Conquest Of al-Andalus Research Articles

Agrarian measures in the kingdom of Granada before and after the Castilian conquest: the lands of the Alpujarra

AbstractThe aim of this article is to broaden our knowledge of the metrological system of the Morisco period in the kingdom of Granada and, more specifically, in the rural area of the Alpujarra. The sources used in the analysis are two inventories of ecclesiastical goods from Islamic origin, drawn up in 1527 and 1530, four decades after the culmination of the Christian conquest of al-Andalus. The article explores the agrarian units of measurement used by the Morisco community of the Alpujarra in their daily lives (measures of surface area and length, weight or mass, volume or capacity, and of water used for irrigation). As far as possible, equivalences are presented for the units discussed. Attempts are made to establish whether these measures were inherited from the Andalusi period or whether, on the contrary, they were the result of the implementation of Castilian legislation on the matter. The data gathered have revealed the existence of a hybrid measurement system, which shows that the ordinances to modify the system of weights and measures of the Muslims and to seek a correspondence with the Castilian system had little effect in the Alpujarra, where, in many cases, the Islamic system of measurement continued in use. This circumstance indicates that the changes and transformations in the daily life of this rural community after the Christian conquest were not as imminent as might have been expected.

After the conquest: ceramics and migrations

ABSTRACTThis article presents a brief overview of archaeological studies on the pottery produced and used during the eighth century, the period immediately after the conquest of al-Andalus. It demonstrates that in spite of valuable advances in the field, scholars have been limited in their considerations of the impact of post-conquest Muslim immigration upon ceramic production because of two main factors. The first is an excessive reliance on a flawed theory, namely that eighth-century ceramics were ambiguous, that is, typologically undefined ceramics, embedded in the transition between the Visigothic Kingdom and the Caliphate. The second is a lack of an appropriate methodology, a result of the particular development of the field of medieval pottery studies in Iberia, which has favored approaches that fail to account for a period of time during which changes in pottery manufacture were fast and primarily unrelated to the scale of production or the degree of specialization of the artisans. Consequently, the impact of post-conquest immigration of Muslims on ceramic production has been understudied. This article proposes to show how a different theoretical and methodological stance in the study of early Islamic ceramics can help to elucidate this impact and lend support to an alternative narrative of the emergence of al-Andalus.

Numismatics data about the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula

ABSTRACTBefore the implementation of a monetary system based on silver coins (dirhams), an ephemeral multi-metallic coinage was in effect in al-Andalus. The first dinars struck in the Iberian peninsula have been traditionally linked to military progress. Some of the copper coins (fulūs) were minted at the moment of the conquest and should be considered a tool in the jund’s organization. These coins and seals are almost the only traces of the military occupation and of the first deployments of Arab troops in the Iberian peninsula. Consequently, numismatic study is crucial for an understanding of the conquest of al-Andalus.

Cultural memories of the conquest of al-Andalus between the ninth and twelfth centuries, C.E.

ABSTRACTThis essay takes up the subject of the conquest of al-Andalus as a conceptually originative act in a discussion of group identity and memory. The focus is not on Umayyad rule and memory, except in so far as Umayyad rule structured the historical perspectives of Andalusi writers, but on Andalusi Mālikī jurists and their social memory. The way Andalusi Mālikī jurists represented their community, its origins, and their relation to the past changed and varied over the period of the rise and fall of Umayyad rule in Iberia and the establishment of Almoravid rule, as their own structures of power developed with the systematization of legal learning and practice. The essay demonstrates these developments through analysis of biographical texts written by jurists in the ninth, tenth, and twelfth centuries and suggests how the conquest of al-Andalus, real and imagined, fits into a history of Mālikī community, “textual polity,” and “empire.”

Political Factors in the Scarcity of Shia Population in Al-Andalus

Political Factors in the Scarcity of Shia Population in Al-Andalus Dr. Majid Abbasi Abstract At the same time or shortly after conquest of Al-Andalus by the Muslims, religion of Shiite entered in this land. But several factors prevent the spread of Shiite and caused the failure of the religion in Al-Andalus. The political situations were one of the most important factors. So, the main question is that what are the most important political factors caused the failure of spread of Shiite in Al-Andalus? In response to this question the hypotheses is that “Political factors such as uprising attributed to Shiites and rival Umayyad in Andalus and conflict with Fatimid and Edrissian governments, caused the failure of spread Shiites thought.” This research will focus exclusively on political factors, by use of documents and historical books with descriptive method examines the hypothesis. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/rhps.v7n1a3

Mediterranean crossroads: Spanish-Moroccan relations in past and present

Tariq b. Ziyad's conquest of al-Andalus in 711, the travels of Maimonides from Cordoba via Fez and Tunis to Cairo during the twelve century, the acquisition of the presidios of Ceuta (1415/1668) an...

A estrutura do conhecimento nas universidades ocidentalizadas: racismo/sexismo epistêmico e os quatro genocídios/epistemicídios do longo século XVI

Este artigo discute a estrutura epistêmica do mundo moderno em relação aos quatro genocídios/epistemicídios do longo século XVI (1450-1650). Argumenta-se que o privilégio epistêmico do homem ocidental foi construído às custas do genocídio/epistemicídios dos sujeitos coloniais. O artigo relaciona o racismo/sexismo epistêmico da estrutura das universidades ocidentalizadas e do mundo moderno ao genocídio/epistemicídio contra muçulmanos e judeus na conquista de Al-Andalus, contra povos nativos na conquista das Américas, contra povos africanos na conquista da África e a escravização dos mesmos nas Américas e, finalmente, contra as mulheres europeias queimadas vivas acusadas de bruxaria. Esses quatro genocídios/epistemicídios são fundantes da estrutura epistêmica moderno-colonial e das universidades ocidentalizadas. A tese principal deste artigo é que a condição de possibilidade para o cartesianismo idolátrico dos anos 1640 que assume o olho de Deus e arroga-se o direito de dizer "penso, logo existo" é o "extermino, logo existo".

Land selection for irrigation in Al-Andalus, Spain (8th century a.d.)

The Andalusi hydraulic systems of the Iberian Peninsula, constructed by Arabs and Berbers between a.d. 711 and the feudal conquest of Al-Andalus (11–15th centuries a.d.), are today among the most productive agricultural areas in Europe. Their current extension is the result of several enlargements made to the original Andalusi design, irrigating lands initially rejected by the first builders. Understanding the reasons that led Arabs and Berbers to select or reject lands for irrigation is essential for documenting the formation processes of these agricultural areas. Here the topic is approached using the hydraulic system of Ricote (Murcia, Spain) as a case study. Through hydraulic archaeology, excavations, and GIS, it is shown that deep, flat, well-insolated (i.e., exposed to sunlight), slightly saline, colluvial soils were preferred for irrigation while slopes, shady areas, floodplains, and highly saline soils were rejected. Optimizing the water supply for irrigation was not a top priority. The results highlight the need to consider topographical features when studying how past agrarian societies introduced irrigated agriculture to new environments.

Racismo/sexismo epistémico, universidades occidentalizadas y los cuatro genocidios/epistemicidios del largo siglo XVI

Resumen es: Este articulo analiza el racismo/sexismo epistemico fundacional a las estructuras de conocimiento de la universidad occidentalizada. El articulo plantea ...

Reflecting His Time: Nineteenth-Century European Anti-Semitic Stereotypes in Jurji Zaydan's 1903 Arabic Novel, The Conquest of al-Andalus

Reflecting His Time: Nineteenth-Century European Anti-Semitic Stereotypes in Jurji Zaydan's 1903 Arabic Novel, The Conquest of al-Andalus

Novedades sobre el "Texto mozárabe de historia universal" de Qayrawān

In this article two pages of the "Mozarabic text of world history" of Qayrawan which were not edited by G. Levi Della Vida are examined. The contents of these two pages of the text –preserved nowadays at the Museum of Islamic Art of Raqqada– support its derivation from Latin sources, but also show us its similarity with other Arabic texts that deal with pre-Islamic times and the conquest of al-Andalus, hence revealing the significance of this peculiar text in the field of Andalusi historiography.

Inventing Medieval Landscapes: Senses of Place in Western Europe. Edited by John Howe and Michael Wolfe. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. ix + 237 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, list of contributors, index. Cloth $59.95

Introduction, by John Howe and Michael Wolfe Part One: Managed Landscapes 1. The Medieval Countryside of England: Botany and Archaeology, by Oliver Rackham 2. Veneurs s'en vont en Paradis: Medieval Hunting and the Natural Landscape, by John Cummins 3. New Habitats for the Rabbit in Northern Europe, 1300-1600, by Petra J.E.M. van Dam 4. Politics, Perception, and the Meaning of Landscape in Late Medieval Venice: Marco Cornaro's 1442 Inspection of Firewood Supplies, by Karl Appuhn Part Two: Created Landscapes 5. The Landscape of Anglo-Saxon England: Inherited, Invented, Imagined, by Nicholas Howe 6. Tribal Landscapes of Islamic Spain: History and Archaeology, by Thomas Glick 7. From Alien Terrain to the Abode of Islam: Landscapes in the Conquest of al-Andalus, by Janina Safran 8. Private Pleasures: Painted Gardens on the Manuscript Page, by Bridget Ann Henisch Part Three: Imagined Landscapes 9. Landscape, Gender, and Ethnogenesis in Pre-Norman Invasion Ireland, by Lisa Bitel 10. Narrative Time and Literary Landscapes in Middle English Poetry, by Laura L. Howes 11. Creating Symbolic Landscapes: Medieval Development of Sacred Space, by John Howe

Historical and Literary Views of Yusuf, African Conqueror of Spain

In 1086, Yusuf ibn-Tashufin, an African, defeated Alfonso VI of Castile in a battle at Zallaca, and thus initiated the Almoravid occupation of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. With the conquest of Al-Andalus (Moslem Spain), the Almoravid Empire extended from the basin of the Senegal River in Africa to the Tagus River in Europe. The reign of the Almoravids in Spain was, however, shortlived, for the loss of Saragossa in 1118 ushered in a period of decline which culminated in a series of popular rebellions in 1144, and the defeat of the African Moslems in 1145. Opinion about the Almoravid rule is varied: some scholars, including several of the foremost Hispanic and French Arabists, bemoan the Africanization of Spain, while others, primarily Arab and Jewish writers, speak of a Golden Age of letters under the Almoravids, who unified Moslem Spain and imposed order on the warring Arab caliphs. Much of the controversy surrounding the Almoravids is centered in the person of their leader, Yusuf ibn-Tashufin, who was vividly portrayed in Arab, Latin and Castilian chronicles of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and who figured prominently in Castilian epic poetry, including the twelfth-century Poema de Mio Cid, as well as in Galician-Portuguese lyric poetry, such as the Cantigas of Alfonso X of Castile. Much of the information about Yusuf is distorted, depending upon the religious or political views of the chronicler; thus, Spanish Catholics tended to minimize the importance of Yusuf, emphasizing, instead, his cruelty, intolerance, alleged arrogance or stupidity, and his persecution of non-Moslems; while Moslem writers exalted him as the saviour of Al-Andalus, a tolerant, deeply religious and pious man. It is difficult in the case of Yusuf to separate historical truth from literary fantasy, for a host of legends, humorous anecdotes and bogus letters were later attributed to the African conqueror; the truth was further distorted by poets, who were more concerned with dramatic effect and literary style than with historic fact.