Al-Andalus: History, Society, Economy and Culture of Islamic Iberia

Al-Andalus: Islamic Iberia

Al-Andalus was the name given to the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule. Its history spans from the early 8th century to the end of the 15th century, and it left a profound mark on the political, social, economic and cultural life of the peninsula.

Background: Berbers, Emirate and Caliphate

Berbers were a people of the Maghreb mountains, with their own ethnicity, language, alphabet and culture. Many of them were later incorporated into the Islamic conquest of Hispania.

The emirate was the territorial unit of the Islamic state dependent on the caliphate. It was governed by an emir, a provincial governor who was not yet the supreme authority of the Islamic world. The caliph held the maximum religious, military and political authority after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the aristocracy concentrated power in its hands.

Razzias were military expeditions carried out by Muslims to raid and gather booty, often against the Christian kingdoms of the north.

Arab and Berber Groups

• Yemenis: Arab groups originating from the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). They formed an aristocracy and settled in the Ebro and Guadalquivir valleys.
• Qaysis: Arab groups originating from the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Together with the Yemenis they formed the aristocracy, and they settled in eastern Andalusia.
• Abbasids: the family that overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in the 8th century. Descended from the Prophet's uncle, al-Abbas, they moved the court to Baghdad.

Rural Life and Religious Terms

• Almunias: country residences or estates with orchards and fruit exploitation along the rivers, owned by Andalusi nobles.
• Alfaquís: learned persons versed in Islamic law.
• Mihrab: a niche in the wall of a mosque, opened toward Mecca, indicating the direction of prayer (qibla).
• Mocárabes: decorative elements of Andalusi art, consisting of clusters of prism-shaped arches cut into the lower curved part of a vault.

The Muslim Conquest (711)

The conquest began in July 711 with a contingent led by the governor of Tangier, Tariq ibn Ziyad, who defeated the Visigoth army at the Guadalete river. Shortly afterwards, the governor of North Africa, Musa ibn Nusayr, arrived with new armies. Advancing north from Algeciras, they met at Mérida, and in a few years they occupied most of the peninsula and reached the Pyrenees.

The fall of the Visigoth monarchy owed much to several factors:

• the weakness of the Visigoth state and its internal rivalries;
• the conquest's reliance on capitulation agreements;
• the persistence of Arianism among broad popular sectors, while the imposition of Catholicism made the admission of Islam easier;
• the land reform, in which conquerors took over estates, and a fiscal system that was burdensome and unsustainable for many.

The peninsula became a dependent emirate of the caliphate. The emir was appointed by the caliph and governed from Córdoba, the capital. The emirs worked to consolidate the conquest north of the Duero and the Pyrenees through raids, although they suffered a defeat against the Franks, who halted their advance beyond the Pyrenees.

A central problem was the distribution of conquered land. Part of it was kept by former owners under capitulation agreements, and another part was granted to soldiers. The Arab minority was divided between Yemenis, concentrated in western Andalusia and the Ebro valley, and Qaysis, concentrated in eastern Andalusia. The Berbers received the least land, which was mostly poor and marginal, and this encouraged uprisings and the resurgence of Christian kingdoms in the north.

The emirs relied on Syrian soldiers, who arrived in Al-Andalus and formed a new ethnic group.

The Independent Emirate

Abd al-Rahman I, a surviving member of the Umayyad family (the Omayyads, Caliphs), fled the Abbasid massacre and arrived in al-Andalus. He landed at Almuñécar and defeated the emir Yusuf, proclaiming an independent emirate and breaking with the Abbasid caliphate. He established his authority, drew on Umayyad prestige, and relied on Berber and Christian mercenaries and officials.

He built the Great Mosque of Córdoba on the site of the Church of San Vicente, and he built a palace on the side of Rusafa, a palace that was later known as the Alcázar of Córdoba. He confiscated land from those who had not complied with capitulation terms, and he imposed heavy taxes.

He faced a long struggle with Charlemagne and the Franks, and with the Basque Vascones. His successors faced internal revolts, serious uprisings, and urban conflicts, including riots in the suburb of Córdoba. Abd al-Rahman II strengthened the administration and carried out an intense building program. Increased taxation and the growing number of volunteers in the military led to further conflicts.

The revolt of Umar ibn Hafsun was a severe challenge to the emirate. He was a muladí (a Hispano-Muslim convert) who established a strong stronghold in Bobastro and resisted for decades, and his rebellion coincided with the Viking invasions along the Guadalquivir.

The Caliphate of Al-Andalus

Abd al-Rahman III ended the revolts, crushed the rebellion of Umar ibn Hafsun at Bobastro, and took the title of caliph in 929. He reorganized the administration, moved the court to the palace of Medina Azahara, and created a true state. The territory was divided into coras (provinces), each governed by a wali (governor).

He modernized the fiscal system, which relied on productive taxes and on excise duties on commercial transactions. He also built a powerful army, which controlled North Africa and the western Mediterranean. Córdoba became the capital of a vast realm, rivaling Byzantium and the Abbasid court in Baghdad.

The caliphate protected the arts and culture. Córdoba became a cultural capital of the world, with its great mosque and its library, which was one of the largest of the time. The caliphate reached its apogee under Abd al-Rahman III.

Al-Mansur, the powerful chamberlain of Hisham II, imposed his dictatorship over the caliphs. His power was based on military victories, including raids that reached as far as Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona. His campaigns enriched the economy of Córdoba, but this period also reached its climax, and the conflicts that followed led to the collapse of the caliphate.

The Taifa Kingdoms

After 1031 the caliphate split into various Taifa kingdoms (taifa means "party" or "faction"). Powerful states emerged in frontier areas such as Zaragoza, Badajoz and Toledo, and the weakness of Córdoba allowed the Christian kingdoms to advance and demand tribute from the Taifas.

Al-Andalus was fragmented, and the Christian kingdoms took advantage of the divisions. The Muslim states paid tribute to the Christians, which weakened them economically and politically.

The Almoravids and Almohads

The Taifa kingdoms were weakened by the advance of Alfonso VI of Castile, who conquered Toledo in 1085. In response, the Taifa rulers called for help from the Almoravids, a Berber dynasty from North Africa, who defeated the Christians at the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086 and gradually took control of al-Andalus. The Almoravids imposed strict rule, and later the Almohads, another North African movement, replaced them.

The Christian crusade eventually succeeded. The decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 changed the course of the Reconquista irreversibly. Christian kingdoms conquered nearly all the territory of al-Andalus, and only the Nasrid kingdom of Granada remained until 1492.

Economy

Agriculture

Al-Andalus enjoyed economic strength, in contrast with the poverty of the Christian areas. Its advanced irrigation system allowed the expansion of Mediterranean crops. Olive oil, citrus fruits and grapes were abundant. Muslims introduced the cultivation of huerta (irrigated market gardens), rice, sugar cane and industrial crops such as cotton. Livestock farming was also important.

Crafts

Crafts were a key economic resource. Urban craft activities were organized into specialized guilds (gremios), producing ceramics, goldwork and silverwork, weapons, leather and textiles. Their products were traded both within the peninsula and abroad.

Trade

Internal trade was important, with markets and zocos (commercial districts) grouping together craft workshops and shops. External trade was integrated into the circuits of the western and eastern Mediterranean, and into North Africa. Merchants of the dominant groups benefited from the expansionary policy of the caliphate, and Andalusi goods were widely distributed. A major commercial instrument was the gold dinar, along with silver and copper coins such as the dirham.

Urban Life

Córdoba, the capital, had around 300,000 inhabitants. Its streets were labyrinthine, its houses were spacious and had interior courtyards in the medina, unlike the suburbs, where dwellings were modest. The outskirts were occupied by country residences. Al-Andalus had a sophisticated system of drainage and water supply.

Society

Al-Andalus was densely populated, and no great epidemics or severe famines are recorded during this period. Settlement was concentrated along the Ebro and Guadalquivir valleys, in contrast with the sparsely populated Christian areas.

• Arabs: a minority forming the ruling aristocracy, which owned large estates along the Guadalquivir valley, where their almunias were established.
• Berbers: the most numerous group in the military, forming the core of the caliphal army. Many were settled in the frontier areas, which allowed the abandonment of the Christian advance.
• Jews: prominent in urban professions, especially commerce and goldwork and silverwork.
• Slaves: brought from central and eastern Europe, they held important positions in the administration and the army of the caliphate.
• Hispano-Romans (Mozarabs): the vast majority of the population, who were Christians. A minority converted to Islam, and they kept their Gothic and Roman cultural traditions. Mozarabs preserved their religion, and they maintained relations with the Muslim population, although occasional riots occurred.

Political Organization

At the beginning, al-Andalus was a province of the Umayyad caliphate, but when the emirate became independent, it developed its own institutions. Under Abd al-Rahman I, the state organization became complete, and it was later confirmed under the caliphate. The organization was centralized, with a tendency to prevent local powers from achieving independence.

The emir or caliph held absolute civil, military and religious power. After his death, succession often led to conflict and bloodshed, since rival claimants sought to impose themselves in the palace.

Administration

The central administration was organized in Córdoba as a pyramidal body, headed by a chief minister and a group of secretaries, responsible for chancellery, treasury and other functions. The territory was divided into coras (provinces), each governed by a governor, who was often a member of the Arab aristocracy or a local notable. Central authority at the urban level was supported by the almotacén, who supervised markets, public order, and the qadi (judge).

Taxes

Taxes were necessary to maintain the state apparatus, the army and the court. The most important were the tax on land and property, and the poll tax on Christians and Jews who had not converted. Converts to Islam were in principle exempt, but in practice the state often needed to maintain these revenues.

The Army

Military contingents were stationed in the frontier regions and in the caliphal palace. Provincial forces were made up of mercenaries, Berbers and slaves. Al-Mansur led frequent campaigns and divided the frontier into three parts: the upper frontier, centered on Zaragoza; the middle frontier, around Toledo; and the lower frontier, centered on Mérida and Coimbra.

Culture and Art

Culture

The conquerors did not impose their culture in a violent way. Under Abd al-Rahman II, cultural life reached its height, and under al-Hakam II, Córdoba became a centre of learning, with a great library and many scholars. The culture of Al-Andalus was syncretic, blending Arab, Berber and local Hispano-Roman and Visigothic traditions.

Poetry flourished. Andalusi poets developed the muwashshaha and the zajal, which replaced the classical Arabic qasida. These strophic lyric forms, often sung, influenced later European poetry, including the troubadour tradition.

Philosophy was marked by the commentaries on Aristotle, and by scholars such as Averroes. In mathematics, Andalusi scholars helped spread the Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concept of zero, a major step forward in algebra. In medicine, Andalusi physicians made important advances. Their works were translated and used in many European universities.

In astronomy, al-Zarqali (Arzachel) built the astrolabe and produced the Toledan Tables, a highly influential set of astronomical tables. Translators in the School of Toledo played a key role in transmitting Arabic and Greek learning to Latin Europe.

Art

Andalusi art is divided into three main periods: the Caliphate, the Taifa kingdoms, and Nasrid Granada. Ceramics were highly developed, and Cordoban craftsmen used ink imported from the East, and they also produced illuminated manuscripts in the Oriental style. The Great Mosque of Córdoba, with its horseshoe arches and striped voussoirs, is the masterpiece of the Caliphate, while the Alhambra in Granada represents the splendor of the Nasrid period.