Introduction
The golden age of Al-Andalus is a place in time wherein the Iberian peninsula flourished through its Islamic foundations. The Muslims who ruled modern-day Spain and Portugal inspired authors like Maria Rosa Menocal, Richard Fletcher, and Montgomery Watt among others to record books to relay the legacy of a civilization that was well ahead of its time. Al-Andalus was home to an advanced society that sought knowledge and built its social currency on its academic and artistic foundations. It was a social sphere that left little to the imagination. Al-Andalus was home to cities such as Cordoba, Granada, and Toledo made famous for their economic prosperity, use and development of modern technologies, advances in etiquette, and as centers of learning and poetry.
A Brief History
It is through the spread of Islam that allowed the Muslims of Arabia to reach the Iberian Peninsula. The general narrative of Al-Andalus follows a timeline that stems from the establishment of the original Islamic civilization in the Arabian peninsula under the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad of Islam, to the development of the Islamic caliphate beginning with the Rightly guided caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون), to the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in the city of Damascus. The conquest of the Iberian peninsula was said to have begun in 711 under the authority of the Muslim leadership at the time: the Umayyads. Banu Umayya, literally the descendants of Umayya, who had direct lineage to the Prophet Muhammad succeeded the four “rightly guided” rulers that led the Muslim civilization in the Arabian peninsula after the passing of the Prophet. The Umayyads, the successors of the Muslim Empire in that era moved their base to Damascus. But the Umayyads had followers in every stretch of their dominion, one of which was a group of newly converted Muslims that were native to modern-day Morocco referred to as Berber. Umayyad ruler Al-Walid bin Abdul Malik sent word to the Berber Muslims led by their own Tariq bin Ziyad with instructions to cross the Strait of Gibraltar through to the Iberian peninsula. Meanwhile, on northern end of the strait, Visigoths had been settled into the region for nearly 50 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The term “vandalism” originates from the Vandals who ruled the people before the Muslims had even arrived, and the etymology does enough to explain how their subjects were treated. With this in mind, it is no surprise that people received the incoming Muslim leadership with open arms. The new empire filled the bed left by the old Roman Empire and the Umayyads had defined their rule under Islam as one that loved dialogues with other traditions.
In the year 750, a faction that deferred out of political instability of the Umayyads split off from its main ruling body and were thereby known as the Abbasids (descending from Muhammad's uncle, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib). The Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads in Syria in 750 and moved the capital of the Empire to Baghdad. Baghdad was a circular city and served as the capital of the Muslim Empire under the Abbasid dynasty for years. In overtaking power, the Abbasids had annihilated the Umayyad dynasty to do so, killing off the members of the ruling party—all but one. Meanwhile, in the northern region of Morocco, the Berbers face ethnic discrimination, and rebel against the Umayyad governing power in the region. Internal conflict simmers in the Arabo-Berber society of the Andalusian governorate for years, that is until the arrival of the last, surviving Umayyad. In 755, Abdul Rahman I, also known as Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil (literally “The One Who Enters”), arrives in Al-Andalus claiming succession to the leadership of Al-Andalus. As the son of a Berber woman and the Arab Umayyad prince, Muawiyah bin Hisham, Abdul Rahman, the last survivor by going west to Al-Andalus was able to recreate himself as the new Emir of a reborn Umayyad state. Thus, marks the beginning of the revived Umayyad dynasty in the form of the independent Umayyad Emirate.
The Analogy of the Great Mosque of Córdoba
In 785, Abdul Rahman ordered the construction of a building that would later become an extended metaphor, evolving with the transfer of power, working to reflect the rise and fall of Al-Andalus. This structure is the Great Mosque of Córdoba. Founded on the remains of a Visigothic church, the Mosque takes shape consisting of ten naves with 130 double-arched columns that open into a rectangular patio measuring over 74 meters. Abdul Rahman’s son, Hisham I, completes his father’s work, raising the minaret. In 833, Abdul Rahman’s grandson, Abdul Rahman II makes his own additions seven bays more extending in the direction of the Guadalquivir, supported by another 80 columns and builds a new mihrab. In 945, Abdul Rahman III follows in tradition and makes his mark on the building, whose son Al-Hakam II follows in a rather large project. Al Hakam II destroys the south wall and adds another 120 columns to expand the musallah, or prayer hall. The mihrab and the three domes are built around the same time, in 965. These expansions all play the role of physical evidence that reflects on just how large the Muslim population had become in the capital of Córdoba, let alone the number of Muslims around all of Al-Andalus. In the late 900s, Almanzor carries out the final extension, and by far, the most extensive one. The Amirid dictatorship lasts from 976 to 1013. By the time Hisham II is in line for succession, his father’s death leaves him at too young an age to differentiate between his rule, leaving no guide but the chamberlain, Andalusian royalty’s very own Almanzor (also: al-Mansur, al-Mansour, Mansour). This puppet ruler worked in the name of Hisham II and is the first of a line of puppet rulers to come in the history of Andalusian power holders. Almanzor founds a dynasty of his own, creating the Amirid dictatorship era, ruling over six other Umayyad caliphs and three Hammudids engineered by al-Mansur, al-Muzaffar, and al-Ma’mun (‘Abd-ar-Rahman). The amirid ‘Abd-ar-Rahman went as far as to claim right to the caliphate because his name was that of the first caliph, that and the fact that he and his predecessors had been ruling on the behalf of the caliphs—why, then, should they not be given the right? This caused an uproar and stirred an already brewing society of Arabo-Berber tensions. It was clear that politics would continue to simmer, fragile to the touch on the brink of revolution.
The Role of Diversity in the Pursuit of Knowledge
In 1106, a Muslim religious lawyer and philosopher by the name of ibn Rushd (Averroes) developed a philosophical system that made room for Greek philosophy in the modern stage. He explained the Islamic system in a way that would come to harmonize with Greek knowledge. Toledo was the primary center in which Arabic knowledge was translated and taken to Europe. A large number of scholars from Europe were interested in the best science of the time, Arabic knowledge, that is. They went west, to Toledo, in the pursuit of knowledge. Ibn Rushd and Maimonides brought philosophy to the world. But to translate these texts, it took the combined efforts of cooperation between Christians, Jews, and Muslims—all seekers of knowledge. In the case of Musa bin Maimun (Maimonides) was a great Jewish philosopher who eventually has to take his knowledge from the broken city of Al-Andalus, and travels to North Africa to Egypt only to be welcomed by Saladin in 1165. There, bin Maimun was revered for his ideas on philosophy and law for having studied the Arabic translations of Aristotle.
An Italian scholar had gone to Toledo to study the Arabic texts and befriends a Muslim scholar. They translate the Arabic materials in the libraries of Toledo. Ghaleb the Andalusian translated from Arabic to Castilian and Gerard, the Italian scholar, from Castilian to Latin. The import
ant lesson they give us is that a society is richest when each culture brings something to the table as opposed to putting one society as superior to the other. The barriers of culture shift, in 1149, in Cordoba, where there are refugees fleeing the Almohads. The Almohads, the North Africans that were appalled at finding their Muslim counterparts drinking wine, and sharing their lifestyle with other faiths, took to fighting the Andalusian social structure and sought to reform it—by force.
When King Alfonso VI arrives on the scene and is ready to reclaim Toledo as the original, Visigothic capital, it is because of what he finds at the Mosque of Bab al-Mardum. The new captors came across Toledo’s library of translations of classical Eastern texts into Arabic. Toledo's Arabic translations of classical texts were a result of Muslim Toledo having had a thriving commercial center, it was quite diverse and was home to people of different faiths. There are documents in which Alfonso VI is referred to as the emperor of the two religions, namely Islam and Christianity. Here we have a Christian king that assumes there might be potential for a mixed society. Christian and Muslim and Jewish knowledge are at a crossroads. There was a revival of literary knowledge. The scholars used astrolabes and star positions that created in Al-Andalus. The Christian kingdoms continued to expand into al-Andalus.
The Christians, by 1236, had conquered the heart of Andalusian scholarship and innovation: Córdoba. This was a symbolic political statement, for the Muslims knew the end was near. After surviving a Berber revolt, and now this, they knew they could no longer rely on anyone to come to the aid of their beloved city. The Christians transform and conquer cities, but the culture of al-Andalus somehow survives in Granada. The southern tip of Al-Andalus, Granada is the sole remaining piece of al-Andalus. Mohammad ibn Nasir of the final (Nasrid) dynasty makes it an independent, Muslim state in 1238. In 1245, this refuge protected by mountains survives for 200 years on an economy supported by silk. Muslims from other places sought refuge in Granada as a safe haven. Many come from Seville when it was taken in 1248, taking only what they could carry. Castile continues to push further south, taking Seville, Guadalquivir, and others.
When the Christian rulers take over, only select Muslim craftsmen are kept. The buildings they help create under the Christian rule do not reflect Christian architecture, but built under Christians, become what is called mudejar. The Jews that remain enjoy acceptance because their skills in administration and business are useful, for the time being. The Christians needed the Jewish population and the skills they had, for they were the middlemen of the society left standing who knew the irrigation systems and, more importantly, the language of the Muslims as evidenced by their advancement in poetry. This lasts for a short time, because it is in the 13th century that Christian rule turns against the Jews of Spain. In 1252, Alfonso X is the crowned King of Leon, the largest Christian kingdom. Conditions are difficult for both Muslims and Jews. Alfonso creates laws, the most significant of which is this: any Christian who converts to Judaism or Islam is killed. Alfonso X, nonetheless, made for privileges for Muslims and Jews to be protected for a time, as “mudajjanoon”, mudejars living under Christian rule who chose to stay in their homes (if and when possible). The mudejars are permitted to live and abide by their own religious laws as long as they did not interfere with Christian life. The Christians, in return, were not allowed to annoy them on their holy days at worship places, because God is praised in these places according to the laws put in place by. Alfonso X. The Christian king is wise, preserves intellectualism and brings it to the kingdom. Yet, he has trouble navigating the problems that arise from a governing a multi-religious land. The Christian conquest was stopped by the Black Plague in 1348. It hit all of Europe, including the kingdom of Granada. Stalled by war and plague, Granada is able to stabilize itself, and in 1354, the Emir expands the Alhambra.
The Alhambra and Granada reflected an open Islam, one willing to being influenced by other cultures, and held onto the modern civilization of Al-Andalus that it once knew. In 1469, now a primarily Christian Spain, the kingdoms of Leon, Castile, and Aragon unite to form Christian Spain, preparing to campaign against Granada, the last Muslim stronghold hanging onto what it has left in the south. For the new rulers, Isabella and Ferdinand, it is a conquest of both land and religion. Before long, the pope calls for the Spanish Inquisition, and it is the beginning of the end for Al-Andalus. As the Emir allies with Castile against his Muslim opposition, it proves to be a fatal mistake. Not long after, in 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand enter the city, and suddenly tolerance disappears. The Jews are given the option to convert.
In 1523, the analogy of the Great Mosque of Córdoba comes full circle at the mandate of the bishop Don Alonso Manrique. Manrique organizes the Cathedral project and puts the architect Hernán Ruiz at its head. The architecture of the Mosque is to be left as it is, the foundation up to the pillars serve as a new base. The difference? A cathedral structure is erected directly on top of the Mosque’s center, bluntly settling into the middle of the entire Mosque structure. Even today, onlookers can and visitors to the site can see that the building has no cohesive flow. The cathedral is a foreign object that rests mounted to the top of a work of art that was built through generations of Umayyad caliphate. The building’s design was reminiscent of Syrian architecture and had orange trees from Abdul Rahman I’s initial build in the patio. The nostalgic work reflects the historical context it lived through and bears the marks of its rulers as well as its invaders. By 1609, the last of the moriscos are expelled from Christian Spain, even though they had “converted” to Christianity.
A Note on Historical Sources
Now that we have our narrative, it begs the question of self-efficacy: are these events fact or fiction? As in every historical study, the truth has many different facets, and it can never be revealed holistically. Some may go as far as to say that the truth does not exist, others may differ in opinion. In either case, the truth is difficult to ascertain primarily due to the fact that historical sources are detailed from entirely biased perspectives of their راوي (rawi), or teller. The closest a historian can get to the truth is by assessing the same event from different primary sources, be they in the form of an oral histories, written manuscripts or books. The importance of credibility is key to creating a narrative. The case of al-Andalus is no exception to such a process. The four factors that come into play are (1) the sources an author relies on for their narrative, (2) the intended audience of the author, (3) the purpose of relaying and (4) the author’s background.
In The Ornament of the World, Maria Rosa Menocal uses the story of al-Andalus to exhibit an interesting historical case study portraying the unity amongst the three different Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—as the example of a modern united and diverse society. The subtitle of her work: “How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain” does the text justice. El-Sergani’s purpose is to shed light into a Muslim society that has undergone an informational diaspora in which the majority of the Arab populous lacks current and reputable sources of Islamic History from an Arabo-Islamic perspective on the Al-Andalus. His is a narrative that focuses on the Muslim perspective and relevance to today’s Islamic society.
The works of Richard Fletcher and W. M. Watt and thei
r respective works are inclined to take the orientalist route, of no fault of their own. As academics, their works are meant to relay to the layperson learning about Al-Andalus for the first time through Western eyes how and what to make of the Islamic civilizations that existed so long ago. To Watt, and his readers, it is a purpose that serves to suggest to the reader that there may be more to Spain than meets the eye, and that there just might have been a civilization other than that of modern-day Spanish culture as a result of something other than its Christendom. Watt sums up his position quite nicely in describing that those of Western-European tradition, when asked to about the Parthenon and the Alhambra would be inclined to say that they "see in the Parthenon a thing of beauty…an expression of the Greek spirit, whereas the Alhambra is a thing of intrinsic beauty without any reference to the culture which produced it”.
These historical narratives are all based on secondary sources, and we are left to face our own truth in the search for the truth that lay in the past. Everyone is entitled to their own version of truth. What can be established, however, is a series of physical and agreed up on general events. Motive, results, victory, loss, on the other hand, are all subject to manifestations of relative truths based upon shared beliefs. Even with the translations of primary sources, there are entire cultural implications that can be lost in translation. Thus, to find one’s own truth, one must go to the source of history to achieve their own unadulterated, and unfiltered understanding of a subject, place, or series of events. We may never know the true history of Al-Andalus, but we can continue to search for it.
Bibliography
El-Sergany, R., Qissat Al-Andalus: Min al-Fathi Ila-al-Suqut. Cairo, Iqra Foundation for Publication, Distribution, and Translation, 2011.
Fletcher, R., Moorish Spain, University of California Press, 1993.
Gorsky, J. "Maimonides." In Exiles in Sepharad: The Jewish Millennium in Spain, no. 59-69. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015.
Khoury, N. N., "The Meaning of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in the Tenth Century." Muqarnas, no.13, 1996.
Menocal, M. R., The Ornament Of The World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created A Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. Back Bay Books, 2012.
Watt, W.M., A History of Islamic Spain, AldineTransaction, 2008.