The History of Al-Andalus Alexandra Conway, Alex Davis, Rick Dunlap, Gillian Rathbone-Webber The History of Al-Andalus Alexandra Conway, Alex Davis, Rick.

The History of Al-Andalus

Alexandra Conway, Alex Davis, Rick Dunlap, Gillian Rathbone-Webber

The History of Al-Andalus                                         

Alexandra Conway, Alex Davis, Rick Dunlap, TaliaHolm, Gillian

Rathbone-Webber                                          

711• April 711

– The government from Tangers sends over an army

• Led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad

– 9-10,000 man army lands at the Rock of Gibraltar

• Goth king Roderick goes South to fight him!

• Roderick is defeated at River Guadalete before heading NorthTariq goes North and takes Ejica y Cordoba

General Musa• General Musa lands in

712 with 18,000 more men

• He takes Medina, Sidonia, Sevilla, Merida

– while his subordinates took Portugal and East Spain

• Tariq y Musa meet in Toledo and head NE to Ebro Valley

How could this happen?• Only about 40,000 men

conquered 4 million people

– Hispano-Roman population never actually supported the Goth rulers

• Roderick came to power because of a civil war and many people sided with the moors

– It is possible that Prince Achila (who was a rival to the throne) invited the Moors to invade Spain thinking that they would leave right away.

Muslim Spain

• They bribed into cooperation the Goth aristocrats and Christian clergy

– changed taxes so they were more bearable even if you weren´t Muslim

• However, there may have been mass conversions to Islam post-invasion

• Limits of Al-Andalus are set in 722

– until the Arab defeat at the Battle of Covadonga in Asturias which was the beginning of the Reconquista!

The Caliphate of Cordoba

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*In 750 the Umayyad Caliphate of Demascus was deposed by the Abbasids.

*Abd-al Rahman I of the Umayyad Dynasty survives and fled to the Iberian Peninsula, where in 756 he established the independent emirate of Cordoba

*Abd-al Rahman centralized the power of the Umayyads to Cordoba with the intention of emulating the Baghdad Abbasid Caliphate

*In 929 Abd-al Rahman III established the Caliphate of Cordoba and titled himself al-Nasir

The Growth of the Caliphate

* The Caliphate faced resitence at first from the Fatimids, but when the conquered Egypt in 961 they lost

interest in Iberia.

*The “Omnipotent Campaign” of Abd- al Rahman led to clear dominance in the region, with Christian Kingdoms

paying tribute to the Caliphate

*By the 10th century Abd-al Rahman brought the Caliphate to its peak of peace and prosperity; Cordoba was a city comparable in significance to Baghdad and Cairo, boasting over 100,000 people.

*Develpment of structures such as the Great Mosque expressed the prosperity of the Caliphate

•The Muslim rulers respected the command of Islam to protect the “people of the book”. The civilization that developed in Cordoba and Muslim Spain can be largely attributed to the contact between the three monotheistic religions that coinhabited Iberia.

•Spanish Jews welcomed the new rulers warmly because they had been persecuted by their former leaders, the Visigoths.

•Christians in Cordoba accepted the culture even if they didn´t change faiths

•The number of volutary converts to Islam grew exponentially during the time of the Caliphate of Cordoba.

•Al-Hakam succeeded Abd-al Rahman III (961-976)

•Al-Hakam´s som Hisham II was overpowered by Al-Mansur, who eliminated the powers of the Caliph. Al-Mansure conducted bi-annual raids to destroy Christian capitals on the peninusla, but at the same time nourished the growth of poetry and academics.

•Al-Mansur was succeeded by his sons, first Al-Muzaffar (1002-08), then Abd-al Rahman Sanchuelo. Sanchuelo was killed in an uprising to vindicate Hisham II.

•By 1031, the Caliphate had ended, and was marked by a riot in the capital.

•After the fall of the Caliphate, Andalusians and Berbers created “local dynasties”- fragments known as “taifas”

Taifa Kingdoms 1031-1091

• After the fall of the Caliphade Spain is divided into many small Kingdoms

Taifa reign• At any given time there were

as many as 21 Taifa Kindoms governing in Al-Andalus.

• Toledo, Granada, Denia, Sevilla, and Zaragoza.

• Lacked structure and leadership

• Often fought one another for property and prestige.

• Fell under Christian control,• Focus lay in fighting other

Morrish kindoms

• Los reinos de los Taifas¨ was a bloody time period for the moorish people. Kingdoms were constantly being conquered and divided. Some notable events include:

• The war between Cordoba and Zaragoza which lasted from 1043-1047. During this time Toledo pays the Navarrese to attack Zaragoza, while they recruit the assistance of the Leon-Castillians. During the fighting, Christian armies move in and destroy Muslim cities without confrontation.

• In 1063 Pope Alexander II commisions the sending of Christians into Spain against the Moors. He grants a papel standard and an indulgence to those killed in battle. This is the ¨prototype cursade¨• By July the Christians have already conquered the Muslim Kindom of Lerida, and massacre and enslave 50,000 of the kingdom´s people.

War

• In 1085 Toledo falls to the Christians of Castille (Alfonzo VI the Brave) , and the Almoravid tribe of Africa is called in to help fight off Christian forces.

• In 1986 Almoravoids fight with Alfonso VI´s army and defeat the Christains

• In 1091 the many of the last Taifa kingdoms fall

• In 1085 Toledo falls to the Christians of Castille (Alfonzo VI the Brave) , and the Almoravid tribe of Africa is called in to help fight off Christian forces.

• In 1986 Almoravoids fight with Alfonso VI´s army and defeat the Christains

• In 1091 the many of the last Taifa kingdoms fall

War

Almoravids

• 1090 - 1147• confederation of 3 Berber

tribes (Lamtuna, Gudula, Massufa)

• Led by Abdallah bni Yasin• Functioned as military

commanders (Jurists)• At the extent of the dynasty

they controlled northwest Africa and the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula

Info from: http://i-cias.com/e.o/almohavids.htm

Almohads

• 1125 - 1212• Muslim Berber tribe led and

taught by Ibn Tumart• Believed in a strict adherance

to the teachings of Islam• Almohad crusade was an

attempt to purify Islam• At the extent of the dynasty

they controlled most of northern Africa and all of Al-Andalus

Info from: http://i-cias.com/e.o/almohads.htm

Almoravids and Almohads

• The Almoravid dynasty began around 1039 when leader Abdallah bni Yasin declares holy war against the Sanhaja Berbers

• The Almoravid rule came to an end because of the Almohad rebellion led by Ibn Tumart which began in 1125 (rebellion came from opposition to the Jurists)

• Abd al-Mu'min al-Kumi, one of Tumart’s successors, led the conquest of the city of Marrakech that defeated the Almoravids in 1147

• In 1212 the Almohads were defeated by Christian armies at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and forced back into Africa

Almoravids and Almohads

The Downfall of The Kingdom of Granada (1212-

1492)The Alhambra was the

beginning of the Nazari Dynasty when it was founded by Muhammad ben Yusuf Ben Nasr in 1238. The Alhambra served as the protection for the Muslim population the occupied the region of Granada. The Nazari Dynasty occupied the regions of Granada, Malaga, Almaria and parts of Cordoba, Seville, Cadiz and Jaen.

• After much conflict, the Spanish succeeded in taking away all the regions but Granada. In 1482, the Muslim Kingdom divided into two factions creating hostility towards each other. At the same time King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married joining both their kingdoms together creating a strong force again the Moors.

• The treaty of Granada was signed on November 25th of 1491 between King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella and Boabdil, the last king of Nazari. Under the Treaty of Granada, it guaranteed the religious tolerance and fair treatment of the Moors in return for unconditional surrender and capitulation. About three months later on January 2nd of 1492 the Kingdom of Granada the last Muslim Kingdom fell and Boabdil was sent into exile.