Moorish Spain (8-15th Centuries)

alm Andalus
Figure 1.--Moorish Al Andalus, the Caliphate of Córdoba, was the cultural jewel of Europe. Córdoba was the largest city in Europe at a time that Rome had shrunk from 1 million to only 30,000 inhabitants living in ruins. The arts flourished in al Andalus during the Europen medieval Dark Ages. The artistic avchievements included poetry and music as well as delicately carved ivories, ornate metalwork, decorative ceramics, luxurious textiles, stunning jewelry, decorated arms, marble capitals, stucco panels, beautiful tiles, as well as the major monuments of religious and secular architecture such the Alhambra or Great Mosque of Córdoba for which al Andalus is perhaps most remembered. We have not yet identified the artist here, but it looks like a 19th century recreation.

The Arabs who dominated the Moorish conquest administered the Iberian Peninsula as part of Province of North Africa which was subject to the Caliphate of Damascus. The caliph began appointing emirs to rule Spain in his name (718). Spain was the most distant extension of the caliph's domians. Little communication was possible in the 8th century between Iberia and Damascus. The emirs often abused their authority, distant as they were from the watcheful eye of the caliph. Word did eventually get back to Damascus and the result was considerable instability. One report suggests that there was 20 Spanish emirs in a 40 year span. The situation was further complicated by the struggle for power in Damascus between the Ommiads and Abbassides. Yusuf, the last Spanish emir, supported the Abbassides, but many local officials supported the Ommiads. The Ommiads chose a family member Abd-er-Rahman to replace Yusuf and rule Spain. Abd-er-Rahman proceeded to found an independent emirate which was to develop into the caliphate of Córdoba (756). Abd-er-Rahman was the greatest of the Moorish rulers. Córdoba under his rule became the most splendid city in Western Europe, second only to Constaninople in all of Europe. The level of civilization during the Moorish acendency in Spain was far above that of the rest of Europe. Schools were establish, including schools for poor children, presumably boys, although we have few details on these schools. The first European universities were established in Moorish caliphate of Córdoba, not in Christain Europe. These universities pursued medicine, mathematics, philosophy, and literature. These universities collected translations of Greek and Roman manuscripts. Aristotle was read by Moorish scholars before he became well-known in Christian Europe. Strangely the Caliphiate was a conduit of classical literature to the West before either the Crusades or Renaissance. At a time when most Christian rulers were illiterate or unread, some of the Córdoba caliphs became noted poets and architects. The Ommiad caliphiate of Córdoba were progressive rulers, encouraging trade and commerce and sponsoring vast irrigation works in southern Spain. The Caliphiate after Hisham III died split into independent kingdoms (1031). The Moors with the disolution of the Caliphiate, like the Christians split into several small, often warring kingdoms. The kingdoms included: Córdoba, Granada, Lisbon, Murcia, Saragossa, Seville, Toledo, and Valencia. The disappearance of a strong central Moorish power provided an opportunity for the Christians who conquered some of the kingdoms and made others tributary states. The Abbadid kings of Seville (1023-91) attempted to restore a united Moorish state. King Alfonso VI of Castile and Léon marched against the Moors and took Toledo (1086).

Moorish Invasion (711-19)

A decade after smashing Byzantine power in North Africa at Carthage (698), the Arabs had not only reached the southern shores of Europe facing Gibraltar, but launched an invasion of Spain. Arab armies had defeated Byzantine armies in the East, but the Byzantines still prevented an Arab invasion of Eastern Europe. That invasion wiukld come in the West. After the conquest of North Africa, the Arabs and their Berber Allies looked across the Strait of Gibraltar at the weak Visigoth kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula. Here a small Germanic ruling class had governed since the fall of the Roman Empire. Musa bin Nusayr, the governor of Muslim North Africa, dispatched his general, Tarik, and his largely Berber army on an expedition across the Strait (711). The defection of Count Julian in Ceuta made this possible. Tarik's army consisted of Muslims of varying origins. Accounts vary. Some sources say the Moorish army was predominately Arabs, but included Berbers, Syrians, and others). Others emphasize Berber origins. The Visigothic King , Roderick, assembeled an army to repulse the Tarik who he thought commanded a small mercinary army. Tarik landed at Gibraltar, the name of which comes from the Arabic Jebel-al Tarik. Roderick proved to be an ineffectual commander. One historian describes him as 'Weighed down by a golden crown, a heavy robe, archaic jewelry, and an ivory carriage drawn by two white mules" [Fuentes, p. 51.] The weakness of the Visigothic kingdom was displayed in Roderick's stunning defeat at Guadalete / Río Barbate, (July 19, 711). It is believed that Roderick and much of the Visigothic nobility was killed in the battle and aftermath. Tarik swept north toward Toledo, the Visigothic capital, facing no futher strong resistance. Visigothic Spain passed into history. The Moors moved through the Visigothic Kingdom (sometimes referred to as the Toulouse Kingdom) destroying any armed resistance. Over the space of only a few years, the Moors almost totally dominated the Peninsula. The only Visagothic victiory occured at Covadonga in the mountaneous northwest (718). Here a surviving Visigothic chieftan named Pelayo stopped a small Morish force. The cost of coquering the rugged moutaneous area proved not worth the effort for the Moors. Ratger their interest turned north to the ruch lands beyond the Pyranees. Muslim armies then ventured across the Pyrenees and established a foothold in southwest France. A furtgher move north was defeated at the Battle of Poitiers by a Frankish army under Charles Martel near Tours (732). While only a relatively minor military scirmish, along with avictory in the East of Byzantine Emperor Leo III ended the phase of rapid advance by Arab armies. The Moors then withdrew south of the Pyrenees. They never again seriously threatened France. Charles Martel would go on to found a powerful state, the foundation of modern France. The Moors were left in control of almost the entire Iberian Pensinsula except for a few small Christian enclaves in the rugged northhwest.

Moorish Political Regimes

There were three destinct political eras eras covering the Mootish era in Spain. First was ruke from the Baghdad Caliphate, the central Muslim authority (718-56). Thi prived to be a relatively short era. The distance from Baghdad may rile from the center difficult. It also made control difficult. The resuklt in only a few decades was the rise of an independent caliphate in Cordoba--al Andalus (756-1031). This soon becaje the cultural hotbed of still very backward Western Europe. The notable glories and accomplishmnts of Moorish Spain came from al Andalus, which continued to control most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Caliphiate after Hisham III died split into independent kingdoms (1031). The Moors with the disolution of the Caliphiate, like the Christians split into several small, often warring kingdoms (1931-1492). The kingdoms included: Córdoba, Granada, Lisbon, Murcia, Saragossa, Seville, Toledo, and Valencia. This opened the way for the Christian Reconquista. These kingdoms varied, but many lost the openess and toleration of al Adalus. The cultural accomplishnments of these kingdoms was minimal incomparisons to the glories of al Andalus.

The Caliphate (718-56)

The Arabs who dominated the Moorish conquest administered the Iberian Peninsula as part of Province of North Africa which was subject to the Caliphate of Damascus. The caliph began appointing emirs to rule Spain in his name (718). Spain was the most distant extension of the caliph's domians. Little communication was possible in the 8th century between Iberia and Damascus. The emirs often abused their authority, distant as they were from the watcheful eye of the caliph. Word did eventually get back to Damascus and the result was considerable instability. One report suggests that there was 20 Spanish emirs in a 40 year span. The situation was further complicated by the struggle for power in Damascus between the Ommiads and Abbassides. Yusuf, the last Spanish emir for the Baghdad Caliphate, supported the Abbassides, but many local officials supported the Ommiads. The Ommiads effectiveky revolted agauinst rule from Baghdad. They chose a family member Abd-er-Rahman to replace Yusuf and rule Spain as an indeoebdent caliphate.

Independent Emirate: The Caliphate of Córdoba--Al Andalus (756-1031)

Abd-er-Rahman proceeded to found an independent emirate which was to develop into the caliphate of Córdoba (756). Abd-er-Rahman was the greatest of the Moorish rulers. Córdoba under his rule became the most splendid city in Western Europe, second only to Constaninople in all of Europe. The Moors entered Spain has a highly mobile and effective tribal militia. With their decisive victories, the landed was parcelled out to the victorious warriors. Thus simple Moorish warriors became a fabulously wealthy landed class. And with their wealth and the military and agricultural acendancy firmly established, the Moors began moving into cities which under the Visigoths, like most of Europe, were mostly small and poorly developed. It was from the new cities that the glories of Morrish Spain would be generated and their agricultural, commercial, and military affaurs conducted. [Fuentes, pp. 52-53.] The first Moorish city was Córdoba. Seville and Granada followed soon after as a monetary ecomomy developed--the first in Europe since the dall of the Western Empire. Cordoba would dominate Moorish Spain for three enturies. Agricultural harvests were imprioved anhd a service sector developed. And unlike the rest of Europe, a competent bureaucracy developed to support the affais of state. The level of civilization in al Andalus during the Moorish acendency was far above that of the rest of not only Spain, but the rest of all Europe. Schools were establish, including schools for poor children, presumably boys, although we have few details on these schools. The first European universities were established in al Andalus, especially Córdoba, not in Christain Europe. These universities pursued medicine, mathematics, philosophy, and literature. These universities collected translations of Greek and Roman manuscripts. Aristotle was read by Moorish scholars before he became well-known in Christian Europe. Strangely the Caliphiate was a conduit of Greek philosophy and classical literature to the West before either the Crusades or Renaissance. Classical texts were translated in large numbers by Caliphate scholars in Baghdad. A School of Trannslation in Toledo help to reintroduce many long-lost tets to the Christian West. This help to reignite the study of science, medicine, and astronmy in the West. Al Andalus help introduce Arbic numbers to the West, although they were simply passing own the invention of Indiam mathimaticins. The Arabs both in Baghdad created very little themselves, but benefitted from the scholarship of others. One rare exception was Al Khwarizmi, a Persian matimatician who invented algebra. The ability of the Arabs, including al Abdalus to synthesize and utilize the scholarship of others, but not create a great deal leads one to wonder why. The intelectual ferment was, however, importanht not only to the success of the Cordoba Caliphate, but also to the early intelectual stimulatiion of medieval Christendom. At a time when most Christian rulers were illiterate or unread, some of the Córdoba caliphs became noted poets and architects. The Ommiad caliphiate of Córdoba were progressive, tolerant rulers, encouraging trade and commerce and sponsoring vast irrigation works in southern Spain. It was not only Muslims which prospered, but Christians and Jews as well. A respected Arab journalist recently visited Anhdalusa. He wrote describing his experience, "roaming as if ...in a dream" touching th pillars of the mosque and other magnificent remanets of a Muslim momment "characrized [by] confidence, courage, openess, tolerance, and love of intelct, philosophy, arts, architecture and hapiness on erah." [Melhem]

Independent Muslim Kingdoms (1031-1492)

The Caliphiate after Hisham III died split into independent kingdoms (1031). The Moors with the disolution of the Caliphiate, like the Christians split into several small, often warring kingdoms. The kingdoms included: Córdoba, Granada, Lisbon, Murcia, Saragossa, Seville, Toledo, and Valencia. This opened the way for the Christian Reconquista. These kingdoms varied, but many lost the openess abnd toleration of al Adalus. The cuktural accomplishnments of these kindoms was minimal incomparisins to the glories of al Andalus. The disappearance of a strong central Moorish power, also, provided an opportunity for the Christians who conquered some of the kingdoms and made others tributary states. The Abbadid kings of Seville (1023-91) attempted to restore a united Moorish state. King Alfonso VI of Castile and Léon marched against the Moors and took Toledo in central Spain (1086). Toledo in cenntral Spain had been the old Visagothic capital. Control of Toledo swung back and forth until finally decided by the Battle of Toloosa (1212). This was the decisive battle of the Reconquista. After Tolosa the Moorish kingdoms fell one by one, The Battle of the Puig delivered Valencia to Aragon (1237). Over the next two centuries other Muslim kindoms fell to the Christians. Finally Granada surrendered to Ferdinabnd and Isabella (1492).

Geography and Culture

The Iberian Peninsula in the age before mkodern transport waa extremrly isolated. The towering Pyranees separated Iberia from Europe. The Straits of Gibraktar and the Mediterranean separated Iberia from North africa. Perhaps because of this remoteness, Iberia was a cultural backwater during the Roman Empire. Spain was a remote province of the Roman Empire, despite being close tonItaly. It was, however, imoortant as a source if metal, esoecially tin and silver. After the Reconquista, Spain proved to be a cultural backwater despite the influx of vast quanhtities of bullion from the New World. The one era of cultural brulliance was the Moorih Era--especially the era of al Andalus (756-1031). The questuin is why. Geography dud not change. And cultural brilliance often flares at points of connction between cultures, commonly converging trade routes. This was not the case in isolsted Spain. And al Andalus was not only the most distant of the provinces of the Capliphate in Baghdad, but after only three decades, separate itself and declared independence. What flourished in al Andalus was a rare incidentb in the history of artistic and intelectual development. It was the tolerant policies of the Córdoba caliphs that allowed Mislims, Christians, and Jews to interact in an open mukt-cultural society. This occurred nowhere else in Europe. One artistic scholar writes, "Floating on the western edge of the Mediterranean, cut off from the European continent by jagged mountains, it was geographically isolated from both North Africa and Europe, from Islamic as well as Christian lands. Physical remoteness gave al-Andalus a privileged place in medieval myths but also separated it from the communities of the east and the west, so that it received only sporadic attention from both worlds."

Survival of Christianity

Long established Helinistic culture yielded to Islam in both the Levant and Egypt. As did other cultures in the Middle East and Nort Africa. One has to ask why this did not occur in Spain. This is especially the case when one considers the clearly superior culture of al Andalus compared to more primitive realities of the Christian north. The MJoors suceded in turning southern Spain into an oasis of irrigated lands, imoroved producivity, stunningh architecture, and flourishing cities. Córdoba became the largest city in Western Europe. Rome had declined from 1 million to a mere 30,000 inhabitants. Another once flouruisjing cities throughout Western Eurioe had ceased to exist or were similarly depopulated. There were no scholars in Christian Spain matching the work of Averroes or Mainjmonides. There were castilles throughout Castille, but they were rudimentary military structures, nothinhg remotely compared to the Alhambra or Great Mosque of Córdoba. It is not surprising that many began to see Islam as a superior power and culture. One has to ask how Christianity survived in the hearts and minds of Spainards. One insightful about Hispano-American culture author offers this explanation as to whu Span, but not the Helenistic East proved resistant to Islam, "Perhaps the fact is related to the equally long Hispanic traditionof fighting back through guerrilla warfare; individualism and the cult of honor had certainly become ingrained in the Soanish soul. The added ingredients of Stocism, Roman law, the Romance language , and certainly the still fresh and militant spirit of Christianity contributed, no doubt, to Hispanic fortitude. But perhapsv even stronger than all of these factors was the root element; the attachment to hearth and village, family and family history, kinship, lore, and graveyard, song and harvest, of what had been since Celtiberian times , basically an agrarian small town society of craftsmen, artisans, cattle raisers, shepherds, field laborers, and petty merchants." [Fuentes, pp. 59-60.] This assessment is not entirely, satisfying to us, although the author does raise some of the important factors to begin the discussion. And he omits the religious factor. The Byzantines in the Levant and North Africa supressed Arian Christians in contrast to the more tolerant Arab conquerers. This factor was not at oplay in Iberiae the Catholic Church had widespread support abnd the Arian Church was very weak. Also the author quoted above only discuses the Spanish. The other part of the equation needs to be considered--the NMoors and their policies. We suspect that the history of Spain would have been very different had al Andalus survived as a united, prosperous, and tolerant emirate.

Sources

Fuentes, Carlos. The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World (Houghton Mifflin: New York, 1992), 399p.

Melhem, Hisham. an-Nahar (Beirut) (2012). Melham desribes writing with tears in his eyes wondering how the Muslim genius of the medevil era could have veered toward the chaos and repression of the modern Arab world. And it us not jusr a question of repressiion, it is also a matter of the intelectual sterility of modern Arab society. The Arabs today are deopendent on Western science, medican, and technology and have created no discoveries and innovations of their own in sharp contrast to the creaive spirit and accomplishnments of al Andalus.







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Created: 1:40 AM 7/15/2013
Last updated: 11:28 PM 7/16/2013