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Islam and Al-Andalus
1. The origin and expansion of the Islam:
Islam originated on the Arabian Peninsula, a desert land. At that time, the interior was inhabited
by tribes of polytheistic Arabs nomads. The main cities: Medina and Mecca; were in the western
part and they were a crossroads for the merchants caravans coming form the Far East.
Muhammed (Mahoma), the Islamic prophet, was born in Mecca around the year 570. According
to the legend, the archangel Gabriel appeared before him and told him to preach the religion of
Allah (God). Muhammed's teachings were writing down in the Koran, the Muslims' sacred book
(like the bible for the Christians), which contains Allah's words to Muhammed. The Koran has got
more than 100 chapters, called suras, written in Arabic.
The Koran contains the five obligations of all Muslim believers, which are called the pillars of the
Islam. They are:
•
•
•
•
•
Profess the faith (fe): believe that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammed is his
prophet.
Pray five times a day, facing to Mecca.
Fast (ayuno) during the month of Ramadan.
Give alms (limosna): help people in need.
Pilgrimage to Mecca: at least once in a lifetime and visit the Kaaba sanctuary.
Muhammed began to spread his doctrine in Mecca and soon had some followers. When they began
to increase in number, the authorities consider him to be a threat (amenaza) and he was the victim
of numerous attacks.
For this reason, Muhammed and his followers fled (to flee: escapar) from Mecca and settled in the
city of Medina. In the year 622, Muhammed fled from Mecca to Medina; this event, called
Hegira, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
From there, Muhammed organised an army and conquered Mecca in 630. The expansion of Islam
continued across the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Muhammed succeeded in unifying the Arabic
tribes and he became their political and religious leader. Muhammed died in the year 632, two
years after the conquer of Mecca.
ARABIAN
PENINSULA
Medina
Mecca
Kaaba santury: it is a very important
mosque with a big black box at the middle.
It's called the back stone. Scientists think
that inside there is a meteorite.
2. Political Organisation:
Muhammed's successors (caliphs) continued to conquer territories. The caliphate went through
various stages (above 6th and 7th centuries).
•
The Orthodox Caliphate (Califato Ortodoxo): the first caliphs were people close to
Muhammed.
•
The Umayyad Caliphate (Califato Umeyas): power was in the hands of the Umayyads,
who established the capital in Damascus (Syria).
•
The Abbasid Caliphate (Califato Abasida): in the year 750 the Abbasid family took
control because they killed all the Umayyad family but one, that fled to Spain. They
transferred the capital city to Baghdad (Iraq).
The main authorities in Islamic society were:
–
–
–
The Caliph (el Califa): It was the highest religious and political authority.
The Vizier (el Visir): It was the prime minister.
The Emirs (los Emires): They were the governors of the provinces.
3. Economy:
•
Agriculture: there was hardly any (casi ninguna) agriculture on the Arabian Peninsula, but
it was important in other Islamic territories. The Arabs needed to obtain water and uses
various techniques, such as water-wheels ans irrigation channels, to transport the water to
cultivated areas.
•
Craftwork: there was a lot of craftwork in the cities. Especially important were the tanning
of hides (curtimiento de pieles) and making of tapestries (hacer tapices).
•
Trade: this was one of the main sources of wealth. In the cities, there were markets (souks:
socos) where all types of thinks were sold. For commercial exchange, they used coins
(dinar, dirham, fals). The Muslims developed external trading both over land and by sea
via different routes, such the Silk Road (trade route linking eastern Asia with eastern
Mediterranean: Ruta de la Seda). Silk, precious stones and spices were bought to the
Muslims cities from the East, gold and ivory arrived from Africa, etc.
Dinar:
Muslim gold
coin.
Dirham:
Muslim silver
coin.
Fals:
(pl. fulus)
Muslim copper
coin.
4. Society:
Society was organised into:
•
Aristocracy: this was composed of the people linked to the caliph and the emirs. They had a
lot of political end economic power. Most members of the aristocracy were of Arabic
origin.
•
Free people: this group included government officials, traders, small rural landowners,
artisans, etc. They included Muslims, Christians and Jews (Judios). Christians and Jews
were allowed to practise their religion and keep their properties in exchange for paying a
special tax.
•
Slaves: They were prisoners of war or people who had been bought in different places.
They worked in agriculture, in the mines, as domestics servants, etc.
ISLAMIC SOCIETY
Aristocracy
Arabs
Goverment Officials
Free People
Artisans
Small Rural
Landowners
Aristocracy
Prisioners
of war
Bought
Abroad
Islamic society was mainly urban. The most important Muslim cities were Damascus (Syria),
Baghdad (Iraq), Samarra (Iraq), Cairo (Egypt), Kairouan (Tunisia), Fez (Morocco) and
Córdoba (Spain).
Córdoba
Fez
Samarra
Baghdad
Kairouan
Damascus
Cairo
The cities were made up of different areas:
•
The Alcazaba: It was a walled area on high ground and was easy to defend. Inside the
alcazaba were the Alcázar [the wali's (or emir's) palace]. The administrative and
government buildings, and the buildings occupied by the garrison (troops that protect or
defend the palace) are inside too.
•
The Medina (city): It was the central part of the city, surrounded by walls. Inside the
medina were the main mosque and the madrasa (Muslim college). Near the main mosque
there are souks (a type of open market) with workshops (talleres), shops (tiendas) and
storehouses (almacenes) for merchandise (mercancias). The public baths there are also near
the central mosque. The baths were used by both, men and women, but a different times
of day.
In the main cities there were also hospitals, which were divided into different parts
according to the type of illness (enfermedad).
In the cities, there were different neighbourhoods (vecindarios) consisting of narrow,
irregular streets. Houses could have one or more floors. The rooms were built around a
courtyard (patio), which formed the centre of family life. There weren't many windows
and these were covered with lattice (ventana de celosía: window covering that allows you
to see out from the inside without being see from the outside) for privacy. All the dwellings
(moradas) weren't in the medina, there were also outside of the city.
•
The Arrabales: They were neighbourhoods outside the city walls. If the arrabal grew a
lot, it was then walled. The arrabales had their own mosques, souks and public baths.
5. Culture:
The Muslims gradually assimilated the knowledge, techniques and artistic styles of the people
who inhabited the lands they conquered. At the same time, they spread their own language,
Arabic, and their beliefs.
The Muslims preserved the scientific knowledge of ancient times an incorporated contributions
from the Persians, Chinese, and Indians.
They translated the writings of Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolomy,
Archimides and Galen into Arabic. In this way, they transmitted they knowledge to the Medieval
Christian world.
There were significant advances in geography, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, optics,
botanical science, medicine and literature.
Some important advances of the Muslims:
•
In mathematics, the Muslims adopted the Hindu numbers (the basis of our modern
numbers) and introduced the concept of zero.
•
In medicine, the Muslims doctors were consider to be de most skilled (más cualificados) in
medieval times. Some of them wrote treatises (tratados) with anatomical descriptions and
explanations of the causes of the treatments for different illnesses. These treatises were used
throughout Europe. One of the most famous doctors was Avicenna, who was also a
philosopher.
•
In literature, the most significant work of literature was the Thousand and one nights (Las
Mil y una noches): a collection of Eastern histories, like Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,
Alibaba and 40 Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor.
The Arabs also made technical advances and introduced the astrolabe (astrolabio), the compass
(la brújula) and the manufacture of gunpowder (pólvora) and paper to Europe.
6. Architecture and Art:
Architecture was the most important form of artistic expression in the Islamic World. The main
features were:
•
They use basic materials, like wood and brick; and covered them with other material: like
tiles (azulejos) and plaster (escayola) to give the impression of greater richness.
•
They use different kinds of arch, supported by columns (support with round base) and
piers (support with square base).
•
The use of very narrow columns. Their capitals were of different types. [Base, Shaft and
Capital are the three parts of the columns from down to up).
•
The buildings were usually covered with gabled roof (a triangular shaped roof). Interiors
had different kinds of vaults and domes.
•
There was a lot of decoration.
ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
(appointed semicircular arch)
(semicircular arch)
Arab writtings (usually relegious)
Semicircular arches.
(Like stalactites)
(Arabesco: like plants designs)
Capital
(capitel)
Shaft
(fuste)
Base
(base)
(Lacería)
(Like a orange)
Mixtilinear arch
(Arco peraltado: a slender semicircular arch)
(curves + lines)
(Made of small semicircles)
Arab column:
Its shaft is narrow and its
capital is decorated.
(Arco de herradura)
The main buildings were palaces and mosques:
•
Palaces: They were surrounded by gardens with waterways, pools and fountains. There
was a public area with rooms for receiving important people (ambassadors, government
officials, etc.) and a privet area where caliph and his family live.
•
Mosques: They are buildings where Muslims meet to pray. The mosque had to face
towards Mecca, the holy city of Islam. Mosques consisted of various parts: the minaret (a
tower where the muezzin called people to go to pray), the courtyard and the prayer room.
In the prayer room there was also the qibla and mihrab. Some mosques also had a macsura
(space in the mosque reserved to the Caliph). This picture it's a scheme of a mosque:
Sculpture and painting were not common because Islamic tradition didn't encourage the
representation of the human form.
A big dome
covered by tiles.
<---------------
The Kaaba Santuary
has got eight
Minarets.
Alhambra means “the red”
(la roja). There are a lot of
arabic words that starts with
al: alhambra, al-andalus,
almohada, alfombra...
How they
docorate all
so much and
with a lot of
details?
Because it
isn't stone,
it's plaster!!!
7. AL-ANDALUS:
} Political Development:
In 771 (8th century), an army of Arabs and Berbers (north Africa tribe), commanded by Tarik
and Muzza (two generals), landed on the Iberian Peninsula crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and
defeated the Visigoths in the Battle of Guadalete. After that, the Moors (Moros) conquered the
almost all the peninsular territory and named it: Al-Andalus. That was the end of the Visigoth
Kingdom. Some Hispanic Visigoths fled to the north of the Peninsula and began to fight to recover
the territory occupied by the Muslims: The Reconquista (La Reconquista).
PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF AL-ANDALUS
•
Dependent emirate:
Al-Andalus was governed by an emir who was under the authority of the Caliph of
Damascus (capital of Islam at that time). After occupying the Iberian Peninsula, the
Muslims continued to advance. They crosses over the Pyrenees and fought against the
Frankish army (under the command of Charles Martel), who defeated them in Poitiers
(732).
•
Independent emirate:
When the Abbasids killed almost the Umayyad familly, the one that scape: Abd-al-Rahman
I, fled to al-Andalus and proclaim him self emir. The emirate was independent of Baghdad
(capital of Islam at that time). They didn't recognise his politically authority, but yes his
religious authority (because the two practise Islam).
•
Córdoba Caliphate:
The emir Abd-al-Rahman III proclaimed himself caliph in 929 (10th century), and so
al-Andalus became independent of Baghdad from a political and religious point of
view. This was the highest point of al-Andalus. Around that century, Don Pelayo started
the Reconquista of Spain.
•
Taifa Kingdoms:
At the beginning of the 11th century, al-Andalus was split into taifa kingdoms. The
Christians kingdoms in the north took advantage of these week position to conquer
lands of the Muslims. In 1086, the Muslims asked the Almoravis for help. As a result,
they controlled all of al-Andalus again until the beginning of the 12th century.
•
The Nasrid Kingdom:
After the disappearance of the Almoravids, al-Andalus was split again into taifa kingdoms.
In the middle of the 12th century, the Almohads arrived on the Peninsula and ruled islamic
territories. They were defeated by the Christians at the beginning of the 13th century. From
then on, only the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (Reino Nazarí de Granada) was still in
Islamic hands. It survive until the year 1492 (the same year that Colombus discovered
America) when it was conquered by the Catholic Monarch (Reyes Católicos): Isabel the
Catholic and Fernando of Aragon.
That's al-Andalus at its
maximum side. The
Visigoths were at the top
of Spain.
That image represent Spain after the
arrival of the Muslims.
That's al-Andalus at its
highest point. The
Visigoths started the
Reconquista yet.
The Reconquista of the Iberean peninsula. It was started
by Don Pelayo (at 10th century) and it finished
when the Catholic Monarchs conquered the Nasrid
Kingdom of Granada (the last Islamic Territory) in the
year 1492 and all the Muslims were spelled.
At the right you can see a image with movement where
you can see the anterior images passing one by one.
The movement it's only visible on the computer, if you
print this image or see it in PDF format will not move.
} Society:
* MUSLIMS
- Arabs: they were a minority and the most important social group.
- Berber: they lived mainly from livestock farming.
- Muladies: Christians who converted to Islam.
* NON-MUSLIMS
They can practise their religion if they paid special taxes, but they cannot did it in public
(only at their special neighbourhood, where all people practise the same religion) and
cannot hold political offices.
- Christians: those who didn't converted to Islam were called: Mozarabs
- Jews: they lived mainly through trade, craftwork and finance.
} Architecture:
PERIOD OF MOORISH ARCHITECTURE
Caliphal architecture (10th century)
The most distinctive buildings are the Great Mosque of Córdoba (La Mezquita de Córdoba) and
the Palace-city of Medina Azahara outside Córdoba.
Taifa architecture (11th century)
The most distinctive building is the Aljefería Palace in Zaragoza.
Almohad architecture (12th century)
The most significant buildings are the minaret of the Great Mosque of Sevilla, know as the
Giralda, and the Torre del Oro, the ancient watchtower. The two at the city of Seville.
Nasrid architecture (13h century)
- Basic Material (brick, plaster, wood) were used and covered with ornate decoration.
- The most used arches were the the horseshoe arch and the stilted semicircular arch.
- Columns were very narrow.
- They use muquarna vault and sometimes muquarna arches (like stalactites).
The most distinctive building is the Alhambra Palace in Granada.
Aljafería (Zaragoza)
Torre del
Oro
(Sevilla)
Mezquita de Córdoba
Azahara (afueras de Córdoba)
La Giralda (Sevilla)
Patio de los Leones - Alambra (Granada)