The German government will be funding archaeologists to help restored an Umayyad palace dating back to the early eighth century.
Two hegemonies, one island: Cyprus as a ‘Middle Ground’ between the Byzantines and the Arabs (650-850 A.D.)
May 20, 2015 By
This paper aims to assess the political and cultural status of the island of Cyprus as the only place within the Mediterranean where Christian heirs of Romans and Muslims shared the local tax revenue to create a buffer zone between two empires.
Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundation of the Studium Generale of Seville
November 7, 2014 By
This dissertation, “Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundations of the Studium Generale of Seville,” I reevaluate Spain’s medieval history, specifically focusing on the role of Alfonso X and his court in the development of institutions of higher education in thirteenth-century Andalusia.
Asserting Political Authority in a Sacred Landscape: A Comparison of Umayyad and Israeli Jerusalem
February 17, 2014 By
Maintenance of authority is of course the end goal, but how does political leadership ‘build’ political authority in the first place?
The Possible Reasons for the Arab-Khazar Wars
April 28, 2013 By
From the middle of the 7th century until the second half of the 8th century, the Arab-Khazar wars were fought by the Umayyad, and later by the Abassid Caliphate against the regional power, the Khazar Khaganate.
The Mediterranean Muslim Navy and the Expeditions Dispatched against Constantinople
September 13, 2012 By
The aim of this paper is to present an account of the information we find in various Arabic sources of the early period of Arabic historiography on the preparation of a military naval force and the expeditions launched against Constantinople during the period of the early expansion of the Muslim Arabs
The Difference A King Makes: Religion And National Unity In Spain
June 3, 2012 By
It is the end of the Roman period, however, that interests us most. What happened then is a model for the relationship between Church and state that has had an enduring and powerful influence.
The Andalusi origins of the Berbers
February 20, 2012 By
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 continuity of Roman water supply systems in post-Roman Spain: the case of Valentia, a reliable example?
February 12, 2012 By
This paper will thus be structured in several sections. First it will be necessary to approach the topic of Roman water supply systems as a whole, their direct relationship with urbanism and city-dwellers, and how these monuments were a clear indicator of Romanitas, even in the post-Roman period.
Images of Civil Conflict: One Early Muslim Historian’s Represenation of the Umayyad Civil War Caliphs
January 24, 2012 By
This thesis examines the ninth-century Baghdadi scholar al-Tabari and his narrative representation of the three civil war caliphs of the Umayyad era (661-750 CE).
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