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Museum Entrance
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Room Three
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Welcome to the Museum of
Muslim Spain
Curator’s
Offices
So Yun
Jhang andOffice
Kyllie Chang
Curator’s
In Hawkes’ 1st period class.
Place your picture
here.
moon_phase13@yahoo.com
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Tariq bin Ziyad
A Muslim general that Musa, the governor of
North Africa sent to invade Spain. Tariq bin
Ziyad and his army landed at Gibraltar, which
was named after him. He and his army
defeated the Visigoths and the Muslims
conquered most of Spain and Portugal with out
much opposition.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain
_1.shtml
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Exhibit
The “Golden Age”
During this period of Muslim rule in Spain,
libraries, colleges, and public baths were
established. Many different types of arts,
literatures, and architecture flourished. Also
during this Golden Age, different ethnicities and
religions were tolerated for instance Christianity
and Judaism.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain
_1.shtml
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Exhibit
Figs
Harvesting figs provided a greater diversity of
fruits for consumers. Malaga (a city in Spain)
was one of the most important centers for
growing figs. The city is surrounded on all sides
by fig trees. These figs were exported by
Muslims and Christians and were sold in
Baghdad as well as India and China. The fig
was valued for it’s taste as well as the ability to
preserve for a full year.
http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm
?ArticleID=308
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Exhibit
Andalusia
After the Muslims Berbers crossed Straight of
Gibraltar in 711, after about three years, they
established control over most of the Iberian
Peninsula. This area that the Muslims
controlled was called Al-Andalus (now
Andalusia). This area included Portugal,
Southern France, and the Balearic Islands.
http://www.hispanicmuslims.com/andalusia/andalusia.ht
ml
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Exhibit
Division Between Religions
In Muslim Spain, there were three main
monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism,
and Islam. With these religions came a certain
number of differences. Jews, who were the first
to discover the path towards salvation, thought
that they were setting an example by
worshiping God as a nation. But Christians
thought that this was possible by individual
means, and could be achieved by anyone
regardless of race or sex. In Islam, the world is
divided into two groups, with one subjugating
control over the other. But even so, during the
period of Islamic Spain, the three religions lived
together peacefully.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/26814
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Exhibit
Government
After the Muslim conquest of Spain, the region
expanded over west Africa, and north Africa,
but this area was lacking a central control.
Eventually, the Muslim Emirs (of Spain)
recognized the sovereignty of the Umayyad
Caliphate, but legal policies were mostly
determined by the settlers, even though the
governors of Muslim Spain were appointed in
Kairouan, Tunisia.
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/spain/arabconq
uest.html
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Exhibit
Emir Abd al-Rahman I
After the Umayyad caliphate of Damascus was
overthrown in 750 by the Abbasids, the last
surviving member of the Umayyad dynasty fled
to Spain and named himself Emir Abd alRahman I. He then created the Umayyad
emirate and made Cordoba the capital. He also
al-Andalus and established diplomatic ties with
the northern Christian empires, the Byzantine
empire, and North Africa.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sumay/hd_su
may.htm
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Exhibit
Plain of al-Andalus
The irrigation system that was imported from
Syria and Arabia turned the dry plains of alAndalus very fertile. Pomegranates, oranges,
lemons, aubergines, artichokes, cumin,
coriander, bananas, almonds, pans, hennas,
woad, madder, saffron, sugar-cane, rice,
cotton, figs, grapes, apricots, and peaches,
plus olives and wheat which were native alAndalus, soon were added to the list of the
foods grown there.
http://www.sunnah.org/history/moors.htm
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Exhibit
Decline
The period of economic, and intellectual
prosperity eventually began to decline. There
were internal rifts within the Arab power
structure, as well as different warring factions
between the Moors. The caliphs were
eliminated and Cordova fell to other Arabs. In
1013, the great library in Cordova was
destroyed, but the new leaders allowed the
books and Cordovan scholars to be dispersed
between different capital towns of small
emirates.
http://www.sunnah.org/history/moors.htm
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Exhibit
Subh
Women in Muslim society were active in
political and cultural affairs. An example of
such a woman would be Subh. Subh was the
wife of al-Hakam al-Mustansir, the ninth
Umayyad caliph. Subh was very ambitious, but
she had two major faults: she was a foreigner
and a Christian. Subh is a perfect example of
being well versed in the history and the power
of words. She was both a poet and a linguist.
Because her husband was more interested in
knowledge and books, he left all the
management of political affairs to Subh.
http://books.google.com/books?id=t8toAmyqmN0C&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44
&dq=Subh++Muslim+spain&source=bl&ots=Mbj4Ftv9Ev&sig=CLuExGnSIb3L2bzgK
e35SeTwDD0&hl=en&ei=VzCxTMDCBsXflgevy4niBA&sa=X&oi=book_
result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Subh%
20-%20Muslim%20spain&f=false
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Exhibit
Agriculture
After the Muslims took over al-Andalusia, the
economy slowly began to patch up, because
maintaining the caliph’s court and army
required a good economy. Agriculture
especially flourished with new foods. This was
made possible by the extensive irrigation
system that was copied from the Syrians.
Better agriculture produced a healthier, higher
population. This in return allowed the
government to lower tax rates, and this
encouraged urban growth and more industries.
http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/asia/6/fc46b
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Exhibit
Invasion into France
During the early eighth century, Abd-arRahman, who survived the fall of the Umayyad
caliphate and assumed control as an
independent emir of Cordova, invaded across
the Pyrenees into France. But in 732, he was
defeated by Charles “The Hammer” Martel and
his Frankish army at Tours, which is near
Poiters. Despite this, Umayyad rulers have
continued to dominate Muslim Spain, and they
have overcome a period of internal uprisings
and “autonomous inclinations.”
http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/dba104.html
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Exhibit
The Great Mosque of Cordoba
In 784, Abd al-Rahman I begins the
construction of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
He uses recycled columns, capitals, and bases
from other sites. The height and lightness for
the building is achieved through the idea of
double arches. Today, it is one of the oldest
places of worship that is still intact.
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Spa
in/Andalucia/Cordoba/Cordoba.htm
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Exhibit
The Reconquista
The Reconquista officially started in 722, after
the Battle of Covandonga. Because of the
internal feuding between the Moors, the
Spaniards (Christians in Spain) were able to
repopulate their kingdoms and even out their
borders for the campaign against the Moors.
Eventually Taifas formed because of the civil
wars. Taifas were the moors that were divided
into different regions resulting from the civil
wars. The Reconquistadors were able to turn
the Taifas against each other through a series
of bribes. After 800 years of fighting, Spain was
able to reunite, and the Muslims were finally
expelled with the surrender of Abu ‘abd Allah
Muhammad XII.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/332578/t
he_reconquista_spains_assertion_for.html
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Exhibit
Walladah bint Mustakfi
Walladah was the daughter of the caliph of
Cordoba. In Cordoba, many women were often
scholars. Walladah inherited enough wealth
after her father’s death to guarantee her
independence. She was a well-known poet as
well the host of literary gatherings for both men
and women. She had several love affairs,
although she never married. Her surviving
poetry describes her free spirit. She was also
known for designing robes with embroidered
sleeves.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/midea
st/educators/women/lesson2.html
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Exhibit
Economy
The Andalucian economy was highly based off
trade, a developed craft industry, and
agriculture which was more efficient than the
rest of Europe. The Caliphate had a currencybased economy and it played a role in its
financial grandeur. The gold coin became the
principle currency of this period.
http://www.sispain.org/english/history/muslim.html
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Exhibit
Trade
After Abd al-Rahman III became the first
Spanish Caliph, the caliph had two purposes:
one was to strengthen the Peninsular kingdom,
and the other was to consolidate the
commercial routes of the Mediterranean
outside the country, guarantee an economic
relationship with the east-Byzantium, and
guarantee the supply of gold. In 972, a Spanish
city located on the Mediterranean on the north
coast of Africa, called Melilla was occupied,
and later in the same century, the Umayyad
controlled the triangle formed by Algeria,
Siyima, and the Atlantic.
http://www.sispain.org/english/history/muslim.html
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Exhibit
Spain After the Taifas
After the second and third Taifas were created
as a result of fragmentation of the Peninsula,
north Africa took this advantage to invade. The
first to invade were the Almoravides, the
second were the Almohads, and the third were
the Banu Marins. By the middle of the 13th
century, Islamic Spain, due to their progressive
weakening, was reduced to Nasrid kingdom in
Granada, which is located between the Strait of
Gibraltar and the Cape of Gata.
http://www.sispain.org/english/history/muslim.html
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Exhibit
Moors and Berbers
The moors, as known by the Western
Europeans, were actually Arabs who had left
their homeland in the Middle East and traveled
across North Africa.
The Berbers were inhabitants of Morocco that
had been conquered by the Arabs and
converted to Islam.
http://www.kalamullah.com/spain.html
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Exhibit
Boabdil
Boabdil was the last Moorish king of Granada.
In 1482, e was proclaimed the king in place of
his father who had been driven from the land.
He invaded Castile in order to gain prestige,
but was taken prisoner. He was only granted
freedom if he held Granada as a tributary
kingdom under King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella. In 1941, he was asked by the king
and queen of Castile to hand over Granada,
but because he refused, it was besieged by the
Castilians. After about a year, Granada
surrendered, and the last spot that Boabdil was
said to have looked at Granada from was is still
shown and is known as the “ last sigh of the
Moor.”
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Boabdil
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Exhibit
The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition was used both
politically and religiously. Ferdinand and
Isabella asked the pope to establish the
Spanish Inquisition, and they began to drive
out Jews and others who were not of the
Christian faith, because they were considered
a threat to the king and queen’s ambitions. In
1483, Tomas de Torquemada became the
inquisitor-general for Spain. He is believed to
have executed 2,000 people.
http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westeurope/sp
aninqui.html
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Exhibit
Muslim Oppression
After the Spanish Inquisition was created, Kind
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted to drive
out the Muslims and Jews, because they were
considered a threat to their ambition. The army
was to capture anyone who didn’t follow the
Roman Catholic faith. To do this, the army
would check men’s genitals to see if they were
circumcised. The army would spy on them, and
if they bathed on Fridays or wore beautiful
clothes of Eid, then they were killed. Even
some weak and frail Muslims who thought the
only way to be saved was to denounce Islam
and convert to Christianity were also killed.
http://www.interislam.org/Pastevents/andalus1.htm
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Entrance
Islamic Spain
Islamic Spain began in 711 after the invasion of
the Iberian peninsula, and ended in 1492. It is
a multi-cultural mix of the three greatest
monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and
Judaism. Even though Christians and Jews
had to live under restrictions (for instance they
had to pay jizya), the religions managed to get
along and benefit from one another. This
brought a degree of civilization to Europe that
was able to match that of the Roman Empire’s.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/histo
ry/spain_1.shtml
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Entrance
Adaption
Many Christians living in Muslim Spain adapted
to the culture. Some people learned Arabic,
and wore the same clothes as their rulers.
Some women even began wearing the veil.
Some changed their names to Arabic names.
The Christians who did this were known as
Mozarabs. Christians had their own rulers
known as counts. These counts were directly
responsible to the Muslim emir of caliphate.
Their taxes were collected by special agents,
and they were allowed to retain their social
hierarchy, as well as use Visigoth canon law
instead of the Muslim law.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/histo
ry/spain_1.shtml
http://www.orbilat.com/Encyclopaedia/M/Mozarab
s.html
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Exhibit