friendly to their plight.

Ibn Habib dispatches spies to look for the wayward Umayyad prince.

When Ibn Habib's soldiers enter the camp, the Berber chieftain’s wife Tekfah hides Abd al-Rahman under her personal belongings to help him go unnoticed.

Once they are gone, Abd a-Rahman and Bedr immediately set off westwards.

Abd al-Rahman lands at Almuñécar in al-Andalus, to the east of Málaga, in September 755; however, his landing site is unconfirmed.

The Iberian Peninsula has been occupied by Muslim Arab forces for some time, and Abd al-Rahman (nicknamed al-Dākhil, the 'Immigrant') recognizes political opportunity for himself in the rivalries of the Qais and Yaman, the dominant Arab factions here.

By shifting alliances and using mercenary support, he places himself in a position of power.

On May 14, 756, in the Battle of Musarah, Abd al-Rahman defeats Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in a battle for control of the Iberian Peninsula and re establishes the Umayyad dynasty at Córdoba with himself himself as Emir.

He refuses to submit to the Abbasid caliph, as Abbasid forces have killed most of his family.

As news of his success spreads eastward, men who had previously worked in the Umayyad administrative system come to Spain to work with 'Abd ar-Rahman, and his administration comes to resemble that formerly operative in Damascus.

Over a thirty-year reign, he will establish a tenuous rule over much of al-Andalus, overcoming partisans of both the al-Fihri family and of the Abbasid caliph.