SPAIN –THE HISTORY OF ANDALUCIA
By the time Emir Al-Rahman the first –had reached Spain ,
the Arabs from North Africa were already entrenched on the Iberian Peninsula
and had begun to write one of the most glorious chapters in Islamic history.
After their forays into France were blunted by Charles
Martel, the Muslims in Spain had begun to focus what they called “Al-Andalus”,
southern Spain (Andalusia) where they were building a civilization far more
superior to anything Spain had ever known. Reigning with wisdom and justice,
they treated Christians and Jews with tolerance and love, with the result that
many embraced Islam. They also improved trade and agriculture, patronized the
arts, made valuable contributions to science and developed Cordoba into the most
sophisticated city in Europe.
By the tenth century Cordoba had a population of
approximately 500000 compared to about 38000 in Paris. According to the chronicles
of the day, the city had 700 mosques, some 60000 palaces and 70 libraries-one
reportedly housing 500000 manuscripts and employing a staff of researchers,
illuminators and book binders.
Cordoba also had about 900 public baths,
Europe’s first street lights and 5 miles outside the city the calipha
residence, Madinat Al-Zahra. A complex of marble, stucco, ivory and onyx.
Madinat al Zahra took 40 years to build costing close to 1/3 of Cordoba’s
revenue and until it was destroyed in the eleventh century one of the wonders
of the age. Its restoration begun in the early years of his century and is
still under way.
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