Under which khalifa andalusia was conquered

The city became synonymous with opulence and sophistication fig. It consisted of hundreds of buildings and included inns, schools, and workshops. The architecture employed columns imported from North Africa and regions in the Byzantine empire as well as marble fountains from Syria.

Distinct motifs and designs, such as symmetrically arranged vegetal scrolls and complex geometric patterns, covered the surfaces of objects and were carved onto the stucco and stone walls of mosques and palaces. Works of art made in Madinat al-Zahra were products of a Mediterranean taste that drew upon indigenous traditions of Spain as well as those of the Umayyads' native Syria. Many of these masterfully crafted luxury objects, such as intricately carved ivory containers, illuminated manuscripts of the Qur'an, and lavish textiles, traveled via trade routes to other Mediterranean courts as gifts and tributes.

However, the glory of the Spanish Umayyad court did not last; in , Madinat al-Zahra was destroyed during a Berber revolt and its riches plundered.

This dynasty had founded the city of Marrakech around and lead by Ibn Tashufin, they penetrated the Peninsula, inflicting a serious defeat on the troops of Alphonso VI in Sagrajas. Soon they would manage to get rid of the Taifa kings and rule al-Andalus.

Nevertheless, during their rule, the Christians obtained important advances, such as the conquest of Saragossa by Alphonso I in At the same time, the Almoravids saw their own supremacy threatened by a new religious movement that emerged in the Maghreb: the Almohads.

This new dynasty was born within a Berber tribe coming from the heart of the Atlas mountains and, led by Ibn Tumart , was hastily organized to overthrow their predecessors. They also ruled from Marrakech and took control of al-Andalus, supplying it with some stability and economic and cultural prosperity.

They showed themselves as great builders and surrounded themselves by the best writers and scientists of the time. In al-Andalus they established their capital in Seville. This dynasty began their decline in with their defeat in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Christian armies of Aragon and Castile.

The kingdom of Granada, under the Nasrid dynasty, was the last Muslim territory of the Iberian Peninsula. It survived for years despite its political fragility. Its most relevant testimony is the monumental complex of the Alhambra and the Generalife. The alternative view to the Golden Age of Tolerance is that Jews and Christians were severely restricted in Muslim Spain, by being forced to live in a state of 'dhimmitude'.

A dhimmi is a non-Muslim living in an Islamic state who is not a slave, but does not have the same rights as a Muslim living in the same state. At times there were restrictions on practicing one's faith too obviously. Bell-ringing or chanting too loudly were frowned on and public processions were restricted.

Many Christians in Spain assimilated parts of the Muslim culture. Some learned Arabic, some adopted the same clothes as their rulers some Christian women even started wearing the veil ; some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs. The Muslim rulers didn't give their non-Muslim subjects equal status; as Bat Ye'or has stated, the non-Muslims came definitely at the bottom of society.

Society was sharply divided along ethnic and religious lines, with the Arab tribes at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the Berbers who were never recognized as equals, despite their Islamization; lower in the scale came the mullawadun converts and, at the very bottom, the dhimmi Christians and Jews.

A Muslim must not massage a Jew or a Christian nor throw away his refuse nor clean his latrines. The Jew and the Christian are better fitted for such trades, since they are the trades of those who are vile. Not all the Muslim rulers of Spain were tolerant. Almanzor looted churches and imposed strict restrictions. The position of non-Muslims in Spain deteriorated substantially from the middle of the 11th century as the rulers became more strict and Islam came under greater pressure from outside.

Christians were not allowed taller houses than Muslims, could not employ Muslim servants, and had to give way to Muslims on the street.

Christians could not display any sign of their faith outside, not even carrying a Bible. There were persecutions and executions. One notorious event was a pogrom in Granada in , and this was followed by further violence and discrimination as the Islamic empire itself came under pressure. As the Islamic empire declined, and more territory was taken back by Christian rulers, Muslims in Christian areas found themselves facing similar restrictions to those they had formerly imposed on others. But, on the whole, the lot of minority faith groups was to become worse after Islam was replaced in Spain by Christianity.

There were also cultural alliances, particularly in the architecture - the 12 lions in the court of Alhambra are heralds of Christian influences. The mosque at Cordoba, now converted to a cathedral is still, somewhat ironically, known as La Mezquita or literally, the mosque. The mosque was begun at the end of the 8th century by the Ummayyad prince Abd al Rahman ibn Muawiyah.

In the 10th century, Cordoba, the capital of Umayyad Spain, was unrivalled in both East and the West for its wealth and civilisation. One author wrote about Cordoba:. There were mosques and public baths spread throughout the city and its twenty-one suburbs. The streets were paved and lit There were bookshops and more than seventy libraries. Muslim scholars served as a major link in bringing Greek philosophy, of which the Muslims had previously been the main custodians, to Western Europe.

There were interchanges and alliances between Muslim and Christian rulers such as the legendary Spanish warrior El-Cid, who fought both against and alongside Muslims. How did Muslims, Jews and Christians interact in practice?

Was this period of apparent tolerance underpinned by a respect for each other's sacred texts? What led to the eventual collapse of Cordoba and Islamic Spain?

And are we guilty of over-romanticising this period as a golden age of co-existence?