1.MOORISH CONQUEST
Before the arrival of the Moors to Spain, the
Visigoths were who lived there from 507. By then, Catholicism was the official
religion.
Meanwhile, the Moors was dominating North Africa. When
they got it, they continued invading new territories. The new goal was the
invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
In 711, the Moors fought against the Visigothic King
at the Battle of Guadalate, which they won.
Moorish invasion was very quick, they occupied almost
all of the Peninsula within seven years. Then, they founded Al-Andalus.
2. DEVELOPMENT OF AL-ANDALUS
At first, Al-Andalus was part of the powerful Islamic
Empire, whose capital was Damascus. Córdoba was the capital of the Moorish’s
territory.
Later, Al-Andalus separated from the Islamic Empire
and became an independent emirate.
In the 10th century, Al-Andalus got its
period of maximum splendour when Emir Abd-al-Rahman III proclaimed himself as
the spiritual leader of Muslims in Córdoba (caliph). This made Córdoba a caliphate.
In this period, Córdoba become the most populated city
in Europe (100 000 habitants) and it was a centre for trade and culture in the
Mediterranean.
A century later, in 11th, the Caliphate of
Córdoba fell and Al-Andalus broke up into several independent taifa kingdoms.
Now, you can see the evolution of Al-Andalus there:
This video will help you to understand better the evolution of Moorish's invasion:
3. SOCIETY IN AL-ANDALUS
Cultural diversity is the main characteristic of
Al-Andalus society. People of many different origins lived side by side. We can
identify 3 large groups:
o Muslims: They were the
conquerers and also Visigoths that converted to Islam.
o Mozarabs: Hispano-Visigothic
followers of Christianity.
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