9
votes
Accepted
Who was included in the "Moors" of Spain?
As explained by Wikipedia, "Moors" are not a self-defined people, or reference to any one ethnicity, but a name used by (Christian) Europeans according to their own logic.
In the context of Spain, ...
- 7,092
8
votes
Why did Al-Andalus become cosmopolitan?
I don't have much relevant expertise, but am inclined to question the uniqueness of Al-Andalus on both points.
First, the case can be made that Islam in general was more tolerant of Jews than ...
- 18.9k
6
votes
Did the Muslims of Granada expect their Christian conquerors to keep their promised terms?
From additional research I have clarified this answer to better reflect the documentation from Spanish Historians who have provided much more detailed commentary and record of the events of the ...
6
votes
Accepted
How did philosophical and scientific knowledge in Christian Europe in 1085 compare to the body of knowledge contained in the library of Toledo?
The volume of information in the libraries of Andalusian Spain (Toledo, Cordoba and Granada) truly dwarfed what was available in most of Christendom at the time. Andalusian libraries and their ...
- 18.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a relationship between Portugal and Spain being able to discover the New World and the Moor occupation?
I think you can talk about potential Moorish influences on Iberian nautical expansion in following three areas:
Wealth
By the 9th/10th Century, al-Andalus (Islamic Spain + Portugal) was by far the ...
- 2,203
6
votes
Is there a relationship between Portugal and Spain being able to discover the New World and the Moor occupation?
"Some people believe that Renaissance started in Toledo". Who are these people? I think the prevailing opinion is that Renaissance started in Italy. By the way, Columbus came from Italy too.
And ...
- 38.5k
4
votes
Why didn't the knights of Western Europe drive the Moors out of Granada in 1212 when they invaded Iberia?
In order to actually keep the territory they won on the battlefield, and to move on further south, the Christians would have to take the castles and fortified towns in the area (as was mentioned in ...
- 118k
4
votes
Why was the morale of El Cid's troops always so high?
I don't think there's anything particularly remarkable about that. Rodrigo was a soldier of fortune, a profesional warrior since he was a child, and as such, a quite competent one. Battle-hardened in ...
- 561
4
votes
Accepted
Did Averroes really try to bury light in an attempt to create gold, or was that invented by Victor Hugo?
Long comment
Alchemy was a "living subject" in Islamic science and philosophy.
See at least Lawrence Principe, The Secrets of Alchemy (2013, The University of Chicago Press), Ch.2 Arabic al-...
- 870
3
votes
Were there distinctions between Arab, Berbers and Iberian Muslims in 10th century Islamic Spain?
Legally all the Muslims were treated identically, at least on paper, as only non-Muslims had jizya imposed on them.
However the different Islamic groups in medieval Iberia came from different ethno-...
- 739
3
votes
Is there a relationship between Portugal and Spain being able to discover the New World and the Moor occupation?
TL; DR: Yes, there is a relationship, but not of the kind you probably think.
A lot has been written on how Columbus' journey of discovery was only made possible by the fact that he was hilariously ...
- 1,578
3
votes
Did the Muslims of Granada expect their Christian conquerors to keep their promised terms?
The Spanish Muslims had "some" reason to expect that the Spanish would observe their rights.
The "Reconquista" had been going on for several centuries, and the Spanish had (earlier)...
- 104k
2
votes
Is there a relationship between Portugal and Spain being able to discover the New World and the Moor occupation?
It had more to do with the Reconquista.
There was a social pattern that Aragon, Castile, and Portugal developed as they "reconquered" the Iberian Peninsula. This same pattern was how they colonized ...
- 507
2
votes
Who was included in the "Moors" of Spain?
The term Moors refers to the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during the Middle Ages, who initially were Berber and Arab peoples from North ...
- 364
1
vote
Perceptions and relationships of 14-15th century Spaniards / Romani / Moors
Alberto Yagos helpfully observed in a comment that Romani entered today's Spain in 1425. A map from 1360 is as close as I could easily find, but the Emirate of Granada is far south of the Pyrenean ...
- 27.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible