Islamic al-Andalus: The Umayyad Dynasty (756-1061 CE)

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Toledo: Deciphering Secrets of Medieval Spain

Sistema Universitario de Colorado

This course evaluates the medieval history of Toledo from the era of the Visigoth Kingdom (6th-8th centuries) through its Islamic period (8th to 11th centuries) and into its reintegration into Christian Spain (after 1085 c.e.) In particular, we take note of the cultural and religious transformations that characterized the city with a special effort to understand how many peoples and religions came to settle and live amongst one another. We will virtually-tour the Islamic and Christian structures of the Museo de Santa Cruz, Iglesia de San Román, Sinagoga del Tránsito, Mezquita de Bab al-Mardum, Archivo Municipal de Toledo, and the Archivo Historico de la Nobleza. We examine the Visigoths transition from Christian Arianism to Catholicism and the harsh treatment of the Jewish population. We explore Islamic governance and development of the medieval city of three faiths, with a special interest in its cultural achievements. We will study King Alfonso “The Wise” (1252-1284)’s efforts to characterize himself as the “king of three religions” via his legal codices, the creation of the Cantigas de Santa María, and his intellectual endeavor known as the Toledo School of Translators. We evaluate the robust Jewish and converso noble families of the city and appreciate their intellectual, religious, and economic contributions to Castilian life. We will bear witness to the rise of anti-Jewish blood purity statutes, the creation of the Inquisition, and the expulsion of the Jews. We also briefly introduce and study Spanish manuscripts from the municipal and cathedral archives to make new scholarly breakthroughs relating to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interrelations. No knowledge of Spanish is needed to participate in the course or in our transcription efforts.

De la lección

Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Medieval Toledo Until 1212 CE

This week we study Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Medieval Toledo until 1212 CE. We will witness the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Spain, the formation of Islamic al-Andalus, the birth of the Christian Reconquest, and Toledo under the Umayyads and as an independent taifa ("party kingdom"). We will also explore Islamic architecture at the Museo de Santa Cruz as well as other local sites.

Islamic Conquest and Settlement (711-756 CE)9:02

Islamic al-Andalus: The Umayyad Dynasty (756-1061 CE)7:50

Introduction to the Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo)7:45

Islamic Toledo and Material Culture – Part 15:08

Islamic Toledo and Material Culture – Part 24:18

Islamic Toledo and Material Culture – Part 33:51

Resurgent Christian Kingdoms (711 – 1212 CE)11:33

Impartido por:

Dr. Roger Louis Martínez-Dávila
Associate Professor

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There was consequential Islamic state inside of media wide beera,

was out of the Umayyads.

And their stories are a bit complicated,

because it begins all the way back in Damascus, Syria.

In 661 Mu'aui'ya at the Umayya clan,

which were originally from Mecca, established this first caliphate.

A religious and political entity to cover all the Islamic lands.

It was under the aegis of the Umayyads that Spain would come into the orbit

of Islamic civilization.

As we remember, Spain was conquered by the Muslims in 711 CE.

And roughly within ten years

most of the peninsula was dominated by their political leadership.

However, in 750,

momentous events transformed the Islamic world when the Abbasids violently

overthrew the Umayyad caliphate with a massacre of the elite ruling family.

The consequence of this affair was the creation of a new Umayya dynasty,

but this time in Spain and in the city of Cordoba.

One surviving Umayya prince, Abd al-Rahman I, would take the title of emir or

commander of the faithful and establish a new emirate in Spain.

And from this emirate,

slowly would evolve the most consequential of the Spanish-Islamic kingdoms.

It would become known as the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba,

which would rule from 929 To 1061 CE.

This is what we all refer to as the Golden Age of Islamic Spain and

in many respects it was a Golden Age for the Jewish community of Spain.

In 929 Abd al-Rahman III declared al-Andalus to be its own politically and

religiously autonomous entity.

The positive forces of a coexistence or Coviviencia,

in Islamic Al-Andalus is first observed in the tenth century under his rule.

Abd al-Rahman III, like his father before him, pursued an ethnically and religiously

inclusive policy, dedicated to the pacification and unification of Andaluz.

He showered support on the arts and sciences and

sparked a general cultural efluorscense.

In addition, he encouraged minorities to pursue their own intellectual interests,

providing them with a model of how to proceed.

The German nun, Roswitha,

who visited the city of Cordoba at the second half of the 10th century,

would call the city the ornament of the world because of its incredible arts,

sciences, architecture, and mixtures of people.

And for the Jewish community, Cordoba and the Caliphate was a particularly

welcoming and vital place to be during the middle ages.

Specifically Professor Jane Gerber,

the author of The Jews of Spain, describes it in this way.

The Muslim province of reached the zenith of its power in the 10th century,

under the able and usually long and stable of Abd al-Rahman III.

[MUSIC]

As an imperial city, Cordoba reached zenith in power and

affluence in the mid 10th century.

And talents from all over the Muslim world streamed into the new capital.

The newcomers included Jewish poets and

scholars from North Africa, Italy, and the far east.

One of those persons who was invited to the court was the physician

Hasdai ibn Shaprut, he lived from roughly 915 to 970.

He patronized the Jewish literati, and followed the time-honored pattern

of patronage of culture customarily exercised by Muslim courtiers.

Hasdai also set up a school of Talmudic learning in Cordova,

enterprising Jewish parents would bring their talented sons to Cordoba

to take advantage of the new opportunities to obtain a quote,

unquote, modern education in the capital, also hoping that their

sons might succeed in finding employment at the Muslim Imperial Court.

Jewish facility in Arabic, also made them to gain access to a vast world of thought

embodying the ancient classics, which had recently been translated into Arabic.

Direct exposure to Arab learning and science and

philosophy provided a powerful impetus to the expansion of Jewish knowledge.

And before long, the Jews of Spain excelled and

surpassed other important Jewish centers.

Professor Gerber concludes with this observation,

perhaps the best way to appreciate the stimulation

that Jews experience from their cultural surroundings, in Al-Andalus,

is to glance at the surviving curriculum of a Jewish academy of learning in 12th

century Toledo, that was based upon the Medieval Arab model.

The Jewish school offered the standard fare Judaica, Hebrew language, Torah, and

Talmud, a graded course of study in philosophical observations on religion,

logic, mathematics, optics, astronomy, astrology,

music, mechanics, metaphysics, Greek, and Arabic, as well as medicine.

Special was placed on fine calligraphy, the model for

the educated Jewish male was also the Muslim adib, a man of humanistic culture.

This was Islamic Spain at its best.

A place where many communities could co-habit together and work together.

The splendor of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba was not to survive, and

by 1031 it had reached its end.

What came next was the success at the Spanish Christian Reconquista,

internal political fragmentation within the Islamic community,

and North African intervention by the.

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