Unit 3: al-Andalus

Unit 3: al-Ándalus
(8th – 15th centuries)
(VIII – XV centuries)

1) Do a timeline with the different phases of al-
Andalus
Conquest
Dependent
Emirate
Independent
Emirate
Caliphate
• Taifa kingdoms
• Almoravids
• Almohads
• Taifa kingdom of
Granada
711 718 756 929 1031 1492

Conquest
2) The Muslim conquest. (Explain in a short paragraph
the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula)
In 711, during the Umayyad Caliphate, a small
group of Arabs and Berbers commanded by Muza
and Tariq crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and
started the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
They defeated the Visigoths and their king Don
Rodrigo in the battle of Guadalete in 711.
In 718 almost all the territory was controlled by
the Muslims.

Conquest
Extra Information
Muza and Tariq commanded an army of
25.000 men.
It is said that they helped the Visigoth Agila
and his troops against the King don Rodrigo.
But this information is not confirmed and is
not considered trustworthy historically
speaking.

Conquest
3) What were the causes of the Muslim
success?
The causes were:
• The military superiority of the Muslims,
• The crisis of the Visigoth monarchy and
• The support offered by the local nobles who
surrendered in exchange for keeping their
properties and power.

Conquest
Pacto de Teodomiro.
En el Nombre de Dios, el Clemente, el Misericordioso. Edicto de Musa
ibn Nusair a Teodomiro, hijo de los godos. Este último obtiene la paz y
recibe la promesa, bajo la garantía de Dios y su profeta, de que su
situación y la de su pueblo no se alterará; de que sus súbditos no serán
muertos, ni hechos prisionero; de que no se les impedirá la práctica de
su religión, y de que sus iglesias no serán quemadas. Se le concede la
paz con la entrega de las siguientes ciudades: Orihuela, Baltana,
Alicante, Mula, Villena, Lorca y Ello. Además, no debe dar asilo a nadie
que huya de nosotros o sea nuestro enemigo; ni producir daño a nadie
que goce de nuestra amnistía. Él y sus súbditos pagarán un tributo anual
por persona de un dinar en metálico, cuatro medidas de trigo, cebada,
zumo de uva y vinagre, dos de miel y dos de aceite de oliva.
Firmado en el mes de Rayab, año 94 de la Hégira [713].
Como testigos, ‘Uthman ibn Abi ‘Abda, Habib ibn Abi ‘Ubaida, Idrís ibn
Maisara y Abu l-Qasim al-Mazali.

Conquest
4) Where and in what battle were the Muslims
defeated?
The Muslims were
defeated in the North of
the Iberian Peninsula.
They were defeated by
the Asturians and their
leader don Pelayo in the
battle of Covadonga in 722.

Dependent Emirate (718-756)
5) What was the name of the second phase of
al-Andalus (after the conquest) and what were
its characteristics?
The second phase of al-Ándalus after the
conquest was the Dependent Emirate.
It was a province of the Muslim empire and
depended of the Umayyad Caliphate of
Damascus.

Independent Emirate (756-929)
6) Who was Abd al-Rahman (Abderramán) and
what did he do?
Abd al-Rahman was the only survivor of the
Umayyad family. He escaped from the
assassination of all his family by the Abbasids.
After 6 years he established in North Africa and
crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with an army. He
defeated the emir of al-Andalus and created the
Independent Emirate of Córdoba in 756.

(or Emirate of Cordoba)

7) Tell me some characteristics of the
Independent Emirate.
The Independent Emirate proclaimed the
political independence from Baghdad, but it
was still dependent of Baghdad in the
religious aspect.

8) Tell me some conflicts during this period.
(3 in total)
The conflicts of this period were:
• The Franks conquered Barcelona and Girona and
created the Spanish Marches.
(Extra Inf: The Spanish Marches were territories
that were located at the frontier and that protected
the Carolingian Empire from any Muslim attack).
• The Christians conquered Zamora.
(Extra Inf: Alfonso II, king of Asturias).
• There was an internal revolt started by the Muladis
(Muladíes) who felt discriminated.

The Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031)
9) Explain how the Caliphate of Cordoba was
created.
In 929 Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed the
Caliphate of Córdoba that consisted of a total
political and religious independence from the
Caliph of Baghdad.
During this period there was a political, cultural
and economic splendour. And they were able to
control the advance of the Christian armies of
the North.

Reconstruction of the Mosque of Cordoba and the surrounding area
during the Caliphate.

Extra Information: Cordoba during the Caliphate
The Caliphate of Cordoba is considered a golden age
because there was stability and they also stopped the
expansion of the Christian Kingdoms.
The caliphs created schools, schools for higher
education and libraries. Culture and science were
promoted. (There were even markets of books and
poetry was very appreciated).
Cordoba was also the most populated city in Western
Europe with 500.000 inhabitants approximately.

Abd al-Rahman and his court in the palace of Medina Azahara.
Painting of Dionisio Baixeras Verdaguer, 1885

10) Who was Almanzor?
Almanzor was a military leader who ruled at
the end of the Caliphate and attacked the
Christian kingdoms.
Modern painting of
a victorious
Almanzor
comming back to
Cordoba.

Almanzor means “el Victorioso”.
He commanded 56 military campaings
and succeeded in all of them.
In this map you can observe all the
attacks that he led against the
Christian kingdoms.

Almanzor`s troops bringing to Cordoba the bells
of Santiago de Compostella, after sacking the city.
They will become lamps in the main Mosque.

Extra Information: Almanzor
The historical figure of Almanzor is very controversial.
By one side he was able to postpone the end of the Caliphate and to impose
the military hegemony of al-Andalus over the Christian Kingdoms thanks to
military campaigns (called aceifas o razzias) against the Christian
Kingdoms (56 campaigns in total).
By the other side during his rule the causes for the future collapse of the
caliphate were firmly established:
• He caused a strong discontent (mainly among the Umayyads) because he
promoted himself through tricks and even assassinations;
• also because of the arrival of professional soldiers from north Africa
(Berbers) who moved apart the Slave soldiers and who were very
troublemaker;
• because he raised the taxes in order to pay the new Berber soldiers and
• because he imposed his two sons as the new hayibs (similar to a vizier).

11) Explain the end of the Caliphate and the
origin of the Taifa kingdoms.
During the period of the caliph Hisham II the
caliphate entered into a period of decadence.
There was a fitna (or civil war) that lasted more
than 20 years and a succession of 10 caliphs.
In 1031 with the abdication of the last caliph all
the provinces (coras) became independent and
proclaimed themselves as taifa kingdoms.
This event marked the end of the hegemony of
al-Ándalus.

Extra Inf.: The end of the Caliphate of Cordoba

Extra Inf: The end of the Caliphate of Cordoba
The incompetence of Hisham II and the attempt of Sanchuelo (the
second son of Almanzor) to become the next Caliph marked the
beginning of a revolt started by the Umayyads who wanted to gain
power.
It was basically a series of coup d’états were different groups took
part (the Umayyads, the professional armies of Berbers, the
professional armies of Slavs, and the Christian Kingdoms that were
hired as mercenaries by the different Umayyads).
The consequence will be a civil war (called the Great Fitna) that
lasted from 1009 till 1031.
This fitna caused the succession of 10 caliphs and the definitive
collapse of the Caliphate and the end of the hegemony of al-Andalus.

The Taifa Kingdoms (1031-1492)

The Taifa Kingdoms (1031-1492)
12) Taifa Kingdoms
The Taifas were independent kingdoms that
appeared after the end of the Caliphate.
As they are going to be divided the Christian
kingdoms of the North will take advantage of
this in two ways:
They will ask for money (parias) in exchange of
protection.
Also they will attack them and advance to the
south and gain territories. (Example: conquest of
Toledo by Alfonso VI).

Almoravids (1086-1144)
13) Almoravids
When Alfonso VI
conquered Toledo the
Taifa kings scared and
asked for help to the
Almoravids in north
Africa.
The Almoravids defeated
the Christian kings,
unified al-Andalus and
incorporated al-Andalus
to their empire.

Extra Inf: The Almoravids
The Almoravids ended up losing the support
of the local population because they didn’t
accomplish their commitments:
- In the end they couldn’t stop the advance of
the Christian Kingdoms.
- They raised the taxes.
Finally they were replaced (or substituted) by
a new north African empire that was very
similar, the Almohads.

Almohads (1147-1224)
14) Almohads
After the end of the Almoravids the Almohads will
conquer and unify al-Andalus.
They will stop the advance of the Christian armies in
the battle of Alarcos (1195).
Ultimately they will lose control of the territory and
the Taifa kingdoms will appear again.
They will be defeated by the Christian kings in the
battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
Información extra: los almohades (en en árabe, ‫حدون‬ َ‫المو‬ ,al-
muwaḥḥidun) significa «los que reconocen la unicidad de Dios»

The Nasrid kingdom of Granada
(till 1492)

15) The Nasrid kingdom of Granada (till 1492)
The Nasrid kingdom of Granada was the last
Taifa kingdom of al-Ándalus.
It lasted till 1492 when the Catholic Monarchs
incorporated it to Castile.
It occupied the territories of nowadays Cádiz,
Málaga, Granada and Almería.

16) Why did the Nasrid kingdom of Granada last so
much?
It lasted so much because of many reasons:
 Castile was suffering a period of crisis.
 They paid parias to the kings of Castile.
 They were very rich (thanks to the silk
industry).
 They received help from the Muslims of North
Africa.

Examples of silk from al-Andalus.
They were used by Christians for religious purposes.
(for making clothes for the religious images).

Economy, Society and Artistic Legacy
17) What new crops were introduced by the Muslims?
Some new crops that were introduced by the
Muslims were citrus fruits, rice, cotton,
artichokes, saffron, sugarcane, mulberry,
spinaches, aubergines…
18) What agricultural techniques were introduced
by the Muslims?
The agricultural techniques that were
introduced were the use of waterwheels, wells,
canals, ditches, cisterns…

19) What different social groups formed the society
in al-Andalus?
Arabs: aristocracy made up of the conquerors. They were
a minority (only 50.000 )
Berbers: they helped the Arabs in the conquest.
“Muladíes”: they converted to Islam
Mozarabs: they were Christians that maintained their
religion.
Jews: religious minority
Freemen: slave that has been freed
Slaves: people that are not free.

20) Tell me some of the most important
constructions of al-Andalus
The most important constructions of al-Andalus
were:
 The mosque of Córdoba.
 The palace of Medina Azahara in Cordoba
 The Palace of the Aljafería in Zaragoza
 The Giralda in Sevilla
 The Alhambra of Granada

Extra Information: the Library of al-Hakam II
He founded a library with more than 400 000
books.
It had a workshop for copying and binding
books.
The most important copyists were two women:
Lubna, secretary of al-Hakam II and Fatima.
In only one neighbourhood there could be 170
copyist women.
He also had agents that travelled to Cairo,
Baghdad, Damascus or Alexandria in order to
buy books.

Arab miniature
representing a
library.
13th century.
Yahya ibn Mahmud
al-Wasiti

He also founded 27
public schools where
erudite people taught
the poor and orphan
children.
He established
compulsory education for
all children.
Koran of the library of al-
Hakam II

Lubna of Cordoba: Lubna was a woman
that was appointed the keeper (or
curator) of the Library of al-Hakam
II.
Originally she was a slave from the
Christian kingdoms but thanks to his
incredible intelligence she became the
secretary of al-Hakam.
She was an expert in grammar,
calligraphy, maths and a famous poet.
She travelled to Cairo and Baghdad,
she translated books and she taught
maths to the poor children of
Cordoba.

Unit 3: al-Andalus

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Unit 3: al-Andalus