Muslims and Christians in Iberia

Where was the centre of Islamic civilisation?

al-Andalus, called Iberia

Give the dates of the (al-Andalus) Umayyad Caliphate

929-1030 AD

Between which dates did Islam expand, and which region was conquered by the Umayyads?

640s-700, with North Africa conquered

What was the Umayyad Caliphate in al-Andalus also called?

the Cordoba Caliphate

This Umayyad caliphate was different from what?

The Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus, 661-750

In what year did the Umayyad’s attempt to enter France? What battle was this, and what consequences did it have?

732, the Battle of Tours/Poitier, and this stopped the Islamic conquest in Europe

Charles Martel, the grandfather of who, repelled the Arab invasion of Gaul?

Charlemagne

Which dynasty was overthrown, prompting an Umayyad Prince to flee? Which prince?

The Abbasid dynasty, and Abd al-Rahman I flees to al-Andalus

In which year does Abd al-Rahman I become an independent Caliph?

755

Who founded the Umayyad Caliphate?

Abd al-Rahman III

In what year does Abd al-Rahman III proclaim himself Caliph, nearly 200 years after the rival system was established?

929

When does mass conversion to Islam begin?

10th century

Iberian cities were divided into what? Who?

Ethnic quarters, of Arabs, Berbers, Christians, and Jews

These divided quarters had what?

Their own courts for internal disputes

What language continued to be spoken, and what became increasingly integrated?

Hispano-Romantic, augmented with Arabic and Amazigh loanwords

This was the only part of Europe where which culture thrived?

Jewish culture

What year was the Latin Chronicle published? What was it also known as?

754, also known as the Mozarabic Chronicle

Written in Latin, what genre was the Latin Chronicle intended to be? Influenced by who?

A universal history, which shows strong Arab influence

The author of the Latin Chronicle was likely what? Tied to what?

Likely an ecclesiastic, with close ties to the Cordoban court

The Latin Chronicle expressed what? Portrayed who?

Expressed horror at the conquest, but portrayed the Arab rulers of Spain as legitimate and effective - not as Pagans

The Latin Chronicle mentions which monarch? Hint: Eastern Roman

Justinian II

Who wrote an account of Tariqibin Ziyad’s invasion of al-Andalus, one of the most important Arabic sources for early Islamic Spain ?

Ibn al-Qutiyya

When did Qutiyya die?

977

What was Qutiyya attached to?

The Cordoban court

Who did Qutiyya claim to be descended from?

The Visigothic Witiza, who ruled Iberia before the Arabs

Quttiya’s account drew on what?

Oral sources

In what year did Musa and Tariq conquer Spain on behalf of the Umayyads of Damascus?

In 711

The ‘Description of Christian Youth’ was written by who?

Paul Alvarus

When did Alvarus die?

861

Alvarus wrote a Latin account of who?

Fifty Christian ‘martyrs of Cordoba’ executed between 850-859

The execution of Christian martyrs was…

Atypical for the history of al-Andalus

By the mid 9th century, Christian communities were under increasing strain from what two things?

Islamic conversion, and adoption of Arabic language and culture

In what text does Alvarus criticise trends?

Indiculus Luminosus

Ibn Hayyan wrote what text?

The Muqtabis

Ibn Hayyan also wrote about events of his day in what text?

The Matin

Ibn Hayyan’s dates

978-1076

What role did Ibn Hayyan hold?

Like his father, was a secretary at the Cordoban court

Who was Ibn Hayyan loyal to?

The Umayyads, despite serving under Taifa rule

The Muqtabis was a collection of what, structured how?

Collection of earlier accounts, structured chronologically

The discussed extract from the Muqtabis comes from what?

A letter supposedly written by Abd al-Rahman III in 928 describing the conquest of Bobastro, held by the rebel Hafs ibn ‘Umar ibn Hafsu

Bobastro was the centre of what, under who? Claims around this individual?

Centre of resistance to the Umayyads, under Haf’s father, Umar ibn Hafsun, whom sources claim was of African or Visigothic descent

The Hafsan family were of….

Christian origin, despite Arab names

Name the final major source for Abd al-Rahman’s reign

Cronica anonima de Abd al-Rahman III

What type of text is the Cronica?

Anonymous Arabic chronicle

What theory surrounded the author of the Cronica?

That it was Ibn Ahmar of the Umayyad family

In 929, a year after Bobastro’s capture, what did Abd al-Rahman III do?

Declared an Andalusi caliphate

What was the singular Muslim caliph called?

Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful)

The title of Commander of the Faithful was held by how many people by the third decade of the tenth century?

Three - Abbasid, Fatimids, and Umayyad

When did the Prophet Muhammed die?

632

Umayyad Spain, believed to have been the ‘Golden Age’ of multiculturalism, lasted..

From 750-1031 AD