The early history of Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus & Christian Kingdoms 2ºC

The conquest of the Iberian Peninsula

By the early 8th century, muslimsexpanded on theArabian Peninsula, and controlled most of North Africa. In 711 they crossed theIberian Peninsula.

Muslims conquestof the Iberian

Peninsula was a continuation of

Islamic expansionacross the

Mediterraneanregion.

It was also madepossible by a civil war

between rival groups of the Visigoth nobility. In

711, one factionrequested help from

Musa, a Muslim ruler in North Africa.

The Muslim defeatedthe Visigoth king

Roderic in the Battleof Guadalete.

However the Muslimruler Musa and his

leading general Tariqdid not hand power

over to their Visigothallies.

In just a few yearsthey occupied

nearly all of theIberian Peninsula

Muslims neverconquered themountainousregions of theNorth-West.

Muslims called the new territory Al-Andalus, and made Córdoba its capital. The emirate of Al-Andalus was dependent on the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus

In the mid 8th Century, most members of the

ruling Umayyad family in Damascus were killed

when the new Abbasiddynasty took power.

The emirs of Córdoba established a state onthe Iberian peninsula,

bur local leaders still heldconsiderable power.

Abd al-Rahmanfounded the Emirateof Córdoba in 756.

The emir of Córdoba was independent, but

he accepted thereligious supremacy of

the caliphate.

Ummayad prince calledAbd al-Rahman escaped

to the Iberianpeninsula.

The indepent emirate of Córdoba (756-926)

https://youtu.be/q7-gGNvnBuw

VIDEO!

exercises1

3

2

Describe the invasion routes taken by the muslims.

Which parts of the Iberian peninsula were not conquered by the muslims?

Why do you think the muslims chose Córdoba as their capital?

The fragmention of Al-Andalus.

THE TAIFA STATES (1031-1086)

INTRODUCTIONAfter the collapse of the Caliphateof Córdoba in 1031, there wassignificant ethnic and politicaldivision in Andalusi society. Al-Andalus split into smallindependent Muslim states calledtaifas.

CHARACTERISTICS·The larger states, like Seville andToledo fought with each other, totake control of the smaller taifas.

·The Christian kingdoms in the northtook advantage of the lack of unityof Al-Andalus. They attacked thetaifas and forced their rulers to payparias, or tribute.

The Christian kingdoms where a growing threat tothe taifas, especially after they took Toledo in 1085.The following year the Muslims called for help fromthe Almoravids, who had established a Berberempire in northern Africa.

TAIFA KINGDOM

CALIPHATE OF CÓRDOBA

THE ALMORAVIDS AND THE ALMOHADS (1086-1212)

Twice, Al-Andalus recieved military assistance from Berber Muslim empires in North Africa, where a much stricter version of Islam was practised.

·The Almoravids crossed over to theIberian Peninsula in 1086. Request ofMuslim rulers took over most of thetaifa states. Won some victories, didnot mantain the domination of Al-Andalus for very long, and itfragmented once again into manysmall taifa states in the 1140s.

·The Almohads were the successors of the Almoravids in North Africa, and crossed over in 1147. They, too, conquered the taifa states as well as resisting the Christian kingdoms.Despite Almohad resistance, the christian kingdom continiued to expand in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In early 13th century, the Christians created a large army,. They achieved a greatvictory over the Almohads in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212).

BATTLE OF LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA

The army formed by the Castilian, Aragonese, Navarras and Portuguese troopsfought against the army of the caliph almohade Muhammad an-Nasir. On Monday,July 16 of 1212 they attacked the Almohad forces in the location of Saint Elena.The Christian coalition formed by 70,000 soldiers, led by Castile, defeated the120,000 Muslims of the Almohad empire.With this historical victory of the Christian alliance had begun the slope of theMuslim dominion of Spain.The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, was undoubtedly the most important battle ofthe Reconquest.

ACTIVITIES

PAGE 83 ACT 5·Explain the following terms:TAIFAS: Small independent Muslim states.PARIAS: Taxes that the Muslim kings of Spain paid to Christian kings in the Middle Ages.

PAGE 83 ACT 6·Who fought in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa? Who won? Whatwere its consequences?The Castilian, Aragonese, Navarrasand Portuguese troops against the army of the caliph almohadeMuhammad an-Nasir. The Christian coalition won the battle. The immediate consequences of this battle were limited, and did not suppose the aim of the AlmohadEmpire. The Christians kingdoms conquered all of the Iberian Peninsula by the mid-13th century, except for Granada.

VIDEO:http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=videos+of+the+battle+de+las+navas+de+&&view=detail&mid=345012658BB5CB70517C345012658

BB5CB70517C&FORM=VRDGAR

Religion:Christians & Jews

were allowed to practise their religion as long as they paid taxes:• The Mozarabs were

people that didn’tconvert to Islam.

• The Muladis werechristians whoconverted to Islam and adopted their customs.

• The Jews weremerchants,artisans and scholars.

They lived in JewishQuarters

The Arabsheld political power. They came from the Middle East.

The Berbers came from north Africa, helped to conquer the Iberian Peninsula. They recivedless land and wealth than the Arabs. They rebelled against the authority

Population:

Vocabulary:Muladis

CaliphateArchitecture:

Horseshoearches

Mosques and palaces

Mosque of Córdoba

Palace of Medina Azahara

Taifa Architcture:

Triobulatedarches

Fortresses & palaces

Castle of Málaga

Aljafería palace

AlmohadArchitecture:

Plane buildings Mosques and

fortressesTower of Gold(Part of a fortress)

The Giralda (Minaret of a mosque)

Nasrid Architecture:

A lot of decoration Walls covered in

plasterwork & ceramics Palaces

Generalifepalace

Alhambra palace

The emergence of the Christian kingdoms

By: Sergio Román, Paula Martínez and

Alicia Ruiz

During the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries

the Kingdoms of Leon and Castile were

closely linked to each other.

They expanded when they conquered new territories, but they were also divided as

the result of royal inheritance

They were sometimes ruled by the same

monarch and sometimes formed

separated Kingdoms

INTRODUCTION

Leon was an important ChristianKingdom. Fernan González was avassal of the king of Leon but alsohas authority over Castilla.

LEON

Castile was a sparsely populated groupof counties in the east of the kingdom.It was near the frontier with Al-Andalusso it was a zone of conflict wherenumerous castles were built.

CASTILE

Fernando III

He was the king of Castile in1217 and the king of Leon in1230 as well as the king ofGalicia in 1231. He was theson of Alfonso IX of Leonand Berenguela of Castile.

He inherited the Kingdom ofCastile and the Kingdom ofLeon and he united bothkingdoms into the Crown ofCastile

ACTIVITIES

3) Explain the difference between the kingdom of Castile and the Crown of Castile and say when it happened.The kingdom of Castile was inherited by Fernando III and the Crown of Castile was when the kingdom of Castile and Leon were defectively united. It happened in 1230. 4) Which event marks the beginning of the kingdom of Asturias?The battle of Covadonga in 722.

THE KINGDOM OF NAVARRE AND

THE KINGDOM OF ARAGÓN TO

THE CROWN OF ARAGÓN

By: GONZALO, LORENA AND IVÁN

INTRODUCTION

The Kingdom of Navarre:

From the 10 th century, Navarrewas ruled by the Jimena dynasty. Under Sancho III, the Kingdom of Navarre briefly became the largestChristian power of the Peninsula.Sancho III acquired the counties of Aragón, Castile and part of León. After Sancho´s death in 1035 thekingdom was divided among hissons

STAGES AND PERIODS:

- His oldest son, García Sánchez,inherited Navarre.

- Fernando I inherited Castile, which became an independent Kingdom.

- Ramiro I inherited Aragón.- Gonzalo inherited the counties of

Sobrabe and Ribagorza.

The last king of the Jimena dynasty was Sancho VII the Strong, who died without descendants in 1234. In 1512, Navarre was conquered by Fernando the Catholic.

INTRODUCTION

The Kingdom of Aragón to the crown of Aragón:

In the 10th century, the County of Aragón became part of the Kingdom of Navarre. When Sancho III of Navarre died in 1035, his son Ramiro became Ramiro I (1035-1063), the first King of Aragón. In 1076, Ramiro´s son, Sancho Ramírez, reunited the kingdoms of Aragón and Navarre. In the 12th century, the Kingdomof Aragón increased its territoryconsiderably.In 1137, Ramón Berenguer IV, becameenganged to marry Petronilla of Aragón, who was just a year old. This unitedAragón and the Catalan counties, and led to the creation of the Crown of Aragón.

STAGES AND PERIODS:

- 10th century: Aragón became partof Navarre.

-1035: Ramiro I became the firstking of Aragón.

-1076: Sancho Ramírez reunitedAragón and Navarre.

-1137:Ramón Berenguer marriedthe one-year old Petronilla of Aragón, and the Catalan countiesand Aragón were unified creatingthe crown of Aragon

CHARACTER

SANCHO III

https://wwwyoutube.com/watch?v=j2JlRtgEJs8.

ACTIVITIES

-What do the striped areas on the timeline indicate?

What happened to the kingdoms of Navarre and Aragón when Sancho III died?

THE RECONQUEST

• The Duero. In the 9th and 10th

centuries, Asturias and then León advanced towards the Duero river

valley. The Muslims had always preferred the Mediterranean

landscape and climate, and never settled in the north-west in large

numbers.

1st stage of the Reconquest

2nd stage of the Reconquest

•The Tajo and the Ebro. The break-up of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031 was followed by rapid Christian advances because taifas could not offer united

resistances. The Muslims rulers made tribute payments (or parias) to reduce Chistian attacks. But the Christian kings used the gold that they received to build castles

and form strong armies. In the 11th and 12th centuries :

• Castile and León advanced beyond the Central System and into the Tajo

river valley.• The Crown of Aragón advanced into

the Ebro river valley, and conquered Zaragoza.

3rd stage of the Reconquest

• 13th century advanceds. The Christian kingdoms united their forces

and won a great victory against the Muslims in the Battle of Las Navas

de Tolosa in 1212. The fall of Al-Andalus began. In this period:

• Potugal conquered the Algarve.

• Castile conquered Andalusia and Murcia.• The Crown of Aragón

conquered Valencia and the Balearic

Islands.

ACTIVITIESPage 100 ex 1 and

2.

VIDEOhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=pmtzmqLOAVA

SETTLEMENT IN THE CONQUERED TERRITORIES

REPOPULATION DATE: 9th and 10th PLACE: River Duero

and part of the Ebro valley

CHARACTERISTICS: In order to attract settles, the kings

granted them privileges and

charters. PEOPLE: Free

peasants

LAND DISTRIBUTION

PLACE: Catalonia CHARACTERISTICS: Land was given to

nobles in return for their role in the

Reconquest. They created large

estates. PEOPLE: Muslims

MILITARY ORDERS PLACE: Castile

CHARACTERISTICS: The Christian kings gave the

military orders of warrior – monks the

responsability for conquering and

defending territories. PEOPLE: Military orders (Alcantára, Calartrava, Santiago and Montesa

ACTIVITIES

Page. 101 exercise. 4

As the king advanced southwards, Christian population settled in the new territories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzGYqAXqess