WHI.11

media type="custom" key="29532667" align="right" =Describe the decline of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula and the subsequent rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms after the Reconquest in 1492=
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 * Topics on the Page **
 * Muslim Rule and the Golden Age of Spain **
 * ** The Great Mosque of Cordoba **
 * Reconquista **
 * Ferdinand and Isabella **
 * ** Edict of Expulsion of the Jews **
 * The Spanish Inquisition **
 * Cultural Developments **



//**Focus Question: What caused the decline of Muslim power on the Iberian peninsula?**//
By 1000 AD, the Iberian peninsula had been mostly under Islamic control for almost 300 years under the rule of the emirs of Cordoba.
 * They had extended Muslim control across two-thirds of Iberia, including nearly all of the major population centers.


 * The only areas remaining in Christian hands were the mountainous regions in the north, controlled by the Kingdoms of Leon and Pamplona.


 * [[image:timeline2_rus.svg.png width="160" height="12"]]For a complete timeline of Muslim power in the Iberian peninsula follow the link.


 * [|Battle of Tours (732)] was a decisive battle in which forces under the leadership of Charles Martell defeated an advancing Muslim army in the southern part of France, slowing Islamic expansion into Europe.**

Go here for more information about the [|Battle of Tours and Charles Martell].

For the Islamic conquest of Iberia in European cultural memory, see The Song of Roland and The Poem of the Cid.

//Moorish Spain// by Richard Fletcher dives into all aspects of the Muslim rule of Iberia and is helpful for further reading. Fletcher, Richard A. //Moorish Spain//. Berkeley, Calif.: Univ. of California Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-520-24840

[|Click here] for a full length documentary on Moorish Spain.

When the last of the ruling family of Cordoba died off in 1009, the result was a civil war which divided Muslim Iberia up into various regional factions, or //taifas//, none of which were strong enough on their own to resist the Christians in the north.
 * Although several North African ruling dynasties, namely the Almohads and Almoravids, attempted to take over Iberia for themselves and helped to hold off the Christians, this period began a process of decline for the Muslims in Spain which would eventually result in the restoration of Christian rule across the entire peninsula.



It is crucial to understand that this was a time of brief religious and ethnic tolerance.
 * While it was not always completely harmonious, early Islamic Spain (711-1000CE) marked a time where Muslims, Christians, and Jews all lived and flourished together.
 * This period of time is often referred to as the //Convivencia//.
 * Some historians believe that this 'Golden Age' is false. It is clear, however, that even the Christians and Jews of Islamic Spain did in fact have some levels of rights and citizenship. Because of this, these religions could be practiced and followed upon.

Islamic Spain represents one of the most productive intercultural relationships in Western history down to the present day.
 * The lemon tree, the water wheel, the astrolabe and Aristotle's lost philosophy all arrived in Europe through Islamic Spain.
 * Churches and temples that strongly resemble Muslim mosques, the pinnacle of Hebrew literature's Golden Age.
 * The roots of modern medicine and mathematics, and the transmission of Greek philosophy into Western Europe are just a few of the collaborative achievements that form the legacy of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures interacting on the Iberian Peninsula over seven centuries.



This period is also characterized by the lasting influence of Muslim architecture in the region.
 * The [|"Great Mosque of Cordoba"] began construction around 784 CE and was meant to rival other great mosques like those in Damascus, Jerusalem, etc.
 * The Great Mosque of Cordoba from Kahn Academy
 * Gardens played an important role in Muslim culture and architecture, see [|here] for more information.
 * Click [|here] for a lesson plan with more information on Moorish architecture, and [|here] for a video on the same subject.

**Click here for a lesson plan on Spanish society during the Golden Age of Spain.**

This 'Golden Age' was short lived as many rulers were not tolerant of other religions as the Empire grew older. Christians faced various restrictions that outraged their community. Christian out-lashings, rebellion, and eventual re-conquest summarized what life on the Iberian Peninsula was like beginning in the mid 11th century.

Muslim rule ended in 1492 when Granada was conquered by Christian forces. (See map at bottom of page)

 Muslim Spain's multiple rules: - Various 'power vacuums' were filled upon individual empires failures/collapses due to weak rulers and violent uprisings
 * The Dependent Emirate (711-756)
 * The Independent Emirate (756-929)
 * The Caliphate (929-1031)
 * The Almoravid Era (1031-1130)
 * Decline (1130-1492)

[|Click Here] for a video describing the decline of Muslim Spain.



**//Focus Question: What were the major Christian nations involved in the Reconquista, and how did they develop?//**

 * -The Rise of the Roman Catholic Spanish Monarchy**
 * -The Armies of Ferdinand and Isabella**

The most significant of the Christian states facing the Muslim taifas was the Kingdom of Pamplona, later known as the Kingdom of Navarre.
 * This primarily Basque kingdom's preeminence, however, did not last as ruling dynasties emerged on both ends of the Iberian peninsula that would eclipse the power of the Basques. In the west, the Kingdom of Castile, originally a rebellious region within the Kingdom of Leon, had merged with Leon and begun the first significant push southwards, to conquer territory from the Muslim states.
 * Meanwhile, on the Mediterranean side of the peninsula two other regions, Aragon and Barcelona, came together as the Kingdom of Aragon. Later on, the Kingdom of Portugal would also emerge, along the southern two-thirds of the Atlantic coast of Iberia.
 * These three states, Castile, Aragon, and Portugal, would remain the dominant powers in Iberia throughout the period of the Reconquista, at the end of which Aragon and Castile would unite to form a single Kingdom of Spain. Spain and Portugal would both play vital roles in the shaping of European history during the Age of Exploration, which typically is said to have began the exact same year that the final Muslim Iberian state, Granada, was conquered by Spain.
 * The end of the Reconquista and the first voyage of Columbus to the New World both occurred in 1492.

For more in-depth details on the events of the Reconquista, please visit Spain 1200-1492 - Reconquest

For information on the Art of this time period, as well as key events, visit the [|Metropolitan Museum of Art].

For information on women's roles in the Spanish Reconquest, see Daughters of the Reconquest: Women in Castilian Town Society, 1100-1300

Ferdinand and Isabella
Isabella and Ferdinand were key figures in both the Inquisition and the end of the Reconquista, when Granada was conquered. The kingdoms of Aragon, Castile and Leon were united with their marriage.
 * Isabella and Ferdinand's plan of conquest was not only of land, but of religion.
 * Ferdinand and Isabella are often referred to as the Catholic Monarchs (RRCC), a name given to them by Pope Alexander VI
 * Their daughter Joanna's marriage to Philip I began the Habsburg rule of Spain, which would remain in place until 1700.

Go here for a short biography on [|Queen Isabella I of Spain]



** The Spanish Inquisition **
With Isabel and Ferninand in power the Pope authorized the [|Spanish Inquisition]. The Spanish inquisition represents some of the horrors of Christian society that emerged in medieval modern Spain. The main purpose of the Inqusition was to ensure those who converted from Islam and Judaism were actually practicing Catholics.
 * For more on the Inquisition, see
 * [|A Brief History of the Inquisition] from the Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame
 * [|Episode 10 from the 15 Minute History blog] at the University of Texas

[|Click here] for a primary source detailing the expulsion of the Jews by Isabella and Ferdinand.

[|Click here] for a lesson plan on the Reconquista and the Spanish Inquisition.

See [|Isabel: Jewel of Castilla] for a discussion guide to accompany the historical fiction book, //Isabel// by Carolyn Meyer.

Link to a Podcast on the Spanish Inquisition worked can be found [|here.]

Edict of Expulsion of the Jews
See the text of the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews, also known as the Alhambra Decree [|here]
 * After conquering Granada, Isabella and Ferdinand ordered the expulsion or conversion of all Spanish Jews and Muslims in 1492.**



The Other 1492: Jewish Settlement in the New World by Norman Finkelstein (2001) that with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in that year.

Information on how LGBT peoples fared during the Spanish Inquisition can be found [|here].

Cultural Developments
For more information and multimedia resources footage please visit: **Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain** from Amazon (free with prime membership).
 * This is a great resource to see the cross-faith collaboration that happened between Muslim, Jews and Christians at this time period.
 * This collaboration is visible in the Architecture, medicine, literature and technology developed.
 * The cultural flourishment that occurred in this period became a precedent for the Renaissance. Cities of Light is also a helpful resources in understanding the main battles and figures in the Christian Reconquista of Spain.

Click here for a Crash Course on the Spanish Empire

[] [] (link broken) [] [] (Cities of Light: Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain)
 * References:**

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