When was spain ruled by moors

As I have discussed in a recent book on the subject , the last Muslim sultan in Spain has become a potent symbol of resistance against repression, and of the forces of rebellion — a moral hero in his own right whose life matters today because he sought to save his kingdom and way of life through the path of negotiation and diplomacy. The year is generally seen as a beginning, whether of modern Spain or the discovery of the New World. But what had ended was equally significant. For nearly years, since , the Spanish peninsula had been home to a group of people who came as invaders and stayed to create a unique and sophisticated civilisation which bequeathed to Spain a lasting cultural heritage.

One thing that was lost was the fertile cross-cultural creativity and renewal born out of the Muslim conquest. The sometimes uneasy coexistence of Christians, Muslims and Jews which had been such a significant part of medieval Spanish life was replaced by the serious confrontations and conflicts leading to the expulsion of the Moriscos in Instead of a society where members of three different religions lived together, Spain after became a society with a sole religion and language, a closed, suspicious place that repressed and eliminated difference.

The story of Boabdil and the fall of Granada represents a last stand against religious intolerance, fanatical power and cultural ignorance, in which issues of violence, tension and prejudice between Muslims and Christians were as pressing then as they are now. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.

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Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, public libraries in Europe were non-existent, while Moorish Spain could boast of more than seventy, of which the one in Cordova housed six hundred thousand manuscripts.

Over 4, Arabic words and Arabic-derived phrases have been absorbed into the Spanish language. Arabic words such as algebra, alcohol, chemistry, nadir, alkaline, and cipher entered the language. Even words such as checkmate, influenza, typhoon, orange, and cable can be traced back to Arabic origins.

The most significant Moorish musician was known as Ziryab the Blackbird who arrived in Spain in The Moors introduced earliest versions of several instruments, including the Lute or el oud, the guitar or kithara and the Lyre. Granada — the word in Spanish means pomegranate — a fruit brought to Spain by Moslem tribes from North Africa in the 8th century.

They were known as the Moors and they came to Europe from what is now known as Morocco. For nearly years the Moors ruled in Granada and for nearly as long in a wider territory of that became known as Moorish Spain or Al Andalus. In Granada, where the Moors first came in , they built a fortress palace known as the Alhambra. It was never conquered by their enemies but in the Moors surrendered their citadel, by then the last outpost of Moorish Spain, to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel.

It would bring to an end an era and mark the beginnings of the Spanish Inquisition. But the Moors left behind a rich architectural and cultural legacy still apparent throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond today. Before the arrival of the Arabs, the Romans had built a small city on the western outskirts of its empire called Volubulis. Volubilis grew from a provincial outpost to a substantial capital on the outskirts of an empire, known as Roman Mauretania covering an area of about hectares.

It was important enough to have its own triumphal arch, the Gate of Tangier. It also contained small palaces and substantial houses with exquisite mosaic floors, still here today. The Arabs invaded Morocco in , inspired to spread their new religion Islam. In Arab leader, Idriss the 1st, who claimed direct descent from the Prophet Mohammad, arrived in V. The local Berber tribes converted from Christianity and Idriss the 1st was buried in the hilltop town of Moulay Idriss, just three kilometres away.

Then a small force of Arab and Berber warriors embarked series of raids across the Strait of Gibraltar into Southern Spain. So rapid was the Moors expansion into Spain that soon a capital was established in the city of Cordoba. He made the Meskita mosque the centrepiece of this new caliphate, which he began building on the site of a church 30 years after his arrival.

It combined indigenous designs with those that borrowed features from the Great Mosque of Damascus. While And Al Rahman consolidated his power in Spain, in Morocco it was Idriss the 2nd, the son of Idriss the 1st, who who went on to establish the city of Fez, which remains to this day one of the great strongholds of the Islamic faith.

Two thousand Arab families came to settle here in followed by Arab families from Spain. Fez is famous for its medieval Medina with its labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways. The heart of the city is the 9th century Kairaouine mosque, established in , which is also the sanctuary for tomb of Idriss the 2nd. The mosque contains what is thought to be the oldest university in the world.

Over the centuries the mosque has been encased by the Medina surrounding it. After the death of Idriss the 2nd a new dynasty came to power and they would found another great city and make it their capital. For nearly years, and in particular during the 10th century, Cordoba was a beacon a civilisation — cultural capital that lived peacefully with a multi-ethnic population, including Jews and Christians. What is known today as the pink city, or Marrakech, was founded in by a Berber dynasty known as the Almoravids.

Their most charismatic leader was Yousef Ben Tachfine. The Almoravids constructed a kilometre, eight-metre high mud wall around the city in , giving it thee distinct colour which survives to this day.

Its has been repaired and rebuilt many times in the years since. The Almoravids introduced an ingenious underground irrigation system that still supports a vast palmerie outside Marrakech The Almoravid version of strict orthodox Islam spread across Morocco and into neighbouring Algeria.

And at the age of 80, Youssef Ben Tachfine launched a series of daring invasions of the Iberian peninsula. A series of fortified gates took visitors into the inner sanctum of the palace grounds. The Moors were renowned for their gardens, and the use of water delivered by simple but ingenious irrigation methods to create and ambiance of peace and tranquility to their surroundings. The Moors also built more practical structures used for defense only.

Further north west on the banks of the Guadiana River in Merida, where the Romans had built a massive bridge the longest surviving from the ancient world , the Moors constructed an Alcazaba on the side of a previous Visigoth fortress. It is still there today.