Christian reactions to Muslim conquests (1st-3rd centuries AH; 7th-9th centuries AD)
We in fact find a great diversity of reactions to Muslim expansion from Christian authors, depending on their particular circumstances and point of view
Thieves of Pleasure: A vicious fraternal war rewards Alfonso VI with the artistic and poetic treasures of al-Andalus
As the balance of power began to shift from Muslim to Christian, a power struggle erupted among Christian rulers that would continue for generations, even as the light of Arabic poetry burned bright enough to influences centuries of Western verse.
Islamic Monuments and National Patrimony in Modern Spain
In Spain, the Islamic past usefully differentiates Iberia from the rest of Europe, and its monuments—particularly the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra—are a source of pride. However, the Islamic past is treated as ‘distant.’
Ibn Hazm on homosexuality
The most commonly used term for homosexual contacts between men in Arabic is fil (or amal) qawm Lût (“the act of the people of Lot”), from which is derived the substantive liwàt. The man who indulges in such acts is called lufl.
The Meaning of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in the Tenth Century
The Great Mosque of Cordoba is universally recognized as one of the most singular monuments of medieval architecture. Celebrated for its harmony, balance, dramatic use of light and decoration, and its overall unity and aesthetic sensitivity, the monument belongs to an established functional type, the hypostyle mosque, but amounts to more than a mere variant of this type.
Falcons and Falconry in Al-Andalus
Falconry was valued as a major element of the cultural transfer between the medieval elite of western Christianity and Islam, connecting the pre-Islamic world of the Near East with the Umayyad and Abbasid courts on one hand and Christian Europe on the other.
Iberian Uniqueness in the Arab Invasion of Spain
In the spring of the year AD 711, the Visigothic kingdom of Iberia was invaded and conquered by an army from the nearby Muslim Empire.
Translators, Interpreters and Cultural Mediators in Late Medieval Eastern Iberia and Western Islamic Diplomatic Relationships
Although linguistic competence and language knowledge were essential, rulers often looked for the cultural aptitudes of their official translators to guarantee the success fo the diplomatic missions.
The Finest Castle in the World
Robert I. Burns, S.J., and Paul E. Chevedden describe how a much-besieged citadel became the focus for Christian-Muslim co-existence in medieval Spain.
Moors and Saracens in Europe: estimating the medieval North African male legacy in southern Europe
Our results confirm a general correlation between historical and genetic data: Iberia and Sicily are the regions with the highest MNA male legacy.
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise
The existence of a Muslim kingdom in Medieval Spain where different races and religions lived harmoniously in multicultural tolerance is one of today’s most widespread myths.
Dialogues between religions in Andalusia
The distinctive way of life that developed in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods lasted for eight centuries in the Muslim West, in the fertile lands of North Africa and Andalusia, until 1492.
Divine Constructions: A Comparison of the Great Mosque of Cordoba and Notre-Dame-du-Chartres
However different the two buildings may be the impulse to create them was the same. The glittering stained glass windows of Chartres share something with the elegant Kufic inscriptions in Cordoba.
Ibn Tufayl’s Treatise on Asthma, Lost and Found
‘Asthma occurs when it is hot, and on examination the lungs are distended, a pathognomonic sign.’ – Ibn Tufayl
Women and Property Rights in Al-Andalus and the Maghrib: Social Patterns and Legal Discourse
The study of Muslim women’s property rights is idiosyncratic, for two reasons.
Historia Baetica: Dramatic Play or Historical Document?
When the news of the capitulation of Granada reached Rome on the second of February 1492, it was marked by religious as well as public celebrations.
Jewish trading in Fes on the eve of the Almohad conquest
The status of Jewish communities under Almohad rule has been the subject of scholarly interest for different reasons notably in the framework of the disruption of convivencia in al-Andalus among the people of the three abrahamic faiths.
The Survival of Nasrid Granada during the Reconquest
Ruled by the Nasrid dynasty, the Nasrid kingdom of Granada managed to survive and go on to thrive for two and a half more centuries.
Residential Mobility and Dental Decoration in Early Medieval Spain: Results from the Eighth Century Site of Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona
While the practice of dental decoration was virtually absent in Medieval Spain, it is common in Africa and suggests that this individual was born in Africa and brought to Spain later in life.
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Culture and Practice of Crusading in Medieval Iberia
This battle was both a major Christian victory over the Almohad Empire of Morocco and its Andalusian allies, and the most successful crusade of the papacy of Innocent III. As such, it serves as an ideal case study for the practice and culture of crusading in the early thirteenth century.
The Andalusi origins of the Berbers
How could the Berbers originate in al-Andalus when everyone knows they are the original inhabitants of North Africa? One of the goals of this article is to show that asking the question in this way is part of the problem and that it stands in the way of securing the soundness of historical interpretations of the past.
The Search for Knowledge: Andalusi Scholars and Their Travels to the Islamic East
In this paper I have analyzed biographical information concerning Andalusi scholars who traveled to the East as a part of their academic training, focusing on the ages at which they undertook their journeys, which closely relates to their ages at the beginning of their studies.
Culture in the Time of Tolerance: Al-Andalus as a Model for Our Time
It existed in any number of different political configurations over nearly eight hundred years, and it was and has been called many names, all of them imprecise for different reasons: al-Andalus in Arabic, ha-Sefarad in Hebrew; the names of a half-dozen different cities when they were at its center; Castile at other moments.
The Vikings in Spain from Arabic (Moorish) and Spanish sources
Elsewhere Viking victories have been attributed to deficient organization on the part of those attacked. Here the best organized military force then existed, anywhere, was defeated by them.
Sunset in the Gardens of al-Andalus
Sunset in the Gardens of al-Andalus Abdu-Noor, M. Ikraam Nebula, 2.1, March (2005) Abstract The era of Muslim rule in Spain (early 8th century…