Tim


 * I. History**

Al-Andalus, prior to the 711 Islamic invasion, was part of the Visigothic kingdom. Discontent with the Gothic rulers led certain segments of the population, most notably the Jews, who chafed against the recent adoption of orthodox Christianity by the formerly Arian Christian monarchs, to support the Muslim force when it landed at Gibraltar in 711.

Originally simply another extension of the vast Ummayad Caliphate based in Damascus, this changed in 750, when the last Ummayad ruler, fleeing the Abbasids who'd taken power in the Muslim Empire, arrived to al-Andalus and forged an emirate with Cordoba as its base. This emirate officially lasted until 929, when the dynasty declared itself the true caliphate in response to the rise of the Fatamids, based in Cairo, but in point of fact, the Ummayad-based dynasty carried on from 750-1031, when, after the death of the last Cordorban caliph, the caliphate splintered into petty kingdoms, called taifas.

This fractured state of affairs permitted the conquered Christians from the Visigothic kingdom, who'd regrouped in the far north-center of the peninsula, to gradually expand and conquer the individual taifas, a process which lasted until 1492, when the inept Boabdil surrendered Granada, last of the Muslim Iberian kingdoms, to the Catholic Kings Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castile respectively.


 * II. Architecture**

Islamic architecture was based primarily on the principles of geometry and, in the case of Cordoba, where the first Moorish architecture began to appear in Al-Andalus, involved the use of Arabic inscriptions from the Koran, horseshoe style arches, and geometric patterns of symmetry that would differ markedly from the art style created by the Muslim artisans who remained following the completion of the Reconquista in the late 15th century.

Islamic architecture is also noted for its palaces, where austere and forbidding fortress exteriors, such as in the case of the Alhambra, give way to dazzling patios and courtyards inside, designed around the principles of the interplay between light, sound, and water. The gardens, too, reflect Islamic architecture, revolving around the same geometric symmetry, spacing, and water play of sound and fountain that are the hallmark of the patios and friezes.


 * III. Daily Life**

Although the Al-Andulsian period was frequently a time of chaos and war between Christians and Muslims, Christians and Christians, and Muslims and Muslims, daily life proved quite enjoyable for a significant portion of the populace, particularly during the centuries of Ummayad-based rule from Cordoba.

A thriving trade and economy, signified by the medinas in each city, marketplaces where all manner of goods were for sale, ensured, if not financial prosperity, at least liveability for the majority of the population. Music and culture were also often encouraged by the various emirs and caliphs, not only of the Cordoban era, but of certain places and periods of the taifa age.

Thus, did places such as Toledo come to be reknowned and revered for their dedication to religious tolerance and the flourishing printing, copying, and translating enterprises that went on there. Not only did this dedication to translation of such things as ancient Greek and Roman texts into Arabic and the arrival of Northern and Central Europeans to then translate the Arabic texts into Latin enhance the cultural accomplishments of the places in which they occurred, but also the economy as well, for these vast projects generated jobs, not only for the writing and translating industries, but for the tourism industry when foreigners came to the city to do their own translation works.


 * IV. Scientific accomplishments**

The Al-Andulsian period not only hosted a great many translators and artisans, but scientists as well, who created classification systems for diseases and their cures, writing reference texts that would be considered authorative for centuries.

Moorish scientists also made pioneering discoveries in the realm of optics and light, as well as contributed to the advancement in mathematics by furthering the work done by the ancient Greeks. Indeed, even our own numeral system comes from the Arabs, as well as the word for algebra (Many words beginning with al- are Arabic in origin).