Islamic Spain (711-1492)

Islamic Spain (711-1492) Islamic Spain was a multi-cultural mix of the people of three great monotheistic religions: Muslims, Christians, and Jews.For much of the time, the three groups managed to get along together, and to benefit from the presence of each other.It brought a degree of civilisation to Europe that matched the heights of the Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance. Outline In 711 Muslim forces invaded and in seven years conquered the Iberian peninsula.It became one of the great Muslim civilisations; reaching its summit with the Umayyad caliphate of Cordovain the tenth century.Muslim rule declined after that and ended in 1492 when Granada was conquered.The heartland of Muslim rule was Southern Spain or Andalusia. Periods Muslim Spain was not a single period, but a succession of different rules. The Dependent Emirate (711-756) The Independent Emirate (756-929) The Caliphate (929-1031) The Almoravid Era (1031-1130) Decline (1130-1492) Origins The Conquest The traditional story is that in the year 711, an oppressed Christian chief, Julian, went to Musa ibn Nusair, the governor of North Africa, with a plea for help against the tyrannical Visigoth ruler of Spain, Roderick.Musa responded by sending the young general Tariq bin Ziyad with an army of 7000 troops. The name Gibraltar is derived from Jabal At-Tariq which is Arabic for 'Rock of Tariq' named after the place where the Muslim army landed. The story of the appeal for help is not universally accepted. There is no doubt that Tariq invaded Spain, but the reason for it may have more to do with the Muslim drive to enlarge their territory.The Muslim army defeated the Visigoth army easily, and Roderick was killed in battle.After the first victory, the Muslims conquered most of Spain and Portugal with little difficulty, and in fact with little opposition. By 720 Spain was largely under Muslim (or Moorish, as it was called) control.ReasonsOne reason for the rapid Muslim success was the generous surrender terms that they offered the people, which contrasted with the harsh conditions imposed by the previous Visigoth rulers.The ruling Islamic forces were made up of different nationalities, and many of the forces were converts with uncertain motivation, so the establishment of a coherent Muslim state was not easy.AndalusiaThe heartland of Muslim rule was Southern Spain or Andulusia. The name Andalusia comes from the term Al-Andalus used by the Arabs which is derived from the Vandals who had been settled in the region. Stability Stability in Muslim Spain came with the establishment of the Andalusian Umayyad dynasty, which lasted from 756 to 1031.The credit goes to Amir Abd al-Rahman, who founded the Emirate of Cordoba, and was able to get the various different Muslim groups who had conquered Spain to pull together in ruling it.The Golden AgeThis was a Golden Age of learning where civilisation, religious and ethnic tolerance, interfaith harmony, discovery and free debate were the norm.Libraries, colleges, public baths were established and literature, poetry and architecture flourished.CordobaIn the 10th century, Cordoba, the capital of Umayyad Spain, was unrivalled in both East and the West for its wealth and civilisation. One author wrote about Cordoba:"there were half a million inhabitants, living in 113,000 houses. There were 700 mosques and 300 public baths spread throughout the city and its twenty-one suburbs. The streets were paved and lit... There were bookshops and more than seventy libraries."Muslim scholars served as a major link in bringing Greek philosophy, of which the Muslims had previously been the main custodians, to Western Europe.There were interchanges and alliances between Muslim and Christian rulers such as the legendary Spanish warrior El-Cid, who fought both against and alongside Muslims.There were also cultural alliances, particularly in the architecture - the 12 lions in the court of Alhambra are heralds of Christian influences.The mosque at Cordoba, now converted to a cathedral is still, somewhat ironically, known as La Mezquita or literally, the mosque.The mosque was begun at the end of the 8th century by the Ummayyad prince Abd al Rahman ibn Muawiyah.Under the reign of Abd al Rahman III (r. 912-961) Spanish Islam reached its greatest power as every May campaigns were launched towards the Christian frontier, this was also the cultural peak of Islamic civilisation in Spain. Decline and Fall Pressures The collapse of Islamic rule in Spain was due not only to increasing aggression on the part of Christian states, but to divisions among the Muslim rulers. The rot came from both the centre and the extremities.The first big Islamic centre to fall to Christianity was Toledo in 1085.Early in the eleventh century, the single Islamic Caliphate had shattered into a score of small kingdoms, ripe for picking-off. The first big Islamic centre to fall to Christianity was Toledo in 1085.The Muslims replied with forces from Africa which under the general Yusuf bin Tashfin defeated the Christians resoundingly in 1086, and by 1102 had recaptured most of Andalusia. The general was able to reunite much of Muslim Spain. Revival It didn't last. Yusuf died in 1106, and, as one historian puts it, the "rulers of Muslim states began cutting each other's throats again".Internal rebellions in 1144 and 1145 further shattered Islamic unity, and despite intermittent military successes, Islam's domination of Spain was ended for good.The Muslims finally lost all power in Spain in 1492. By 1502 the Christian rulers issued an order requiring all Muslims to convert to Christianity, and when this didn't work, they imposed brutal restrictions on the remaining Spanish Muslims. Other Religions in Muslim Spain Jews had to obey certain rules Jews and Christians were able to thrive under Muslim rule, providing they obeyed certain rules.These rules were not much of a burden by the standards of the time, although they would now be considered completely unacceptable. There were several reasons why the Muslim rulers tolerated these rival faiths: They were monotheistic faiths - so arguably their members were worshipping the same God - despite having some wayward beliefs and practices: most notably the failure to accept the significance of Muhammad (pbuh) and the Qur'an. The Christians outnumbered the Muslims, and mass conversion or mass execution was simply not practical. Outlawing and controlling the beliefs of so many people would have been massively expensive. Bringing non-Muslims into government provided the rulers with administrators who were loyal (because not attached to any of the various Muslim groups), and who could be easily disciplined or removed if the need arose. One Emir had a Christian as the head of his bodyguard. There was clear guidance in the Qur'an that Christians and Jews should be tolerated if they obeyed certain rules. Dhimmis and Jizya The Muslim rulers allowed Jews and Christians to live according to their faiths and customs. They were given the status of Dhimmis (or Zimmis), which allowed them some power to organise themselves and freedom of religion. In return (not that they had any choice) the dhimmis had to pay a tax called jizya. If they didn't want to pay it, they could convert to Islam or be executed. This was not as oppressive as it sounds, in that the dhimmis got the full protection of the state in return for their money. Restrictions The non-Muslims were expected to obey the law, avoid blasphemy, and not to try to convert Muslims. Male Muslims could marry Christian or Jewish women; Christian men could not marry female Muslims. At times there were restrictions on practicing one's faith too obviously. Bell-ringing or chanting too loudly were frowned on, and public processions were restricted. Christians in Spain assimilated much of the Muslim culture. Some learned Arabic, some adopted the same clothes as their rulers (some Christian women even started wearing the veil); some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain/index.shtml