The Moors

at the beginning of the eighth century Liberia Spain and Portugal had been ruled for 200 years by the Visigoths who had invaded from eastern Germany they were a barbarian people ruled by Roderick the Gothic king of Spain whose court was in Toledo by 708 ad the Arab armies had invaded and advanced across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean all of Morocco was subdued except SATA which was opposite Spain separated by the Straits a distance of only nine miles an African chief a convert to Islam during the Arab invasion Rocco was a great general named tarik he was in the rank of general in the Arab armies and the governorship of Mauritania but Moussa eben knew Sarah the Arab governor of North Africa Tariq had befriended count Julian governor of SATA and discovered that he wanted revenge against his master Roderick for dishonouring his daughter thus urged to invade Spain Tariq then informed Musa of his intention to cross the Straits to explore the possibilities for an invasion in 710 a small army under general Tariq composed of 400 men and 100 horses invaded Spain plundered the town of Algeciras as well as neighboring towns and returned to Africa their boats laden with spoils with this event one of the most important productive and progressive epochs of world history began and would continue for nearly 800 years through this Empire of the Moors the foundations for many institutions of modern Europe were laid further the way for the explorations of the Spaniards and Portuguese that led to the finds in the new world and Africa was prepared during the time of the Moors in al-andalus as their empire in Europe came to be known historian Stanley Lane Poole states in the story of the Moors in Spain on April 30th 711 ad encouraged by the success of tariffs invasion Deak led an army of 7,000 men of which 6700 were native Africans Moors and 300 were Arabs after crossing the Straits and landing on the Spanish coast tarik sees a steep cliff and ordered a fortress to be built upon the advantageous spot his troops name the site gebel tarik the hill of tarik later to be known as Gibraltar tarik went on to capture Algeciras and Cartaya as he progressed through the countryside many Spanish natives eagerly joined him to fight the ruling Visigoths on the 18th of July tarik with about fourteen thousand troops defeated roderick and his 60,000 troops who were these Moors who could so successfully invade and conquer what was a strong and well-established kingdom in southern Europe that of the Visigoths who had in their time taken Iberia from the Roman Empire as we have seen the forces led by Teddy were black africans moroccan Berbers and a small number of arabs those Africans had over time and through the conquests of Islam come as far as the regions of present-day Kenya and Ethiopia in East Africa and Mali and Senegal in Southwest Africa the Moorish Empire was clearly an African one as historian dr. Chancellor Williams describes them the original Moors like the original Egyptians were black Africans as amalgamated became more and more widespread only the Berbers Arabs and coloreds in the Moroccan territories were called Moors while the darkest and black skinned Africans were called blacken wars eventually black was dropped from blackamoor and as a European scholar of that time described them the reins of their horses were as fire their faces black as pitch their eyes shone like burning candles their horses were Swift as leopards and the riders fiercer than a wolf in the sheepfold at night we are all familiar with Shakespeare's Otello the moor these same Africans and Arabs were followers of Muhammad Muslims as we will learn their early allegiance was to Damascus in Syria later because they developed and wielded their own great power and influence in the Islamic world that center of loyalty and allegiance would shift to within their own al-andalus after Tariq's first victories he went on to win more battles and conquer more land in cities Toledo Elvira and Cordoba were among those that fell to Tariq's armies Toledo was actually handed over to the invading tarik by the Jews of the city who also supplied him with arms and horses according to historian Stanley Lane Poole kotodama was left in the keeping of the Jews because they had been staunch allies of the Muslims during the campaign the more is granted the Jews great considerations and never persecuted them as the Gothic priests had done within three years the conquest of Iberia was complete and these Moorish warriors retired into Spain and proceeded to build a new Kingdom and what a kingdom it would be Europe and what we call the Western world would change forever the distinguished historian basil Davidson declares that there were no lands at that time the eighth century more admired by its neighbors or more comfortable to live in than the rich African kingdom which took shape in Spain when tarik and his armies arrived in Iberia Europe was in the midst of its Dark Ages the Visigoths who ruled Iberia at the time according to Wayne Chandler were a vigorous rather barbaric people who as Christians believed in religious compensation for their vices the key word here is barbaric writers of the time offer such descriptions as they are nearer animals than men they are by nature unthinking and their manners crude their bellies protrude their color is white and their hair is long in sharpness and delicacy of spirit and an chill understanding they are nil ignorance lack of reasoning power and boorishness are common among them elsewhere in Europe life was similar in his history of the Crusades the Moorish writer Michaud describes the prussians of the 13th century as just a few stages above savagery in an essay Edward Scobie writes the palaces of the venn rulers of Germany France and England were when compared with those of the Moorish rulers of Spain and Portugal scarcely better than the stables of the Moors with the arrival of the Moors a time of advanced civilization and enlightenment began in Europe they brought with them from Africa their vast knowledge in many fields they had access to and drew upon the knowledge of the previous African scholars Egyptians Ethiopians and the Greeks the kingdom of al-andalus would establish institutions that would last until the present day and serve to enrich and enlighten Europe legends and mythologies were created through which the people of the Islamic world and of Christian Europe would until now secure their identities beliefs and values legends such as the Song of Roland from France King Arthur and the Crusades Lancelot in the Black Knight st. Maurice a patron saint in the traditions of the Germanic peoples an Tartans area of the great Moorish singer musician and stylist came from the time of this great Empire science philosophy navigation mathematics and more were taught and developed the cultures of Spain Portugal Sicily France Britain and the Slovak countries were all positively influenced by this contact we too in our time must give credit for our lives and culture to these Moors the cities of Cordova Toledo Granada Sevilla Coimbra and Lisbon were their greatest achievements since they embodied all of the other contributions and have been the longest lasting according to Stanley Lane pool we learned cordova in the 10th century was very much like a modern city its streets were well paved and they were raised sidewalks for pedestrians at night one could walk for ten miles by the light of lamps flanked by an uninterrupted extent of buildings this was hundreds of years before there was a paved street in Paris France or a street land for in London England the population of Cordova was over a million there were 200,000 homes 800 public schools and many colleges and universities Cordova possessed 10,000 palaces of the wealthy besides many royal palaces surrounded by beautiful gardens there are even 5000 mills in Cordova at a time when there was not even one in the rest of Europe there are also 900 public baths besides a large number of private ones at a time when the rest of Europe considered bathing as extremely sinful and to be avoided as much as possible Cordova was also graced by a system of over 4,000 public markets the Great Mosque of Cordoba another grand structure had a scarlet and gold roof with 1,000 columns of porphyry and marble it was lit by more than two hundred silver chandeliers containing more than 1,000 silver lamps burning perfumed oil imagine a city in the 10th century with street lamps the inhabitants of Moorish cities like Granada Cordova and Toledo in the 12th and 13th centuries enjoyed a style of life that would not be achieved in Paris or London until centuries later the great mosque still known by its Islamic name the mesquita is one of the great Islamic sites in Cordoba it is no longer used as a mosque according to tradition the original mosque was built on a site which was shared with the Christian Church Stanley Lane Poole tells us that among the great architectural beauties of Cordova the principle Mosque held and still holds the first place it was begun in 784 by the first Abdul Rahman who spent eight thousand pieces of gold upon it which he got from the spoils of the Goths Hisham his pious son completed it in 793 with the proceeds from the sacking of NAR bone each succeeding Sultan added some new beauty to the building also located in Cordova is the Alcazar a great Palace begun in 1328 by the Christian king alfonso xi this palace has significance because it was built during the time when the Moors still reigned in Spain its architectural style and gardens have been mostly influenced by the styles of the Moors it is clear in this instance how much Moorish influence permeated the life of al-andalus even after the defeat of local Moorish monarchs it was at the alcazar that the last of the moorish kings bo abdel el chico of granada lived as a captive of the Catholic Monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and it was here that these same monarchs received Columbus before he started on his first voyage in Granada we can still find some of the most striking beautiful and important of the palaces and fortifications left from this Empire particularly the Alhambra and the henna delaffei as we look at the Alhambra we see a complex of palaces which includes the fortress of the alcazaba the earliest references to fortifications on this site is 888 - 912 during the reign of Abdullah the emir of al-andalus this references to a castle that protected its troops after being abandoned it was rebuilt and enlarged we learn in the essay by Dario Rodriguez by the Jew Samuel even naghralla for the purpose of protecting the Jewish quarter in 1238 the construction of the complex as it has become was started by Mohammed the first enlargement strengthening of the fortifications and refinements continued generation to generation until the reign of Mohammed v during the late 14th century when Ferdinand and Isabella took over the Alhambra in 1492 they declared it a royal residence as testimony to their conquest of the Moors this initiated the maintenance and preservation of the Moorish palace the only one that remains nearly intact and well-preserved until today using advanced drainage and irrigation systems reservoirs and aqueducts the Moors kept the surrounding countryside fertile and productive and established efficient marketing transportation and trading networks according to Jan kuru the Moors also brought the countryside into their cities with fantastic gardens parks lush inner courtyards and a constant supply of pure water the gardens in Moorish cities both public and private ones were known as paradises a fitting term with which to describe those exquisite botanical marvels the waterwheel was another significant contribution of them whereas to the life of al-andalus the remains of one of their wheels can be seen today at the Guadalquivir River in Cordova this enhancement with its extensive irrigation systems not only allowed for the cultivation of existing crops but as well the introduction of new crops such as cotton rice sugar cane dates ginger lemons and strawberries it also made possible the driving of machines and the development of gardens and landscapes of unsurpassed beauty water was put to use to benefit the people at large through the images we see in the henna delaffei with its fountains and cascades we can confirm the level of sophisticated technological development that the moor is introduced and refined in al-andalus a most obvious and important one being the introduction of baths and the habit of bathing during the arrival of the moors the people of Europe were discouraged from bathing by both religious and so-called medical powers it was preached and believed that by exposing one's humors pseudo medical spiritual elements of the body one became vulnerable to bad spirits that brought sickness and disease water played a very important part in the religious ritual of the Moors pure clean water was used not only to clean the body but to enhance beautify and enrich the earth and the environment as well as to provide a music to enrich the soul in summarizing this first part we have learned that the Moors arrived in Spain in 711 ad as conquerors they settle there and proceeded to build the new kingdom of al-andalus a civilization of great learning and architectural achievement join us as we look in greater detail in part two at the remarkable ways in which the Moors bridged the cultural gap between the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Greece and those of the modern era [Music] the legacy of the Moors is vast and deeply rooted in truth the Moors laid the foundations for the civilization of southern Europe and greatly influenced other cultures of Western Europe in science mathematics music literature etc the Moors brought the cutting edge of revelations as well as the ancient knowledge Brent Egypt and Greece the universities and schools that were created and developed in al-andalus became known throughout the world for their refinement the few universities in existence at the time in the rest of Europe quickly adopted the standards of them were Ashley ders and said about copying and collecting were Schmucks with which to stock their libraries in his book Moorish Spain Richard Fletcher writes of this legacy the most fortunate beneficiaries of this coexistence were neither Christian nor Muslim Spaniards but the uncouth barbarians beyond the Pyrenees the creative role of Islamic Spain in the shaping of European intellectual culture is still not widely enough appreciated apart from anything else it is a most remarkable story the scientific and philosophical learning of Greek and Persian antiquity was inherited by the Arabs in the Middle East translated codified elaborated by Arabic scholars the corpus was diffused through the culturally unified world of classical Islam in the 9th and 10th centuries until it reached the limits of the known world in the West and there in Spain it was discovered by the scholars of the Christian West translated into Latin mainly between 1150 and 1250 and channeled off to irrigate the dry passages of European intellectual life the rediscovery of Aristotle's works by this route decisively changed the European mind navigational devices such as the astrolabe made possible the voyages of discovery to east and west Newton's work would have been inconceivable without the knowledge of mathematics transmitted through Spain the advances in medical science of the 17th century were grounded upon Arabic observation and practice Europe's lead in resourcefulness and creativity the vital Factory in the history of the world for the six centuries preceding our own were founded in large part on intelligent grasping at opportunities offered by the civilization of Islam and that came through Spain Islamic Spain was not just an exotic bit of Orient a Lea quaintly moored in the Iberian Peninsula which has left behind some pretty flotsam for tourists to take photographs of it played a significant part in the formation of the old-world civilization historian John G Jackson in his essay the Empire of the Moors states education was Universal in were ish Spain being given to the most humble while in Christian Europe 99% of the people were illiterate and even kings could neither read nor write you had more women who were doctors and lawyers and professors Jewish scholars studied under the Moors and then went to England and set up a scientific school at what later came to be Oxford University the Morris tarnished the knowledge and the Jews collected it the Jews were intermediaries the Moors and the Christians were fighting each other and the Jews formed a bridge between them mr. John Carew states the Arabs brought the work of dynastic Egyptian in classical Greece back to Europe by translating into Arabic the Greek translations of the Egyptian texts as well as the works of the Greek thinkers themselves unlike Christian theologians who for bad scholars from considering ideas outside of the prescribed ecclesiastical canons of the day Galileo run afoul of these restrictions Islam accommodated new ideas with grace and the civilized tolerance Steele named for the city Damascus was used in the making of swords sword blades manufactured in Toledo excelled all others produced in Europe in quality and appearance these same swords were most effective in the moorish conquests in al-andalus there was great regard for human rights racial and religious tolerance existed to the complete benefit of the Empire scholar John Carew writes during their long tenure as ruler the Moors had set a pattern of peaceful symbiosis in their tolerant treatment of Christians and Jews for centuries Muslims Christians and Jews had lived side by side and in many instances had so intermarried that numerous families were part Muslim part Christian and part Jew the teachings of the Prophet too had stressed repeatedly that peoples of all races and colors were equal in the sight of Allah and these teachings were not only preached but often practiced women were not discriminated against and enjoyed an active and important place in the society flourish or points out it is interesting to note that in the days of Muhammad in Spain Moorish women were not confined as in the East to harms but appeared freely in public and took their share in all the intellectual literary and even scientific movements of the day there were women poets historians and philosophers as well as women surgeons and doctors it was this attitude of tolerance for which the Moors became most renowned this allowed for the spread of knowledge and the growth of African European and Jewish scholars such as Maimonides and Prince Henry the Navigator these scholars made significant contributions and are remembered today and finally quoting Edward Scobie racial mixing in Portugal as in Spain and elsewhere in Europe which came under the influence of the Moors took place on a large scale that is why historians claim that Portugal is in reality a negroid land and that when Napoleon explained that Africa begins at the pier he meant every word that he uttered beginning with tarik the stories of them were as abound with heroes and their legends these were people of all sorts warriors philosophers mathematicians artists chivalry and the legends of the knights in shining armor come down to us from that time one of the best-known of these heroes is antar according to the scholar Ivan Vance Adama he had an Arab father and an Ethiopian mother and became in time the national hero of the Arabs he's rather like King Arthur in the English tradition but in fact more important because he was a more historical figure after his death and tars deeds were recorded in a literary form entitled the romance of antara and according to Al Stafford in the Journal of African history antara in its present form probably preceded the romances of chivalry so common in the 12th century in Italy and France another of these Moorish heroes who is remembered in the Muslim world until today is Syria born in Mesopotamia in 789 Syria the Blackbird was a singer who became one of the most influential persons in all of the Moorish Empire of his time Syria is credited not only for the finesse of his voice but as well with teaching the people of Cordoba style and manners throughout the reign of the Moors there was ongoing tension and warfare either from attacks by Christian kings or internal conflict after the death of Abdul Rahman the third who is the first real unifier of al-andalus the country fell into cycles of anarchy and power struggles between various local Muslim kings Chiefs and tyrants finally the king of Seville appealed to Almoravids for help as reported by Lane Poole a new Berber revolution had taken place in North Africa and a sect of fanatics called the marabouts or Saints Almoravids as the Spaniard named them had conquered the whole country from Algiers to Senegal they are much the same sort of people as tarik and his followers and they were ready enough to cross the water and conquer the Fertile province of Spain but these new conquerors very quickly gave in to their newfound comforts and in 20 years were succeeded by the Alma Hadees the ultimate impact of Islam however must be measured also in terms of the political developments that its presence in the peninsula brought in its wake foremost among these is the centuries long Christian drive toward the South in the political religious effort to eliminate the foothold of Islam from the peninsula what is called in short the Reconquista the crusades played a great part in the dissolution and eventual defeat of this empire in the book pilgrims guide to Santiago de Compostela published by italica press we have the story of one of the more outstanding instances of the Reconquista or Crusades only the northernmost regions of the peninsula beyond the fruitful Central High Plains remained unconquered by Islam the harsh and cold climate forbidding mountainous nature and hostile environment all contributed to their exclusion from the domains of al-andalus it is little wonder that in these northern provinces opposition from Islam struck its first roots in 997 al Monsour raided Santiago de Compostela burn the city destroyed the South Isle of the church and carried off its bells to qaradawi Al Mansoori intervention was terrible but short-lived Bishop Pedro miss Oso initiated the reconstruction immediately from Richard Fletcher with the conquest of Cordova in 1236 the bells which al-mansour had looted from the shrine of Saint James in 997 were sent back to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Portugal the Moors had been defeated from Edward scobie's the Moors and Portugal's global expansion the Moors ruled and occupied Lisbon and the rest of the country until well into the 12th century they were finally defeated and driven out by the forces of King Alfonso and Enrique's who was aided by English and Flemish Crusaders the scene of this battle was the castelo de sao jorge a or in english the castle of st. george today it still stands overlooking the city of lush buna as the Moors named Lisbon finally in 1492 with the fall of Granada came the end of the Moorish Empire in al-andalus the keys to the Alhambra in Granada were given over by the caliph Abu Abdallah also known as Bob dill to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella this brought an end to one of the greatest experiences of human history because of the advances and explorations of the Moors the time of the Renaissance in Europe was made possible the explorations with the Spanish and Portuguese navigators were due to the advances of the Moors the Reconquista or Crusades came to a dramatic end along with the keys to the Citadel came priceless tomes and manuscripts which would be scattered and burned Barb Deal had surrendered this last Moorish outpost without a fight and his dark-skinned mother Aisha had reproached him bitterly saying weep like a woman for what you would not defend like a man after the defeat at Granada Ferdinand and Isabella had given them Wars the rights to continue their lives and systems in Spain they were answerable only to Moorish courts maintain their customs and religion and converts to Islam were not to be reconverted as Christians but after only 10 years the Spanish monarchs were to go back on their word we get from John Carew Queen Isabella of Castile whose religious zealotry and greed for confiscated Mirage and Jewish property outstripped that of her husband abrogated this agreement it was Isabella who appointed the infamous Spanish Dominican tomás de Torquemada as Inquisitor general she also signed the edict ordering the expulsion of the Jews on March 31st 1492 from the moment the ink had dried on that order the fate of the Moors was also sealed it would only be a matter of time before their turn came to be forcibly expelled this precedent established a tradition of treachery and racism that was adopted by all of the European colonizers who came in the wake of the Spanish and it would endure through the Colombian era from Stanley Lane pool in 1492 the last bulwark of the Moors gave way before the crusade of Ferdinand and Isabella and with Granada fell all Spain's greatness for a brief while indeed the reflection of the Moorish splendor cast a borrowed light on the history of the land which had had once warmed with it's sunny radiance then follow the abomination of desolation the rule of the Inquisition and the blackness of darkness in which Spain had been plunged ever since and Biggers friars and bandits took the place of scholars merchants and Knights solo fell Spain when she had driven away the Moors the decline of them whereas in Spain signaled the closing of the ancient world and enabled the approach of the modern era the great explorations of the Portuguese and Spanish and later the English French and Dutch were enhanced by the knowledge of the Moors the astrolabe an invention of the Moors gave these sailors and navigators confidence to undertake such risky journeys the pilot on Columbus first voyage was indeed a moor the experience and legacy of them wars allowed for the rest of Europe a departure from their Dark Ages it would Scobie declares without the knowledge intellect learning and artistic brilliance of the African Moors this Renaissance Portugal would have never and I repeat never come about Moorish influences alive today in Spain and Portugal in those country one need only listen to the music of the fado and flamenco to hear this influence to walk in their streets and through the remains of the Moorish castles which are treasured as their heritage the people to reflect them were still the stubborn fact remains that the height of its power the Moorish Empire in Africa stretched from the western half of Algeria through Morocco and as far south as Ghana while in Europe this Empire extended itself from the Atlantic coast of Portugal through Spain and across the Pyrenees to the Rhone Valley in France and now five centuries after the fall of Granada the rainbow array of colors and racial types that one sees in the face of the contemporary population of this region from blonde and blue-eyed through various shades of brown to black is not all that different from what it was in the Moorish empire of the 10th century despite new genetic infusions by migrants and successive waves of settlers during a recent trip I made to Portugal in Spain I was told in the Algarve region of southern Portugal that the people of that region were Africans while the people of the north were Europeans with the fall of this great Empire and the iniquities of the Spanish Inquisition came the end of the dominance of Africa after the fall of Granada and the subsequent expulsion of them worse and the Jews the intolerance and injustice of racism held sway we finish with comments by John Carew Western scholarship has characteristically dragged its feet on the issue of the historical significance of the Moors very little has been offered within the classroom the Moors largely obscure fate is not due to his insignificance in the history and development of Western civilization but rather to the judgment passed upon him out of jealousy of his great influence while most high school and college students are familiar with the classical Renaissance of Europe complete with greco-roman literature and the order of Michelangelo few of them have ever heard of the scientific Renaissance in Europe which took place during the medieval era in the 12th and 13th centuries behind Europe's scientific enlightenment we find many African Muslims in fact we find that the very foundation and structure of Western scientific and academia is built upon the erudition of these people known as Moore's using the fruits of ancient knowledge which these primarily Muslim people had preserved from the cultures of Kemet Egypt and Greece the Moors and Arabs further developed the ancient wisdom as well as created new areas of science and philosophy it is the intention and purpose of this effort to participate in the attempts to correct this omission and to provide an introduction for these same students to the remarkable time and peoples of the Moors [Music]

Channel: Ray Grist

Views: 921,490

Keywords: Moors, Portugal, Spain, Al Andalus, Cordoba, Toledo, Granada, Alhambra, Generelife, Ferdinand and Isabela, Visigoths, Roderick, Tariq, Tarifa, Gibraltar, Sephardia

Id: 7tUhyckWBMA

Length: 36min 44sec (2204 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 19 2019