All terms

476 - Fall of Western Rome

Odoacer and the Imperial Crown admits there is the last emperor in the west and many play pretend to rule as servants to empire but it was dead.

Visigoths come in and establish kingdom near and after this time

589 - Visigoths Convert to Nicene Christianity 

Visigoths originally practiced Arian Christianity, but their majority Roman population were Nicene Christians. They converted to match religion of their subjects

654 - Visigothic Code Issued

A legal code that united the once divided Visigoths and Romans. This meant mixing of Roman law, religious influence, and Visigothic tradtions

Isidore of Seville

Who: A Roman Bishop, scholar, and theologian

When: Died in 636

Where: Born in Roman Spain, was educated in Visigothic ruled Seville

Significance: His story is useful picture of blending of Roman and Germanic traditions. Active in third council of Toledo where he and his brother played influence in conversion to Nicene Christianity. As a Roman bishop, he wrote histories of Visigoths in flattering way.

Romanitas

What: A generic term referring only to Roman civilization and identity, which continued long after the fall of Rome in 476

Where: Spain and other parts of the former western empire

Signifiance: While the Roman empire might have politically ended, but it did not end socially. People continued on with life as they always did, and simply switched allegiance to new rulers but did not loose identity immediately. Visigoths for example built citites like Romans would, keeping up with traditions while many other Germanic groups did not

Germanic Peoples

Who: Not Romans, from north and Central Europe.

When: End and fall of Roman empire in 476

Where: Throughout Europe, but focus on Visigoths in Spain

Signifiance: Visigoths were one of several Germanic groups who entered the Roman empire during its end and fall. Some groups were allies to Romans, others enemies- but all wanted to maintain laws and identity. As Roman empire faced threats, used Germanic/Barbarian manpower but this strategy failed and new rulers were Germanic groups

711 - Tariq’s Invasion 

A military leader named Tariq from Tangier led force of 2000 troops across strait of Gibraltar for the Umayyad caliphate. Beginning of Umayyad and Muslim control in Iberian peninsula

718 or 722 - Battle of Covadonga

Romano-visigothic man named Pelayo led small group in battle to victory. Umayyads did not establish control over the north

756 - Abd al Rahman made Emir

Umayyad caliphs overthrown in Damascus, Abd al Rahman ecapes to Iberia where he is made emir. Rules for 22 years and consolidated Muslim control in peninsula

Umayyad Caliphate 

What: First hereditary Muslim Dysnasty of Caliphs

When: Established in 661

Where: Began in Damascus, after overthrow there the last remaining member fled to Spain

Significance: They spread Islam across the Middle East and Mediterranean, destroying and changing societies with it. Within Spain, they were able to launch a nearly complete takeover of the peninsula very quickly (5 years) unlike other groups, and helped establish Islamic influence.

Dhimmi

What: For non-Muslims living in Islamic state, they have lesser or second class status and had to pay a tax, but they still got benefits like being under own laws, toleration of their religion, etc.

Where: Spain under Umayyad caliphate

Signifiance: Despite being accepting of other religions, the government gave greater priveledge to Muslims. After the conquest this is one of the first examples of medieval multicultural societies and how governing bodies deal with that.

Jizya

What: Special tax for non-muslims

Where: Spain under Umayyad caliphate

Signifiance: This tax was recognition of second class status.

ca. 850 - Islamicication and Arabization makes significant progress

Mass conversion was under way by 825 

⅓ of population under Islamic rule being personally muslim by 850, not a tiny minority anymore 

Most muslims by this period were converts of local origin

Adab

What: Code of etiquette and a body of knowledge that anyone who wanted to be a civilized person had to know

Where: Elite social settings in Al-Andalus

Significance: Arab islamic culture that sets the tone, even if you are not arab origin or muslim- if you wanted to be prominent and prestigious you needed to be familiar with it 

Ulama

What: A judiciary. These judges were trained and influenced in and by Islam. These people have judicial and religious leadership responsibilities linked with their role.

When: established by Abd al-Rahman during mid to later 700s

Signifiance: Making sure tenets of Islam were keptt up in daily life. religion and law tightly intertwined. Tensions with emir’s as the ulama wanted them to adopt harsher policies against non-Muslims. Emir’s reluctant to do that because would cause tension, so set up tensions between a bunch of groups. Ulama did not have military power, but everyday Muslims saw them as the foundation between right and wrong.

Mozarab

Who: Christians in who adapted to arab culture. Arabized Christians

Where: Christians in the south, they were found by Christians in the north who were much more European influenced.

Significance: Yes when visigoths took over they was influence of roman culture, but greater influence of arab islamic culture on the peninsula. Arab influence allowed for greater social life

Maliki School

What: Conservative legal school favored by the Ulama. It was stricter and more conservative, expecting adherance to Islam and the Quran

When: 700s during rule of Abd al Rahman

Significance: Attracted Abd al Rahman because it could be used to control chaos. Emirs and other political elites are usually not part of ulama, source of tension bc people with military vs law power competed for power and did not follow strictness of Islam.

850 - Martyrs of Cordoba Begin

Different from perfectus who wrote a private debate, but issac publicly denounced. He was given several chances to take back what he said- but he refused and he died because of it. 41 died for the same reason of public denouncement of islam

Bishop

What: In pre-islamic times in al andalus, bishops were leader of community of city (where most settled) and overall diocese

Where: Mostly in Europe and each bishop had diocese with rough borders

Significance: In early middle ages in al andalus, communication had not developed much yet to rest of europe’s christians. Bishops addressing christians were not addressing the whole church but rather a specific community and kinda did their own thing.

Diocese

What: Church territorial jurisdiction managed by a bishop.

Where: Christian areas

Significance: The functional unit of church is bishop and his diocese. Major influence and power over the lives of people happened within their diocese.

Clergy

What: Ordained leadership in church, including pope, bishop, monks, and priests.

Where: Diocese, late middle ages

Significance: Most christians interacting with secular clergy to get guidance they need. Number of monasteries increased- shows christian demographics because as catholic and bishop power decreased in city, countryside important 

Radhanites 

Who: Jewish lived in Mediterranean and middle east, giving them contacts in both islamic and christian regions. They were Jewish merchants that were part of trade routes and help plug spain into trade route that went to china

Where: ME, Mediterranean

Significance: Religious groups are major dividers, but also specific communities and identities that are important factors- but religion plays a political and legal role so religion is best divided between people and groups 

718 or 22 – Pelayo and Covadonga

Victory led by Pelayo in the north, helping establish christain kingdom. The umayyads had to deal with internal problems like berbers and kingdom of the francs, so pretty likely that Pelayo wasn’t much of a priority for Umayyads

814 – Discovery of Santiago’s Tomb

Aka St. James and his tomb being discovered in spain. Santiago became saint of Christians, and this church became one of most important pilgrimage sites in the world. Helped make asturias connected to europe

924 – Asturias becomes Leon

Alfonso split kingdom up to sons, but by 924 only one survives. One ruled each kingdom, but move to city of leon sticks and this move was significant as kingdom was expanding and becoming expanstionist.

801 – Spanish March Established

• Charlemagne did not give up and fought back and got some new southern territories 

• He appointed a number of local rules to govern region that was buffer between franks and umayyad

• These rulers are not kings but counts in service to charlemagne

• Barcelona established

878 – Wilfred the Hairy Becomes Count of Barcelona

wilfred the hairy founds a dynasty, all counts will be my heirs, region breaks off

988 – Formal Independence of Catalonia

formal independence from french monarch, political entity in own right

929 – Abd al Rahman III becomes Caliph

abd al rahman declares himself as caliph and renews umyayyad power and military, takes place at same time as leon’s expansion and rule

976 – Almanzor Takes Power

The chief minister (hajib) who seized effective control of the Caliphate, using aggressive military raids against Christian kingdoms to consolidate power.

1009 – Fitna of Al-Andalus Begins

• A destructive period of civil war and factional conflict that brought down the Umayyad Caliphate and shattered al-Andalus into small regional kingdoms.

• Fitna is term for conflict against muslims, but here it means civil war

• For 80 years (until 1009) 3 people had title of caliph, in 22 years of fitna there were 12 people were caliphs that by 1022 the term caliph was so useless it went away

Library of Cordoba

What: One of largest book collections in medieval era (400k). Cordoba became a cultural center itself and exported knowledge and culture 

When: Al Hakam II’s life in the 900s

Significance: Rivals in baghdad had great palace and library- so if caliphs in Iberia wanted to be taken seriously they had to have things like library and palace too too. Cultural center in its own right

Al-Hakam II

Who: Member of Umayyad dynasty.

When: early to mid 900s

Significance: Raised in courts, was a scholar himself and not just a patron of scholars. Helped create library of cordoba. Ruled over his prosperous kingdom, maintained peace with christians of north (easy bc his father subdued them)

Hegemony

What: Political, military, or cultural dominance exercised by one power over others without necessarily occupying or directly governing their territory.

Where: Spain under Umayyad and Islamic rule.

Significance: Used religion to assert dominance over all groups, making them second class. At one point it was Muslim, another point it was christian too.

Medina Azahara

What: Palace complex created by abd al rahman to promote culture and this show power as ruler

Where: Outskirts of Cordoba

Significance:

• Political statement, other caliphs who lived in baghdad has castles of their own so to feel legitimate he constructed one

• Building and leadership go together

• Large and luxurious, the expense that went to it showed power

• It became a magnet where rich and influential people gathered- he could put elites in control in this place

Repoblacion

What: The policy and process of repopulating and securing newly acquired frontier lands under Christian rule.

Where: In unpopulated frontier areas

Significance: Land is useless without people on it, so kings had to attract people to come.

Behetria

What: contractual relationship where peasant could attach himself to a lord and could switch allegiance at any time.

Where: Asturias-leon, only place in all of europe to do this

Significance: If  you attach yourself to someone more powerful, you can have someone advocate for you. If peasant wasn't getting advocacy he wanted, he can change to get a new patron. Unique system that benefited lower class people a lot

Feudalism

What: 2 definitions

Political feudalism: higher ranking person called a lord, would give land to lower ranking vassel, the vassel would offer military service to the lord, they would have a formal pact that would  be sealed with an oath, they needed to look out for interests for each other

Economic Feudalism: Largely meant Lords had wide jurisdictional powers over the ppl that worked over their lands- and kings and state did not rule a peasants life but a lord did.

Where: Europe- all over so hard to define where

Significance: Complex term that can refer to social, economic, poltical relations. No one standard system in EU.

Serfdom

What: Typically a feudal system where serfs bound to live and work land owned by lord.

Where: Spain- Leon in frontier regions vs Catalonia

Signifiance: Serfs lived different lives depending on where in Spain. In frontier Spain- Most serfs were free and owned own land. Had no lord over them other than king. Catalonia- one of harshest and extreme cases. Two spanish societies- leon with frontier (centralized), catalonia doesnt have that (decentralized)

Quinta

What: agricultural estate/farmland where the land was leased out for a rent of one-fifth (1/5) of its agricultural produce

Where: Castile, Aragon, etc.

929 – Golden Age Begins

The start of the flourishing era of cultural, scientific, and literary achievements in al-Andalus under the Caliphate.

1009 – Fitna Begins

The onset of political collapse in Muslim Iberia

1066 – Granada Massacre

A anti-Jewish pogrom in Granada where the Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Nagrela and thousands of Jews were murdered

1140 – Judah Halevi Leaves the Iberian Peninsula

The departure of the prominent Andalusi-Jewish poet and philosopher for the Holy Land, marking a symbolic shift in Jewish medieval history.

Hasdai ibn Shaprut

Who: A Jewish physician, scholar, and diplomat who served Abd al-Rahman III and patronized Jewish culture

When: 915

Significance: He used his immense wealth and political influence to support Hebrew literature, linguistics, and religious institutions. He corresponded with the Talmudic academies of Babylonia and helped shift Spain into an independent center of Jewish learning.

Dunash ben Labrat

Who: A medieval Jewish poet and grammarian who adapted Arabic poetic meter to Hebrew poetry.

When: 950s

Significance: This laid the technical foundation for secular and liturgical medieval Hebrew poetry.

Moses ben Hanoch

Who: A prominent rabbi who established Córdoba as an independent center of Talmudic study

When: Died 965

930 – Fernan Gonzalez becomes Count of Castile

• Castile was raised to status of kingdom in own right

• Dynastic and local separation of power made Spain have two major players, leon and castile 

1064 – Barbastro Campaign

• Christian forced captured city of barbastro from aragon 

• But most christian soldiers were not from iberia but were french

• They were assured fighting muslims would be good things and forgiveness of sins 

• But 30 years before what we say is the crusades, there is a holy war beginning in iberian peninsula

• Same message as crusading- go into non-christian lands and military take over and you will be spiritually blessed

1085 – Capture of Toledo by Alfonso VI of Leon

• Some christian rulers seeked more than just money from taifas, territorial expansion was desired

• Most important change in center of peninsula

• Alfonso VI took city of Toledo under his control by negotiation rather than force

• Toledo was of immense cultural importance, most senior bishop located there, city of visigoths

• Boost to claim to capture city if you are ‘emperor’

Community of Town and Land

What: government unit where central urban city has city council. Harder to have gradual settlement, wanted something quicker, so used this method.

Where: New border heartland north of duero and toledo

Significance: City council in Castile was different

• But city council ruled outside city walls in spain - bc of new frontier 

• Kings granted charters

  • Generous in terms of rights people got because they wanted people to stay

  • Wide voting rights for men- eventually property requirements used but still better than life in countryside for rights

  • Important for defending frontier zone

  • Societies organized for war - not just an elite but ppl from all classes could be in military 

Taifa

What: Independent, smaller Muslim petty kingdoms that emerged following the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

When: 1009 first small taifas established

Significance: relationship formed between different religious groups. Christians would provide military support for financial support from taifas. Christians would often help taifas fight other taifas

Parias

What: regular financial tributes paid bytaifasto the northern Christian kingdoms

When: post 1031 to 1086

Signififiance: Having tribute paid to you annually means no more raids and have a steady cash income, they can pay followers rather than give away land - helped give authority when people rely on your money 

Emperor

What: Claim title of emperor of the spains (not just spain, recognition of differences), but wanting to be most powerful of all of spain

When: 1000s

Significance: Kings can control and capture much of territories and thus claim title of emperor, but this title is more personal prestige than official title unlike they umayyads had been single dynasty for al-andalus 

• Local power was strong

Caballeros Villanos

What: urban knights. Not hereditary aristocrats, but because of position in town they could afford a war horse, horse, and everything needed like equipment to be a cavalry soldier

Where: Frontier towns

Significance:

• They could get certain benefits in society like reduced or no taxes if cavalry solider

• Have to give people benefits to maintain status like cavalry

• Important for frontier towns to have military

Crusade Bull

An official papal decree granting crusade status and spiritual privileges to a military campaign.

1100s

Just war 

• just war theory: in order for the violence that happens in war to be non-sinful, that war has to have legitimate reason and have legitimate authority (like king) 

Natural Lordship

• natural lordship: by being born in territory, there is king you should be loyal to by default

  • If born in castille, loyal to that king

• Different than previous times, it is imposed upon you by birth

• Asturias was a network of people rather than defined territory, but by 1100s, kingdoms then were defined spaces 

• People identify with kingdom 

• Creating new kingdoms is done, since people have established identity with kingdom 

• Kingdoms- permanent spaces 

Military order (warrior monks)

• 1100s

• Founded in kingdom of Jerusalem after first successful crusade

• Need to defend the city

• Small in number, but members would combine military and religious missions 

• Instead of monks who traditionally worked, they fight instead

Abd al-Mumin

• Aka: The first caliph of the Almohad Movement who unified North Africa and al-Andalus.

• 1094-1163

• Abd al-Mumin declared himself caliph and led his movement to victory in morocco and al-andalus

• Taifa kings called on almohads for help

• Almohads would not help taifas, would take them over

• Then took over seville, the most important muslim city in spain 

• Took over all the taifas (except valencia)

Zahiri School

• A strict school of Islamic legal thought that emphasized literal interpretations of scripture, championed by the Almohads.

• Strict enforcement of islamic law, especially in treatment of religious minorities

• Almohads were not of malaki school, but in early years the muslim inhabitants knew that either they were under almohads or instead ruled by christians- so meh situation but preferred being under muslim rule