The document summarizes the history of Al-Andalus (711-1492) in Iberia after the Muslim conquest. It describes how Muslim armies invaded the Iberian peninsula in 711 CE after the Visigoth kingdom fell into crisis. They quickly conquered most of the peninsula, establishing an emirate. The emirate grew into an independent Islamic state and later a caliphate centered in Córdoba, which became one of the most advanced cities in Europe. Internal conflicts in the 11th century caused the caliphate to break into smaller kingdoms (taifas) that were eventually conquered by North African dynasties like the Almoravids and Almohads

1. AL-ANDALUS
(711-1492)

2. SPREAD OF ISLAM FROM THE ARABIAN PENINSULA
After Muhammad’s death in 632, Islam spread very quickly. At the beginning of the
8th century the Muslim armies controlled the Maghreb region in the North of Africa

3. THE INVASION OF THE PENINSULA
The succession crisis in the Visigothic Kingdom gave the
Muslims the chance to continue their expansion beyond
the Gibraltar Strait.
Answering Witiza’s relatives demand for help, in April
711 a Muslim army of 15,000 soldiers, commanded by
Tariq ibn Ziyad, crossed the Gibraltar Strait . In July they
defeated the Visigothic army in the Battle of Guadalete,
where king Roderic died.
The Battle of Guadalete, depicted by Salvador
Martínez Cubells in 1910
Gibraltar Rock’s name comes after Yebel Tariq
(Tariq’s Mountain), the place where Tariq’s
army
disembarked

4. The disaster of the Visigothic army prevented the election of a new king and discontent increased.
In 712 another Muslim army of 18,000 soldiers, commanded by Musa ibn Nusayr, disembarked in
the Peninsula, joined Tariq’s troops in Toledo and, in a short period of time, conquered almost
all the Peninsula.

5. The conquest was very quick, because the
Visigoths didn’t put much resistance.
Many of the nobles signed surrender
agreements, marriage alliances (marrying
their daughters or sisters to the invaders)
or the payment of tributes, in order to keep
their properties.
Towns included in the
Treaty of Orihuela (713)
In red, areas that surrendered to Abd-al Aziz
In blue, territories were agreements with the Muslims
were signed.
One of the examples of these surrender agreements was the Treaty
of Orihuela, signed by a Visigothic nobleman of the region of Orihuela
called Theodemir with Abd-al-Aziz, Musa ibn Nusayr’s son, in April
713.
Theodemir, as many other Hispano-Visigoths, soon converted to Islam
and changed his name to Tudmir.

6. WHERE DOES THE NAME AL-ANDALUS COME FROM?
There are three different theories about
the name the Muslims gave to the
Peninsula:
- From Vandalicia (Vandal’s land)
- From Jazirat al- Andalus : island or
peninsula in the Atlantic or Atlantis
- From Landhalauts : from “landa”, which
means “land” and “hlauts”, which means
“lottery”, Goth name for the system of
distribution of land through a lottery after
the conquest (SORS GOTHICA in Latin)
The third explanation seems to be the
most likely.
Al Andalus written in Arabic

7. STAGES OF THE HISTORY OF AL-ANDALUS
- DEPENDENT EMIRATE(711-756)
- INDEPENDENT EMIRATE (756-929)
- CALIPHATE OF CÓRDOBA (929-1031)
- FIRST TAIFAS KINGDOMS (1031-1086)
- ALMORAVID EMPIRE (1086-1145)
- SECOND TAIFAS KINGDOMS (1145-1147)
- ALMOHAD EMPIRE (1147-1212)
- NASRID KINGDOM OF GRANADA (1237-1492)
STAGES

8. DEPENDENT EMIRATE (711-756)
- Al- Andalus became a province
(emirate) of the Ummayad
Caliphate of Damascus.
- Around 80,000-100,000 conquerors
settled down in the Peninsula
among 2 million Hispano-Visigoths.
- In 721 the Muslims reached
Septimania
- In 722 they were supposedly
defeated by a man called Pelagius
in the Battle of Covadonga
(probably only a skirmish)
- In 732 they were stopped in France
by Charles Martel, who defeated
them in the Battle of Poitiers (also
called Battle of Tours).
-
Battle of Poitiers in
a miniature of the
14th century

9. - There were some Berber revolts, because
they felt discriminated with the
distribution of the plunder, but they were
crashed by Syrian armies sent from
Baghdad, armies that later settled down
in Al-Andalus.
- After these revolts the Muslim armies
withdrew to the South of the Central
System and some kind of no man’s land
consolidated in the Duero Valley (the
area became almost depopulated,
because the kings of Asturias moved the
population of these places to their
kingdom).
- The emirate was divided into kuras
(provinces), the armies of the conquerors
controlled the territory and were in
charge of collecting the taxes.
- Arabization and Islamization were fast.
No man’s land in the Duero Valley

10. INDEPENDENT EMIRATE (756-929)
ABD-AL- RAHMAN I
- In 750 there was a slaughter of the Ummayad
dynasty in Damascus and a new family, the
Abbasids, took control of the Caliphate and moved
its capital city to Baghdad.
- Abd-al- Rahman, the only surviving member of the
Ummayad dynasty, took refuge in Al- Andalus,
where he found a lot of support and proclaimed
himself independent emir, with the name of Abd-al-
Rahman I. This meant the political independence of
Al- Andalus, but emirs continued to obey the caliphs
in Baghdad as religious leaders.
- Under the Ummayad rule, the emirate consolidated,
the administration became more efficient, with an
increase of tax collection (1/3 for the collectors and
2/3 for the State), complemented with the incomes
of the expeditions against the Christian territories
(aceifas), launched from time to time.
Statue of Abd-al-Rahman I in Almuñécar (Granada)

11. - In 759 Pippin III the Short conquered Narbonne
and expelled the Muslims from Septimania, but
his son Charlemagne failed in his attempt to
conquer Zaragoza in 778 (when his troops were
retiring, they were ambushed by the Vascones in
Roncesvalles. This was the origin of the Song of
Roland heroic poem)
- In the 9th century there were numerous internal
problems:
▪ religious problems: radical Mozarabs
(Christians who lived in Al-Andalus) opted
for martyrdom, against the opinion of the
Church
▪ revolts of Muladies (former Christians
converted to Islam), who felt
discriminated.
▪ revolts of local lords against the central
government.
▪ The Christian territories in the North took
advantage of this situation and started
occupying some land. The kingdom of
Asturias reached the Duero River and the
capital city was moved to León.
Battle of Rochevaux Pass (776)

12. CALIPHATE OF CÓRDOBA (929-1031)
At the beginning of the 10th century emir Abd-al-
Rahman III ended with the internal revolts, launched
several expeditions against the Christian territories and
in 929 proclaimed himself caliph.
Abd-al-Rahman III
Campaigns launched by Abd-al-Rahman III against the North

13. Abd-al Rahman III consolidated a centralized State and improved tax collection, attaching people
to the territory and minted gold coins for the first time after 200 years.
Economic development contributed to the prosperity of Al- Andalus and Córdoba became the
biggest city in Europe, with more than 150,000 inhabitants, and a rich cultural center.
Córdoba around year 1000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HqXdTxnEnM

14. Palatine city of Madinat al.- Zahra
Abd-al Rahman III built the
palatine city of Madinat al-Zahra
on the outskirts of Córdoba, a
complex of 112 hectares from
which the caliphs ruled the State.
Abd-al Rahman III’s palace

15. - Abd- al. Rahman III’s legacy continued with his
son Al-Hakam II, very interested in culture (he
created a library with 400,000 books).
- When Al-Hakam II died in 976, his son Hisham II
was a child and power relied on the hayib
(chamberlain, some kind of prime minister) Al-
Mansur, a man of humble origin, whose name
means “Victorious”. Al- Mansur launched several
campaigns against the Christian kingdoms in the
North: his armies attacked and sacked, among
others, Barcelona (985) and Santiago (997). He
died in Medinaceli when he returned from one of
his campaigns (1002).
Statue of Al-Hakam II in Córdoba
Al- Mansur In blue, Al-Mansur’s campaigns

16. After Al- Mansur’s death, the Caliphate went through
a period of fights and revolts (fitna):
- the members of the Ummayad royal family didn’t
accept Hisham II’s decision to appoint Abd-al-
Rahman Sanchuelo (one of Al- Mansur’s sons) his
succesor. Sanchuelo and Hisham II were killed in
1013
- the Berbers revolted
- the Christians of the North intervened supporting
different sides
- the city of Córdoba was destroyed
- local lords took advantage to become
independent…
Finally, in 1031 the population of Córdoba deposed
the last Ummayad caliph (Hisham III) and expelled the
family from the city. The Caliphate disintegrated into
several Taifas kingdoms.
Ummayad familiy tree.
In yellow: Ummayad emirs of Al-Andalus
In orange: Ummayad caliphs of Al-Andalus

17. TAIFAS KINGDOMS (1031-1086)
Around 20 Taifas kingdoms appeared. They considered themselves the heirs of the Caliphate
and continued to have the figure of the caliph as reference. The borders of these kingdoms were
imprecise and constantly changing.
-The biggest Taifas were Toledo, Seville, Valencia, Badajoz and Zaragoza.
- The Christian kingdoms imposed them the payment of parias, but this wasn’t a period of
decline for the Muslim world: they continued to own the best land, the most populated cities
and a richer and more sophisticated culture than the Christian kingdoms.
-
ARAB TAIFAS Seville, Córdoba, Badajoz, Toledo and Zaragoza
BERBER TAIFAS: Málaga and Granada
SLAVE TAIFAS: Tortosa, Valencia, Játiva and Murcia.
Ruling families in each Taifa

18. But the Taifas kingdoms were militarily weak.
They had difficulties to recruit soldiers.
Alliances with the Christian kingdoms were
frequent in order to gain their support against
their enemies and the taifas sovereigns also
hired Christian knights to fight in their armies
(Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called El Cid, worked for
5 years for the king of the Taifa of Zaragoza al-
Mutaman).
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called El Cid (from Sidi,
“lord”in Arabic, one of the Christian knights
who worked as mercenaries for the Taifas
Kingdoms
Poem of the Cid, the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem,
composed sometime between 1195 and 1207

19. The Taifa Kingdom of Toledo was one of the
most important Muslim kingdoms of the 11th
century. It included the present provinces of
Toledo, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, North of
Albacete, Cáceres, Guadalajara and Madrid,
until the Sierra of Guadarrama.
This kingdom is an example of the constant
disputes between the different Taifas
Kingdoms and their changing alliances, even
with the Christians, to face their enemies.
The sovereigns of Toledo reached agreements
with Ferdinand I of León and Castile and later
with Alphonse VI of Castile, in order to get
their support against other Taifas.
The population of Toledo was so tired of the wars against
other Taifas kingdoms (Seville, Badajoz) that most of them
were willing to accept the entrance of Alphonse VI of
Castile in the city, after having simulated a siege of the
city. But other people rejected this and defended an
alliance with the kings of Badajoz, Seville and Zaragoza
against Alphonse VI. After four years of siege, Alphonse Vi
took the city of Toledo in 1085.
Alphonse VI of Castile
in a 12th century
painting

20. ALMORAVID EMPIRE (1086-1145)
The conquest of Toledo by Alphonse VI of
Castile in 1085 caused a commotion in the
Muslim world. The taifas sovereigns sent
emissaries to the North of Africa in search for
help to stop the Christian advance. They asked
the Almoravids for help.
The Almoravids (“those who obey, those who
are ready for battle”) were peoples of Berber
origin who followed a rigorous interpretation
of Islam appeared in the South of Morocco in
the 2nd half of the 11th century. They found a
leader called Yusuf ibn Tashufin, who
expanded the area under their control to the
center and North of Morocco and declared
obedience to the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad.
Almoravid Empire at its greatest extent (1120)

21. In 1085 Yusuf ibn Tashufin
answered the call of the Taifas
sovereigns and crossed the
Gibraltar Strait and 1086 defeated
the Castilians in Sagrajas
(Badajoz). The Almoravids
submitted all the Taifas and their
control over Al- Andalus extended
until 1145, when protests against
them increased in the cities and a
new people from Africa crossed
the Gibraltar Strait: the Almohads.
Almoravid Al-Andalus broke up
into several Taifas kingdoms in
1145. Almoravid campaigns

22. ALMOHAD EMPIRE (1147-1212)
Almohad expansion
The Almohads (“those who affirm
God’s unity” or “unifiers”) were
another group of people from the
North of Africa who started a religious
movement based on a rigid
interpretation of Islam and claimed
against the relaxation of customs
under the Almoravid rule.
They arrived in Al- Andalus in 1147,
captained by Abd-al- Mumin, and
moved the capital city from Córdoba to
Seville. The Almoravids resisted in
Levant and Seville until 1154 and kept
the Taifa of Mallorca until the end of
the century.

23. The Almohad military power obliged the
Christian kingdoms to pay parias and sign
truces with them. In 1195 Alphonse VIII
of Castile’s troops were defeated in the
Battle of Alarcos and obliged him to sign
a truce with the Almohads. After this
victory the Almohads reconquered
several places, like Trujillo, Cáceres,
Plasencia, Talavera, Cuenca and Uclés.
Battle of Alarcos
http://lasultimasaguilasnegras.blogspot.com.es/p/mapas-batalla-
de-alarcos.html

24. But at the beginning of the 13th century their caliphate in Africa started disintegrating. The
Almohad threat to the Christian kingdoms and Pope Innocent III’s call for a crusade led to a
coalition of kings and princes in 1212, led by Alphonse VIII of Castile. The Christian army defeated
the Muslims in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (Jaén). The Almohad defeat opened the Christians
the path to the Guadalquivir Valley.
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa,
painted by Van Halen in 1863 Three monarchs of the Peninsula fought in the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

25. AL- ANDALUS AFTER THE BATTLE OF LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA (1212)
1212 1270
After the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, the Almohad Empire continued to exist. It didn’t fall
until 1269, but the conquests of the Christian kings Ferdinand III of Castile and León, called the
Saint, and James I of Aragón, called the Conqueror, reduced the territory of Al- Andalus
considerably.

26. NASRID KINGDOM OF GRANADA (1237-1492)
After the big Christian conquests
of the 13th century, Granada
was the only Muslim kingdom
that survived, ruled by the Al-
Nasr dynasty, founded by
Muhammad I en 1237.
The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada
extended to the present
provinces of Almería, Granada,
Málaga and part of Cádiz and
survived until 1492 through the
payment of parias to the
kingdom of Castile.
Sometimes they contacted the
Marinids, another people from
the North of Africa, to get their
help against the Christians.

28. When in 1482 the Nasrid Kingdom
stopped paying parias, the Catholic
Monarchs decided to conquer the
kingdom. The conquest was achieved in
1492. The last king of Granada,
Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil,
signed the surrender of the kingdom and
exiled in Fez in 1493. That was the end of
eight centuries of Muslim rule in the
Peninsula.
Although the Catholic Monarchs initially
promised religious tolerance for the
Muslims of Granada, they were obliged
to baptize in 1502 or leave the kingdom.
Most of them decided to convert to
Catholicism. This was the origin of the
Moorish.
Surrender of Granada, painted by Francisco Pradilla in 1882
Muhammad XII, called
Boabdil, last king of
Granada
Catholic Monarchs wedding portrait
(1469)

29. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
Al- Andalus was a centralized State. The caliph held political and spiritual power and was in charge
of politics, economy, justice and foreign affairs. He ruled with the help of the hayib (prime
minister), appointed the governors of the provinces (walis) and the judges of the cities (qadis). Al-
Andalus had a powerful army, commanded by people from Arabic origin. In times of the Caliphate
many mercenaries from different origin joined the army (Berbers, Slavs, Christians…)
CALIPH
Political and religious
power
HAYIB
Prime minister
VISIRS
Ministers in
charge of the
diwans
(ministeries)
QADIS
Judges. They judged
according to the
Islamic law following
the Sunni tradition
(Koran and Sunna)
WALIS
Governors of
the provinces
ARMY
Formed by
volunteers,
mercenaries and
drafted soldiers
CHANCELLOR’S
OFFICE
Administration

30. TREASURY
- ORDINARY
INCOMES
- Legal alm (Sadaqa): every Muslim had to pay 10%
- EXTRAORDINARY INCOMES
of his incomes or properties
- Poll tax (Chizya), paid by Mozarabs and Jews (only
men), depending on their wealth.
- Land tax (jarach): paid by the people who lived in
areas that had signed surrender agreements. They
kept the usufruct of the land in exchange for
paying
- Extraordinary contributions for the war
- Parias charged to the Christian territories
of the North
In order to collect the taxes, the administration elaborated a census and a land registry.

31. ECONOMY
Cities were the center of an intense economic and cultural activity. Ruralization and
proto-feudalization stopped and Al-Andalus recovered the prosperity of the Roman Empire.

32. ECONOMIC
ACTIVITIES
- AGRICULTURE: it improved with the introduction of new irrigation
techniques, like ditches and waterwheels, and new crops, such as
aubergines, rice, sugarcane, citric fruits…Agriculture was very productive
and oriented to the city markets.
- CRAFTSMANSHIP: it expanded and many workshops were opened in
cities, where they produced a variety of products for internal
consumption and export.
- TRADE: Al- Andalus became a place of junction or meeting point of
European, Asian and African trade routes. Products like gold, ivory and
slaves were imported from Africa and Al- Andalus exported luxury
products (silk clothes, leather goods, paper). There was abundant
circulation of coins (gold dinars and silver dirhams) and in periods of
prosperity the amount of precious metals was increased, like during the
Almohad Empire.
Adb-al-Rahman III´s dirham Al-Hakam II’s dinar Almohad doubloon Nasrid ½ dirham

33. Waterwheel
Ditch
The first paper workshop in Europe
was in Xàtiva (Valencia)

34. SOCIETY
Al- Andalus society was ethnically and religiously plural:
- MUSLIMS: Most of the population and divided into
different groups, depending on their origin:
• Baladis (they came from the Arabian Peninsula,
Syria and Palestine and got the best lands)
• Berbers (peoples from the North of Africa, who
received lower quality land and sometimes
revolted)
• Muladis (former Christians who had converted
to Islam. They were mainly peasants).
- NON-MUSLIMS (Dhimmis):
• Mozarabs (Christians who lived in Al-Andalus)
• Jews (Judaism believers).
As “People of the Book “, they had to be respected
and paid more taxes, but they could live in Al-
Andalus without much problem, except in periods of
religious intolerance, like the Almohad Empire.

35. CULTUR
- Religious tolerance and the fact that IslamE didn’t forbid research allowed a rich cultural and
scientific development. All sciences developed: philosophy, medicine, astronomy. geography, history,
mathematics, music ,literature, agronomy…
- Al-Andalus was also a center of diffusion of the works of Antiquity and the East, through the
translation of Chinese, Indian, Greek and Persian works.
Maimonides,
doctor and
philosopher
Averroes, doctor and
philosopher
Avempace,
philosopher, poet,
botanist, doctor,
musician and
astronomer
Azarquiel,
astronomer
http://criticalmuslim.com/issues/06-reclaiming-al-andalus/andalusi-dozen

36. HISPANO-MUSLIM ART
The art developed in Al-Andalus was a
mixture of Visigothic and Roman
heritage with Islamic art. This is what
we call Hispano-Muslim art. Its main
examples are Córdoba’s Mosque, the
Alhambra of Granada and the Aljafería
Palace in Zaragoza.
CÓRDOBA´S MOSQUE

37. ALHAMBRA OF GRANADA

38. GENERALIFE PALACE

39. ALJAFERÍA PALACE (ZARAGOZA)

40. ALMOHAD ART IN SEVILLE
Giralda Gold
Tower Patio de los Naranjos,
Sevilla’s Mosque

41. EL CRISTO DE LA LUZ MOSQUE, TOLEDO