La Convivencia
La Convivencia (literally “the Coexistence”) is a period of time in
Spanish history, lasting almost 800 years, dating from 711 C.E.
(the Umayyad conquest of Spain) To 1492 C.E.
Islamic expansion 622 C.E. - 750 C.E.
Al-Andalus ( ‫) األندلس‬
Al-Andalus refers to the
parts of the Iberian peninsula
occupied by Muslims
between 711 C.E. And 1492
C.E.
Courtyard and fountain of the Alhambra,
Granada, Spain
Islamic Architecture
The Cathedral of Cordoba,formerly the Great Mosque of
Cordoba, built in 742 C.E. It is the center of the largest
urban site declared a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO.
Islamic Architecture
A portico in
The Alhambra, Granada,
Spain.
Islamic Architecture
Ornamental relief, The Alhambra, Granada Spain.
Jewish Architecture
West wall of the Synagogue of Cordoba, built in 1315 C.E.
Jewish Architecture
Interior of Santa Maria la
Blanca, originally
The Congregational Synagogue
of Toledo, Spain. Built in 1180, it
is the oldest synagogue in
Europe still standing.
Jewish Architecture
Interior Dome of the Toledo Synagogue
Golden Age of Jewish Culture
in Spain, 700 C.E. - 1100 C.E.
Manuscript page, by Maimonides.
Arabic language using Hebrew letters.
Golden Age of Jewish Culture
in Spain, Maimonides
Maimonides, whose name in Hebrew is
‫( רבי משה בן מימון‬Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, or
“Rambam”) and whose full name in Arabic is ‫ابو‬
‫عمران موسى بن ميمون بن عبد هللا القرطبي‬
was born in Cordoba, Spain on Passover Eve
1135 C.E.
He was one of the greatest Torah scholars,
philosophers and physicians of the Middle
Ages.
He is the author of a 14 volume work (Mishneh
Torah) and the Guide to the Perplexed.
He read the ancient Greek philosophers in
Arabic translation, and was immersed in Islamic
science and culture.
After Cordoba was conquered in 1148 he and
his family chose exile in Morroco, then Egypt.
Golden Age of Jewish Culture
in Spain, Maimonides (cont'd)
Maimonides strove to reconcile Aristotelian
philosophy and science with the teachings of
the Torah.
His most famous non-theological work is the
“Guide to the Perplexed”
Book 1: Critique against the
“anthropomorphism of God”. Development of
“negative theology” - God can only be
described in terms of negatives, eg
 God is not bound by time
 God is not subject to change
Book 2: Exposition on the physical structure of
the universe (from an Aristotelian viewpoint).
Book 3: Analysis of the moral aspects of the
universe
 The problem of existence of evil
 Free Will, Providence, Omniscience
First page of 1553 edition, in Hebrew
Christian Architecture
Cathedral of Granada, built on the site of the Great
Mosque of Granada (early 16th century).
Blended Architecture
The Gothic-Mudejar Cathedral
of La Seo in Zaragoza
This shows a unique blending
of Islamic and Christian
architectural forms.
Blended Architecture
The dome of the
Cathedral of
Teruel.
This is an example
of the Mudejar
architecture of
Aragon, Spain.
This region has
been denoted a
World Heritage
Site by UNESCO.
Blended Architecture
Tower of the church of
Our Lady of the Assumption,
in Utebo (which is in Zaragoza,
Spain)
Blended Architecture
The Mudejar style, a symbiosis of techniques and ways of
understanding architecture resulting from Muslim, Christian
and Jewish cultures living side by side.
Islamic Mathematics
The Byzantine Empire
(Eastern Roman
Empire) provided the
medieval Islamic world
with ancient Greek
texts in science and
mathematics, medicine
and philosophy. These
were then translated
into Arabic.
A westerner and an Arab learning geometry
(circa 15th century).
Islamic Mathematics
The most important
contribution of Islamic
Mathematics was the
development of Algebra.
Algebra comes from the
phrase hisab al-jabr w'almuqabala which means
“calculus of resolution and
juxtaposition”
Al-jabr became “algebra”
Cubic Equations and the Intersection of Conic Sections,
from the works of Omar Khayam
Medieval Jewish Medicine
Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, born in Cairo Egypt, lived from
approximately 850 CE – 940 CE. He was court physician to
Prince Ziyadat Allah III.
His medical works were written in Arabic, then translated into
Latin, and were textbooks in Scuola Medica Salernitana
(Salerno was the first University in Western Europe).
Islamic Medicine
“The Eye,” by Hunain ibn
Ishaq, from a manuscript
circa 1200 C.E.
Hunain ibn Ishaq was an
Assyrian Christian, and
lived from 809-873 C.E.
He was the chief translator
of Greek texts into Syrian
and Arabic, including the
complete works of Galen –
the most accomplished
medical researcher of
antiquity.
Islamic Medicine
Skeletal System
Muscular System
Vascular System
Copies of early Arab anatomical charts,
made in India around 950 C.E.
The organs
Islamic Science
Prominent areas of study include:
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Mathematics (Al-Khwarizmi)
Astronomy (Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi)
Medicine (Al Zahrawi)
Physics (Alhazen)
Alchemy/Chemistry (Jabir ibn Hayyan)
Cosmology (al-Farghani)
Opthamology (Hunain ibn Ishaq)
Geography/Cartography (Muhammed al-Idrisi)