Islamic Spain
Islamic Spain comprised of mix cultures of Muslims, Jews and Christians, and is believed to be a significant contributor to civilization in Europe. According to Cachia (2017), the civilization of Islamic Spain could match the level of civilization of the Italian Renaissance and the Roman Empire. The three diverse faiths lived for eight centuries beginning in 711 following the Islamic rule of Spain. The Muslim forces the Iberian Peninsula, and it took them seven years to conquer it. The Muslim rule was administered by different rules of different times, starting with the Dependent Emirate between 711 and 756. This rule was followed by the Independent Emirate whose rule went on to 929 from 756. Subsequently, the Caliphate took over from year 929 and went on to 1031 before being succeeded by the Almoravic Era between 1031 and 1130. The final rule was the Decline which commences from 1130. The Jews, Muslims, and Christians had a few instances of disagreements following the restrictions that the Muslims put the Jews and the Christians. Nevertheless, they often got along and lived in harmony.
Conquest
Julian, an oppressed chief of Christian faith, pleaded with the North African governor, Musa ibn Nusair to help them against the tyrannical rule in Spain. At the time, Spain was under a Visigoth ruler called Roderick. Seven thousand troops, under the leadership of General Tariq bin Ziyad, were sent to conquer Spain. The Muslim army landed in Jabal AT-Tariq which led to the name Gilbatar. The Muslim army easily defeated visigoth Army, and that led to the capture and killing of the ruler, Roderick. Subsequently, most parts of Spain were conquered by Muslims. Additionally, they also conquered some parts of Portugal. By the year 720, Muslim control had taken over Spain, in what turned to be Islamic Spain.
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After winning against the Visigoth rulers, Muslim troops offered the people some very generous terms of surrender. The terms offered to the people were deemed softer than those terms offered to the Visgoth rulers (Constable, 1996). Notably, putting up such terms on the table is regarded as one of the major reasons for their rapid success in taking control of the people of Spain. Another reason for their success was the composition of their rulers. Unlike the Visgoth tyrannical rulers, Muslims’ ruling class comprised of people from diverse nationalities who served the Muslim faith. Each of them had been driven into conversion by a specific set of motivations. This offered a perfect reason to impress the people and to give them hope of getting a place under Muslim control. It is important to note that the Muslim rule was run from Southern Spain, also referred to as Andalusia.
The period when Muslims ruled Spain is described by historians as the ‘golden age’ for the great developments made regarding civilization. Specifically, learning infrastructure such as colleges, libraries, and public baths were raised by the Andalusian Umayad dynasty between 756 and 1031. In addition to that, literature, art, architecture, and poetry all flourished during the same period. The fact that people came from diverse cultures ensured they combined their expertise to develop interesting things in architecture, poetry and literature. Notably, the period was also characterized by political stability. The Muslims also introduced new foods in Spain.
The Moors installed irrigation systems as their first projects in the Iberian Peninsula. The irrigation systems were put up to allowed agricultural activities in arid areas. The Moors loved the use of spices which included apricots, carob, saffron, sugar and artichokes, among others. Unlike the Jews, and the Christians, the Muslims did not have much of prohibitions in their foods. The only set of food that was prohibited among the Moors were fermented drinks and pork. It is also worth noting that the Arabs brought about pickling cooking technique, a technique majorly used for cooking fish.
Standards and Status
Islamic Spain was also referred to as the ‘golden age’ due to its harbouring of interfaith harmony and ethnic and religious tolerance. The Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in harmony. Nevertheless, ethnic and religious tolerance was only limited to peace. Muslims lived a different life standard than their counterparts, the non-Muslim who were regarded as second class citizens. According to Lewis (2013), the difference in standards meant that non-Muslims were deprived of certain rights, something that was better than denying them all rights. The Muslims had their own status, which was recognized by them and every other person.
It is good to mention that Christians and Jews were entitled to certain rights and freedom when they were subjects to the Muslim rule. Their rights and freedoms were provided on the condition of obeying other rules set by the Muslim administrators and giving the non-Muslims rights under conditions defined their class further, by making them look like second class citizens to the Muslims (Harvey, 2005). Islamic Spain had Christians and Jews forced to acknowledge the superiority of the Islamic religion to be accorded rights. At the same time, they had to accept Islamic power and pay taxes to the Islamic administration. Another condition that was laid for non-Muslims was that they had to avoid blasphemy and did not convert to Islam. Moreover, non-Muslims had to comply with rules on clothing restrictions, restrictions about the building of churches and synagogues, ban on carrying weapons, and owning a Muslim slave, among other rules. Non-Muslims couldn’t marry Muslim women, yet the reverse was allowed.
Non-Muslims worked on jobs that were despised by Muslims, and thus regarded as second class jobs. For example, they did unpleasant jobs which included tanning, butchery, among others. On the other hand, Muslims did relatively pleasant jobs. They worked as bankers and handled the trading of silver and gold. All the same, they received better treatment than was expected. Dhimmis were not allowed to offer evidence or confession in Islamic courts and were accorded fewer compensations to Muslims for similar injuries (Jayyusi & Marín, 1992). Muslim administrators never forced them to live in special locations such as ghettoes. Most importantly, they were never enslaved by their administrators or the Muslim masters. They also had the privilege of following their faith without any form of hindrance from the Muslims and administrators. Non-Muslims also got the privilege to work in the Islam rulers’ civil service and had the opportunity to contribute to culture.
The fact that non-Muslims were second class citizens was quite obvious because certain restrictions extended to the way of worship of Jews and Christians. The loud ringing of bells and loud chanting, which happened to be common among dhimmis were not allowed in the process of worship (Yeʼor & Ye’ ôr, 2002). There existed a hierarchy of class in Islamic Spain which was headed by the Arab tribes. The Berbers followed closely and were regarded as equals to the Arabs. The Mullawadun converts followed as the hierarchy had the dhimmi Jews and Christians at the bottom (Yeʼor & Ye’ ôr, 2002). These religious restrictions prompted Christians in Islamic Spain to turn to Islamic practices. They became assimilated and borrowed some specific Muslim culture, not to land themselves in trouble. A good number of Christians learned the Arabic language, took Arabic names and some adopted the Muslim dressing code, such as the veil put on by Muslim women.
Why Muslim Rulers tolerated Non-Muslims
One major reason why non-Muslims were tolerated in Islamic Spain was that they practised monotheistic faiths. This meant that they were rather same and they worshipped the same God. Even though they failed to acknowledge Islam significance, they had virtues that were almost similar to those of the Muslims. Apart from that, non-Muslims were the majority in Islamic Spain, and it would have been too costly to convert them to Islam (Brann, 2010). Moreover, outlawing their faith would have caused massive resistance. Non-Muslims also acted as loyal servants, working alongside the administrators because they were not inclined to any Muslim group. Above all, the Jews and the Christians were obedient, obeyed the rules set by the administrators, and thus, it was necessary to tolerate them.
Oppression in Islamic Spain
The initial Muslim rulers exhibited utmost tolerant. However, others like Almanzor practiced oppression, especially towards non-Muslims. The period from the 11th Century saw the position non-Muslims get to lower positions, characterized by stringent leaders (Fernández-Morera, 2016). The rulers never allowed Christians to own houses which were taller than those of Muslims. The Granada Massacre in 1066 was inspired by increased hate between Muslims and non-Muslims as a result of the oppression installed by the Muslim rulers. Later on, the continued aggression and resistance by the Christians led to the decline of the Islamic rule. The Islamic rulers also become divided, something that led to their fall.
Conclusion
In summary, Islamic Spain was simply a period of Muslim rule over the Iberian Peninsula between the year 711 and 1492. The Muslims ruled over subjects of other faiths such as the Jews and the Christians. Despite the tolerance that the Islamic rulers had for the other faiths, they put forth massive restrictions and conditions that depicted Christians, and Jews as second class citizens. In fact, the second class citizens did specific types of work and could only afford certain types of lifestyle. Later during the Islamic rule, the rulers became oppressive, attracting massive resistance which caused their decline.
References
Brann, R. (2010). Power in the portrayal: representations of Jews and Muslims in eleventh-and twelfth-century Islamic Spain (Vol. 35). Princeton University Press.
Cachia, P. (2017). A history of Islamic Spain. Routledge.
Constable, O. R. (1996). Trade and traders in Muslim Spain: the commercial realignment of the Iberian peninsula, 900-1500 . Cambridge University Press.
Fernández-Morera, D. (2016). The myth of the Andalusian paradise . Open Road Media.
Harvey, L. P. (2005). Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614 . University of Chicago Press.
Jayyusi, S. K., & Marín, M. (Eds.). (1992). The Legacy of Muslim Spain (Vol. 12). Brill.
Lewis, B. (2013). The jews of Islam . Routledge.
Yeʼor, B., & Ye'ôr, B. (2002). Islam and dhimmitude: Where civilizations collide . Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.
