The Iberian Peninsula Between the 8th and 11th Centuries

THE IBERIAN PENINSULA BETWEEN THE 8th AND 11th CENTURIES

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UNIT 4

THE IBERIAN PENINSULA BETWEEN

THE 8th AND 11th CENTURIES

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1. Al-Andalus. Islam in the Iberian Peninsula.

1. The Muslim conquest.

In 711, a group of Arabs and Berbers crossed Gibraltar. They were commanded by Tariq, lieutenant to Muza, governor of North Africa.

They had defeated the Visigoth king Rodrigo at the Battle of Guadalete (711) and then, they continued conquering the Iberian Peninsula which offered very little resistance and was easily occupied.

However, Muslim were defeated by some Christian groups in the North like the Asturians in the Battle of Covadonga (722) and the Franks in the south of France in the Battle of Poitiers (732).

Muslims called the conquered territories of the Iberian Peninsula al-Andalus whose capital was Córdoba. It was organised as an emirate which depended politically and religiously on the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus.

1. The evolution of al-Andalus until 1031.

* The Independent emirate (756-929).

In 755, the Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman came to the Peninsula and defeated its emir. He proclaimed himself an independent emir in 756. It meant that he was independent from the caliphate of Baghdad but he recognised their religious authority.

Al-Andalus had to deal with a lot of conflicts provoked

by the Christians in the north, the Franks who created a province south of the Pyrenees and the Muladis (converted to Islam) who

felt discriminated by the Arabs.

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- The Caliphate of Córdoba and the taifas. (929-1031).

In 929, Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself "Prince of the Faithful". He broke any religious dependence from Baghdad and brought the best period of political and cultural splendour in al-Andalus. The prince reorganised the army, ended the social conflicts and punished the Christian kingdoms to pay more taxes. Córdoba was the most important city in the West.

The splendour of the caliphate continued with al-Hakam II, Hisham II and Almanzor who conquered Barcelona and Santiago.

When Almanzor died in 1002, the caliphates started to lose authority and the governors of the provinces declared themselves independent from the caliphate and created the so-called taifas or independent kingdoms which lasted until 1086.

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1. The political and economic organisation of al-Andalus.

1. Government and administration.

Emirs and caliphs had all political authority, run the administration, ruled the army and administered justice. They also had all the religious power

Emirs and caliphs were helped by officials who were:

* The hajib or prime minister who controlled administration and finance.

* The vizir who advised emir and caliphs in a council called the Maswar.

Territories were organised into provinces called Coras, which were governed by a wali (governor) or a judge (kadi).

Taxes were higher for those who were not Muslims and the army was formed by mercenaries.

1. The Andalusi economy.

* Agricultural activities.

Agriculture was the most important activity. It main features are:

1. The dry lands were used to grow cereals, wine and olives.

2. The irrigated lands were used to grow garden crops. Other crops from the East were introduced such as sugar cane, rice, oranges, lemons, saffron, cotton and mulberry.

Muslims improved irrigation creating reservoirs, canals, wells and waterwheels. They used fertilisers and reduced fallow land.

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Agriculture was completed by livestock farming aimed to sheep, horses and silkworms, fishing and mining with the exploitation of metals and salt.

* Urban activities.

The main urban activities of the cities were crafts and trade.

1. Crafts produced:

* Cotton, linen, and silk.

* Ceramic and glass objects.

* Ivory, wood and leather.

* Manufacturing of parchment, papyrus and paper.

1. Minting coins, gold (dinar) and silver (dirham) improved trade.

Trade was:

1. Domestic trade practised in the souks or markets of the cities.

2. Foreign trade between Europe and Africa. Muslims sold their products in the Mediterranean cities and brought luxury goods from the East, North Africa and Europe.

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1. Society and everyday life.

3.1 Social diversity.

According to the economic and power levels, Andalusi society divided into two main groups:

1. The aristocracy or jassa formed by the family members of the caliph and the Arab conquerors. They were about