Al-Andalus

**Al-Andalus** (Arabic: الأَنْدَلُس, romanised: *al-ʾAndalus*) be de Muslim-ruled area of de Iberian Peninsula. De name dey refer to de different Muslim states wey control dese territories at various times between 711 den 1492. At ein greatest geographical extent, e occupy chaw of de peninsula as well as Septimania under Umayyad rule. Dese boundaries change thru a series of conquests wey Western historiography traditionally characterise as de *Reconquista*, eventually dry shrink to de south den finally to de Emirate of Granada.

As a political domain, e successively constitute a province of de Umayyad Caliphate, wey de Caliph al-Walid I (711–750) initiate; de Emirate of Córdoba (–929); de Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); de first *taifa* kingdoms (1009–1110); de Almoravid Empire (1085–1145); de second *taifa* period (1140–1203); de Almohad Caliphate (1147–1238); de third *taifa* period (1232–1287); den ultimately de Nasrid Emirate of Granada (1238–1492). Under de Caliphate of Córdoba, de city of Córdoba cam be one of de leading cultural den economic centres thru out de Mediterranean Basin, Europe, den de Islamic world. Achievements wey advanced Islamic den Western science cam from al-Andalus, wey dey include major advances insyd trigonometry (Jabir ibn Aflah), astronomy (al-Zarqali), surgery (al-Zahrawi), pharmacology (Ibn Zuhr), den agronomy (Ibn Bassal den Abu'l-Khayr al-Ishbili). Al-Andalus cam be a conduit for cultural den scientific exchange between de Islamic den Christian worlds.

For much of ein history, al-Andalus exist insyd conflict plus Christian kingdoms to de north. After de fall of de Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus be fragmented into *taifa* states den principalities, sam of wich (such as de Taifa of Toledo, de Taifa of Zaragoza, de Taifa of Seville den de Taifa of Badajoz) reach considerable territorial extent. After de Christian capture of Toledo insyd 1085, de Almoravid empire intervene den repel attacks on de region, wey bring al-Andalus under direct Almoravid rule. For de next century den a half, al-Andalus cam be a province of de Muslim empires of de Almoravids den dema successors, de Almohads, dem both base insyd Marrakesh.

Ultimately, de northern Christian kingdoms overpower de Muslim states to de south. Insyd de 13th century, chaw of de south quickly fall under Christian rule, wey Gharb al-Andalus, de Guadalquivir Valley den Eastern al-Andalus fall to Portuguese, Castilian, den Aragonese conquests. Dis lef de Emirate of Granada, wey for be cam a tributary state of de Crown of Castile, as de remaining Muslim state on de Iberian Peninsula, wey dem surrender am insyd 1492 to de Catholic Monarchs.

## References


## External links

* Photocopy of the Ajbar Machmu'a, translated by Lafuente 1867
* The routes of al-Andalus (from the UNESCO web site)
* The Library of Iberian Resources Online
* Al-Andalus Chronology and Photos
* Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain by Kenneth Baxter Wolf
* "Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain" (documentary film)
* Al-Andalus: the art of Islamic Spain, Scholarly essays and exhibition catalog from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF or on Google Books)
* Patricia, Countess Jellicoe, 1992, The Art of Islamic Spain, *Saudi Aramco World*
* History of the Spanish Muslims, by Reinhart Dozy, in French
* The Musical Legacy of Al-Andalus&nbsp;– historical maps, photos, and music showing the Great Mosque of Córdoba and related movements of people and culture