The defining feature of Al-Andalus was a tolerant, pluralistic, syncretical culture that offered complete freedom for Jews and Christians to practice their faith. Soon, Cordoba, the capital of the Western Caliphate, became the center of commerce and science, attracting scholars, philosophers, and scientists from around the world. Arabic became the language of commerce and literature, transcending any religious or national barriers. Cordoba had a grand mosque, many libraries, learning centers, and miles of nightly-lit, paved streets, features unknown in contemporary European cities
When Al-Andalus Was the Jewel of the World
By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
The name Maria Rosa Menocal would not be familiar to most people today, except in the limited circles of university scholars and intellectuals. Professor Menocal has been dead for 25 years, dying when she was only 59 years old. The American professor of Cuban heritage at Yale, she was famous in her days for her scholarship on the history of Muslim rule in Spain in medieval times. Her book, The Ornament of the World, published in 2002, became an instant bestseller and remained on the list for months. Professor Menocal’s book brought Islamic Spain's achievements to light for the Western audience and has been translated into many languages.
In today’s troubled world, polarized along religious, ethnic, and national fault lines, her book is especially relevant. It showcases how, in Andalusia, a society was created in which Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived peacefully, producing great scholars and giving birth to one of the most advanced civilizations of the time. I remember that in May 2004, Dr Menocal came to Washington to participate in a symposium on the legacy and lessons of Islamic Spain. The Smithsonian Institute of Washington sponsored it and displayed priceless articles, old manuscripts, tapestries, and coins from Al-Andalus. In today’s political climate, it is hard to imagine a similar event happening in Washington.
The mid-eighth century was a turbulent period in Islamic history. The Umayyad dynasty was unraveling, eventually overthrown and replaced by the Abbasids. Almost every member of the Omayyad family was brutally massacred, except for one member. Prince Abd al-Rehman successfully escaped Damascus and reached Al-Andalus. He founded a new dynasty and made Cordoba his capital, ushering in what is now known as the Golden Age of Al-Andalus. Amir Abd al-Rehman I (750-788) never lost his yearning for his hometown, Damascus. Several poems record his feeling of homesickness as he planted a symbolic date tree in Cordoba, moaning that they both were strangers in the land, away from home.
Al-Andalus reached its zenith in the reign of Abdurrehman III (929-961), when the country was most powerful and glorious. He declared Al-Andalus a Caliphate, a rival to the Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad, and himself the Caliph. Dr Menocal has narrated in beautiful detail the grandeur of Al-Andalus and the unprecedented florescence of arts, sciences, culture, and architecture. Medieval Europe became acquainted with the Greek knowledge of philosophy, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics by translating Arabic books that had preserved the knowledge into Latin and other Western languages. Access to the libraries of Cordoba and Toledo, following the fall of Al-Andalus, with their vast collection of books, played a crucial role in initiating the European Renaissance.
The defining feature of Al-Andalus was a tolerant, pluralistic, syncretical culture that offered complete freedom for Jews and Christians to practice their faith. Soon, Cordoba, the capital of the Western Caliphate, became the center of commerce and science, attracting scholars, philosophers, and scientists from around the world. Arabic became the language of commerce and literature, transcending any religious or national barriers. Cordoba had a grand mosque, many libraries, learning centers, and miles of nightly-lit, paved streets, features unknown in contemporary European cities. To the delight
Jewish community members were not the only prominent minority subjects of the Caliphate. Many Andalusian Christians also served in influential government positions. Menocal cites the case of Bishop Rabi ibn Zayd, who was sent in 955 as the ambassador to the court of Emperor Otto I of Germany. He returned with some priceless gifts, including a green onyx fountain, which adorned the newly built palace of Medinat al-Zahra
of its Umayya rulers, it rivaled or surpassed the splendors of Baghdad. Some highly accomplished musicians like Ziryab abandoned Baghdad and settled in Cordoba.
Professor Menocal relates the story of the rise of Hasdai ibn Shaprut, a Jewish scholar, rabbi, physician, and nobleman during the reign of Caliph Abd al-Rahman III (912-961). Shaprut was fluent in Arabic, spoke several languages, and was at ease in Islamic and Jewish cultures. The Caliph soon recognized his extraordinary diplomatic skills and named him his physician and chief diplomat. The Jewish foreign minister exercised significant clout. When the representatives of the Byzantine emperor, Basil Constantine III, came from Constantinople to the newly built, fabled city of Madinat al-Zahra in 948 to negotiate and sign a treaty, the delegation of the Caliphate of Cordoba was headed by its Jewish foreign minister, Shaprut, representing the Caliph.
The Byzantine delegation brought an invaluable gift from the emperor: the original copy of Materia Medica, a richly illustrated compilation of medical knowledge authored by the illustrious Greek pharmacologist of antiquity, Dioscorides. The book was a precious gift and a potential treasure trove for the scholars and physicians of Cordoba. Initially, because nobody knew Greek, the text could not be deciphered. However, Shaprut assembled an international team of scholars to translate Greek into Arabic. He edited and approved the final version of the document.
Jewish community members were not the only prominent minority subjects of the Caliphate. Many Andalusian Christians also served in influential government positions. Menocal cites the case of Bishop Rabi ibn Zayd, who was sent in 955 as the ambassador to the court of Emperor Otto I of Germany. He returned with some priceless gifts, including a green onyx fountain, which adorned the newly built palace of Medinat al-Zahra.
Unfortunately, the splendor and majesty of Madinat al-Zahra and Cordoba did not last long. Successors to Abd al-Rehman did not prove as capable, and soon hordes of Berber tribesmen from North Africa were attracted by the wealth of the Caliphate. In the year 1031, the fabled Medinat al-Zahra was mercilessly looted, ransacked, and destroyed by the tribesmen from across the Strait of Gibraltar. They were unaccustomed to the opulent and sophisticated culture they encountered and viewed it as a symbol of decadence. The already moribund Caliphate ceased to exist when, in 1212, the combined Christian forces under Alfonso VIII finally defeated the Almohad Berber armies at the plains of Las Navas, some 70 miles east of Cordoba, The forces of Ferdinand III , king of Castile and León , finally ended the Islamic rule over the city in 1236 that had begun in 711.
Following the collapse of Cordoba, the Western Islamic Caliphate fragmented into several smaller states that became known as Taifa (Party) Kingdoms. However, the tradition of religious tolerance outlasted the Caliphate. Many talented artists, poets, scholars, and craftsmen relocated to one of the newly established Taifa kingdoms. A fascinating story is told of a young Cordoban Jew, Samuel Nagid, an accomplished scholar and poet who was forced to leave his beloved city and settle in the new state of Granada. He was well-versed in Jewish and Islamic theology and literature and soon rose to unprecedented heights, becoming the prime minister of the kingdom of Granada.
For all its remarkable achievements, claiming that Al-Andalus was always a tolerant and inclusive society would be unrealistic. Some critics of Menocal’s book have pointed out that following the fall of the Caliphate, life in Cordoba had become miserable for all those who did not conform to the rigid and narrow doctrine of the new Almoravid rulers, who came from Africa. Two of the most renowned physicians and philosophers of the Middle Ages, a Jew, Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) (1135-1204), and the other, a Muslim, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were forced to leave their hometown for fear of persecution. Maimonides settled in Egypt, where he rose to become the personal physician of Sultan Salahuddin.
Following the route that empires reach their zenith, decay, and disappear, as outlined by Allama Ibn Khaldun, one of the greatest philosophers of medieval times, the sun of the Islamic rule in Spain finally set when, on January 2, 1492, the last Muslim King of Granada, Abu Abdullah, surrendered the keys of the majestic Alhambra Palace to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I.
(Dr Syed Amir is a former Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, and a health science administrator, US National Institutes of Health)
