Figure 1.-- Spain is famous for its beautiful tiles. This is a tradition that goes back to the Moorish era. Glazed tiles or tiles enameled with metallic oxides was brought to Spain by the Moors. The first European use of thee tiles was in Spain. Thus is aainting on a ceramic tile depicting a Jewish family during the 11th century from Al-Andalus. One of the characteristis of al Andalus was the level of religious toleration in sharp contrast to the rest of Europe.

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 fall of the Western Empire. Córdoba would dominate Moorish Spain for three centuries. Agricultural harvests were improved and 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 established, 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 texts to the Christian West. This help to reignite the study of science, medicine, and astronmy in the West. Al Andalus helped introduce Arabic numbers to the West, although they were simply passing on the invention of Indian mathimaticains. 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 Muslim world, including al Abdalus. to synthesize and utilize the scholarship of others, but not to make the lep to modernity we see in the Renaissance 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 stimulation 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 the 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]

Moorish Conquest of Spain (711-18)

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.

Abd-er-Rahman

Abd-er-Rahman proceeded to found an independent emirate which was to develop into the caliphate of Córdoba (731-88). Abd-er-Rahman was the greatest of the Moorish rulers. He was the first Umayyad emir of Córdoba (756–88). He did not have an easy beginning. He was thee only survivor of the Abbasid massacre of the Umayyads (750). His entire family was killed in Damascus. He fled from Syria and wound up at the far western reaches of the Caliphte. He defeated the emir of Córdoba at Alameda (756). He seized power and esctblihed =his own independent Caliphste. He overcame the jealousy of the Arab aristocracy and the turbulent the Berbers. He reorganized and consolidated Córdoba and made progressed in uniting the various Muslim groups. The great mosque at Córdoba, the pinsacle of Islamic srchitecture. was begun by Abd ar-Rahman continued by his son and successor, Hisham I.

The Moors

The term 'Moors' has been variously used. It has been used to refer primarily to the Muslim inhabitants of the western Meiterannean. This includes the Maghreb (North Africa), the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta during the Medieval era. The term was first used to describe indigenous Maghrebine Berbers, which us why swarthy comolexions are commonly associated with the Moors. But the groups included are so varied tht the term hs no ethongraphic value. After the Arab conquest of the Maghreb, the term was later expanded to include the Arabs hich is why the term was used to describe the Muslim invaders of Spain. 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.]

Córdoba: The Golden Age

Córdoba under Abd-er-Rahman became the most splendid city in Western Europe, second only to Constaninople in all of Europe. Córdoba was called 'the ornament of the the world'. The first Moorish city was Córdoba. Seville and Granada followed soon after as a monetary ecomomy developed--the first in Europe since the fall of the Western Empire. Córdoba would dominate Moorish Spain for three centuries. Agricultural harvests were improved, a key chievement in an economy dominated by agriculture. And a service sector developed. Ulike 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 established, 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. Al Andalus helped introduce Arabic numbers to the West, although they were simply passing own the invention of Indian mathimaticins. There was no such thing as public libraries in Chrutuab Euroope at the yime. Al-Andalus repotedly had more than 70, including one in Cordova that housed hundreds of thousands of manuscripts, the largest library in Europe outsid of Byzantium.

Islamic Scholarship

Muslim universities pursued medicine, mathematics, philosophy, and literature. They 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, in which Jews played a key role, help to reintroduce many long-lost texts to the Christian West. This help to reignite the study of science, medicine, and astronmy in the West. The Arabs both in Baghdad and other bnefitted from the scholarship of the ancients. Historians disagree on just how much Islamic scholaship was original work. There certainly was immprtant Muslim scholrs, especially compared to contmprary intlectual activity in the West. One impressive scholar was Al Khwarizmi, a Persian matimatician who invented algebra. The ability of Muslim world, including al Abdalus. to synthesize and utilize the scholarship of others, but not to make the lep to modernity we see in the Renaissance leads one to wonder why.

Genius of al-Andalus

Often descriptions of al Andalus focus on the achievements, the art and architecture and intelctual chievements. Less attention is given to just how this was achieved. What was different about al-Andalus from contempoary Christian Europe or for that matter modern Arab society. Arabs year for the greatness of the their Golden Age, not only al-Andalus. but the Caliphate in general, but have no idea how to achieve it or even what was special about the sicirties that achieved the Golden Age. The growing fundamentism in the Muslim world requires a belief that Islmic control and purity, the supression of those who not share their religious belefs is the way of reclaiming the Golden Age. Thus Christians, Jews, Hindus, other minorities, as well a other Islmic sects are targeted in an effort to purify society. Nothing could be further from the truth. The genius of the Golden Age was openess and toleration. It was not just Muslims who prospered in al-Andalus, but Spanish Christians and Jews as well. And their exceptional ability to share and discuss ideas freely led to the greatness of al-Andalus. One modern Muslim journalist describes the 'sectarian cancer' that is tearing the Middle East apart. He writes, "Today's Middle Eastern Muskims, with their narrow sectarian awarness, appear extremely far from the humane sources that under Islam made them the second civilization after the great Romans. They are o far from the sources that greanted the world a new language in intelect, art, and commerce upon a universal vision supposedly based on logic and justice." [Melhem] A Muslim scholar also makes the case for freedom and tolerance which he describes as liberty. "I hve become convinced that a fundamental needs for the coimtemprary Muslim world is to embrace liberty -- the liberty individuals and communities, Nuslims and non-Muslims, believers and non-believers, women and men, ideas and opinions, markets and entrepreneurs." [Akyol] Unfortuntely these are not the ideas that fire the Arab street and the politicans that vie for power, in the Moslem world. The Arab Muslim leaders that created the Golden Age like Abd-er-Rahman promoted freedom of thought. And the result was sublime art and architecture as well as the beginning of modern mathematics and science. And in this atmosphere not only did Muslims prosper, but Christians and Jews as well. [Menocal]

Importance

The intelectual ferment of al-Andalus was importanht not only to the success of the Cordoba Caliphate, but also to the early intelectual stimulation 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 Umayyad 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 and described his experiences, "... 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 intelect, philosophy, arts, architecture and hapiness on earth." [Melhem]

Sources

Aykol, Mustafa. Islam without Extrenmes: A muslim Case for Linerty (2011).

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 just a question of repression, it is also a matter of the intelectual sterility of modern Arab society. The Arabs today are dependent 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.

Menocal, María Rosa. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain.

Created: 10:02 AM 8/23/2015
Last updated: 2:01 AM 1/20/2019