Al-Andalus

Cordoba is located on the Iberian Peninsula on a northern bank of the Guadalquivir river, within Spain. From early in the 2rd century Cordoba was part of the Roman empire. Under Roman rule it became a place that was the centre of Roman intellectual life in Iberia and was referred to as Colonia Patricia, for the class of its citizens With the invasion of the Roman Empire through the 3rd and 5th centuries by the Germanic Visigoths, Cordoba was under Visigothic rule between the 6th and 8th centuries until the Moors invaded in 711 CE. As Muslim Spain or Andalus was part of the greater Muslim World (see Figure 01) it shared in the cultural knowledge and exchange this provided. During civil instability in 750 CE between the Abbasids and Umayyad,…

The Umayyads’ rapid territorial expansion gave them limited time to consolidate their gains in North Africa and al Andalus while making the rapid commitment of large numbers of Ahl al Sham forces increasingly difficult due to the distance involved regarding the deployment of forces from Syria to theatres like Western Europe. This ensured the Umayyad army at Tours was mostly comprised of non-Arab Berber troops whose primary goal was acquiring loot from raiding, as they would have had faced…

This new surge of intellectualism was matched by economic developments that led al-Andalus–and the dhimmi–to new heights. While other dhimmi took advantage of cultural and social opportunities, still countless others became active participants and leaders in economy. Earlier, it had been mentioned that the dhimmi were considered second class citizens, which can also be translated to an urban middle class that had access to multiple professional and administrative careers. They collaborated…

What the Visigoths did not know, was that Spain was already a mixed culture with a very large Jewish community. When the Visigoths converted to Roman Christianity, they began to harass and antagonize the Jewish community. While the Visigoths were persecuting the Jews, a new religion known as Islam, was born that united Arabic tribes, such as the Berbers. These Arabic tribes would crossover into the Strait of Gibraltar and defeat the Visigoth King of Spain. To help them in their conquest of the…

Muslim Invasion allowed for a continuity or a disruption of Spanish culture. Famed Spanish scholars such as Claudio Sanchéz-Albornoz and Américo Castro differed heavily in regards to whether the Muslim Invasion fragmented the continuity of Spanish culture or created a social structure which allowed for its prosperity. The immediate impact of the Muslim Invasion in 711 devastated the political structure of Spain. Spain, which was known as Al-Andalus for several hundred years after the invasion,…

His use of a hypostyle mosque plan accommodated for both functions of the mosque. The original mosque measured seventy-four square meters, with “the prayer hall roof supported by columns sustaining ten arcades of twelve bays each, including a central aisle that [was] very slightly wider than the others and distinguished by red column shape.” The incorporation of varying column styles reflected the cultural history of al-Andalus. Many of the capitals recycled for use in the mosque were remnants…

and culture. Hispania became a part of the caliph of Damascus which was the capital of the Muslim world. This Moorish land was known as Al-Andalus and included all of the Iberian Peninsula except for the extreme north-west from where the Christian Reconquest would originate…

write poetry in Hebrew and include parts of their own scripture within the writing style. Jews would tend to have Muslim teachers, because once they overtook the Visigoths, Jews had to learn Arabic to communicate to the community. Christians, however, typically did not contribute much intellect until after the medieval period. Solely, because they believed science to minimize God’s importance and their faith to their religion. Arabic had a strong influence on Medieval Spain. Mozarabs, which were…

The battle al-Yarmuk, Heraclius gathered Greeks, Syrians, Mesopotamians and Armenians numbering about 200,000 men, the Muslims had gathered about 24,000 men from the Lakhm, the Judham, and other tribes. About 70,000 of the 200,000 men were killed by the Muslims and the remaining forces fled from al-Yarmuk to Palestine, Antioch, Aleppo, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. These battles provides a clear view of the military power of the Islamic Empire. The main motivation for the Islamic Empire 's military…

race of Christians were unfounded. As declared by the Christian martyr Eulogius, “The blessed martyr Eulogius answered him smiling: ‘If only you could know what things are laid up for those of our faith! Or I could place in your breast what I possess in my own; […] but even more gladly would you yourself think of giving up your worldly position” the theological debate sometimes boils down to an executioner and a martyr stating whose religion is better (The Martyrs of Cordoba, 65). With regards…