AL ANDALUS SOCIAL SCIENCES 2º ESO

Mª EULALIA CASTILLO
SÁEZ
 SUMMARY
THE VISIGOTHS.
THE MUSLIM INVASION OF HISPANIA.
I. TIMELINE OF AL ANDALUS.
1º. DEPENDENT EMIRATE (711-756).
2º. INDEPENDENT EMIRATE (756-929).
3º. CALIPHATE OF CORDOBA (929-1031).
4º. TAIFAS AND NORTH AFRICAN RULERS (1031-1212).
5º. NASRID KINGDOM OF GRANADA (1212–1492).
II. SOCIETY IN AL ANDALUS.
III. THE ECONOMY OF AL ANDALUS.
IV. URBAN LIFE IN AL ANDALUS.
THE VISIGOTHS.
- The visigoths were a Germanic tribe from Eastern Europe.

- Although they invaded Rome in 410, they became allies of the Romans, and attacked and
defeated other Germanic tribes in the Iberian Peninsula – Vandals, the Alans and the Suevi.
They controlled the Iberian Peninsula and the South of France.

- In 507 the Franks forced them out of Gaul, and they only controlled the Iberian Peninsula.
They called it Hispania.
 THE MUSLIM INVASION OF
HISPANIA.
- In 711, Tariq, a general from the North of Africa, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
with a small army of Berbers and Arabs.

- As there were internal conflicts in Hispania, some Visigoths supported Tariq.

- At the Battle of Guadalete, he defeated the Visigoth army. Roderic, the

Visigoth King, was killed.

- The Emir of North Africa, Musa bin Nusayr al – Balawi, came with more
soldiers. Together, Tariq and Musa conquered most of Hispania quite easily.
They called the conquered area Al Andalus.
 I. TIMELINE OF AL ANDALUS.

INDEPENDE TAIFAS AND NASRID

DEPENDEN CALIPHATE NORTH –
NT KINGDOM OF
T EMIRATE OF CORDOBA AFRICAN
EMIRATE RULERS GRANADA
711-756 929-1031
756-929 1031-1212 1212-1492
1º. DEPENDENT
EMIRATE (711 -
756)
- 711-714: the muslims conquered
most of Hispania.
- 750: The Abbasids overthrow the
last caliph in Damascus.
- Al Andalus is part of the Umayyad
Caliphate.
2º. INDEPENDENT EMIRATE
(756 - 929)
- In 756 the Umayyad prince Abd ar-Rahman I
defeated the governor of Al Andalus and
becomes Emir of Córdoba.
- The Emirate of Córdoba is governed by the
Umayyad dynasty.
- It is independent from the Abbasid Caliphate
in Baghdad.
- The Emirates becomes more and more
prosperous.
3º. CALIPHATE OF CÓRDOBA
(929 – 1031)
- In 929 the Emir Abd ar-Rahman
III declares himself caliph of
Córdoba.
- During the Caliphate, Córdoba
was one of the biggest and most
important cities in the world.
4º. TAIFAS AND
NORTH AFRICAN
RULERS (1031-
1212)

- In 1031 the Caliphate

disintegrated into several
smaller kingdoms called
Taifas.
- In 1085, the Christians took Toledo.

- In 1086, the Almoravids defeated the Christians at the battle of Sagrajas.

- The Taifas weren’t strong enough to resist the Christians kings, so they ask for help
to the Almoravids (Berbels from Morocco). The Almoravides then took control of Al
Andalus.

- Later, in 1147, another group from North Africa, the Almohads, took over from
the Almoravids.
 5º. NASRID KINGDOM OF
GRANADA (1212– 1492)
- In 1212, the Christians kings defeated the Almohads at the battle of Navas de Tolosa. Afterwards, the Christians soon took
cities in Andalusia like Jaén, Córdoba and Seville.

- Granada was the only Muslim kingdom left in the Iberian Peninsula. It covered the modern provinces of Málaga, Granada and
Almería.

- Granada was ruled by the Nasrid Dinasty (Dinastía Nazarí).

- Many Muslims left other parts of the Península and go to the Kingdom of Granada.

- This kingdom was prosperous, but its army was weak. This meant that it had to pay tribute to the Christian Kingdom of
Castile.

- In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand conquered Granada. Boabdil was the last Muslim King in Al Andalus.
II. SOCIETY IN AL ANDALUS.
KEY WORDS.

- ARABS: they were the most important social group. There weren’t many Arabs, but they had the
most privileges: they had the best lands, and most Muslim’s leaders were mainly Arabs.

- BERBERS: they lived mainly from livestock farming. Most of the ordinary soldiers were also
Berbers. They came from North Africa. There were more Berbers tan Arabs, but they had less
privileges.
II.
- MULADIES: they were Christians converted to Islam. Most of them were peasants. As many
people converted, they were evenually the majorty of the population. (some converted because
SOCIETY
Muslims paid less taxes tan non-Muslims).
IN AL
ANDALUS
- MOZARABS: they were Christians.

.
- JEWS: they dedicated to trade, craftwork and finance. They played an important role in the
economy of Al Andalus.

- WOMEN IN AL ANDALUS.

☞ LOOK FOR INFORMATION: AIXA THE HONEST. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aixa

 III. THE ECONOMY OF AL
ANDALUS.
- AGRICULTURE: Muslims grew crops like sugar cane, rice, citrus fruits, grapes
and cotton.

They had a good irrigation system, installing waterwheels in the rivers. This made
agriculture much more productive.

- TRADE: The Muslim world extended from the Iberian Peninsula to India. Al
Andalus exported silk and copper, and imported slaves and gold. In cities like
Córdoba, Seville or Zaragoza was also possible to buy ceramics from China.

The Muslims use gold and silver coins caled dinars and dírhams.

- ARTISANS: Muslims brought many new technologies with them, like the production
of silk. Weapons, ceramics and jewellery were also popular and high quality.
☞ THE SILK INDUSTRY.
IV. URBAN LIFE IN AL
ANDALUS.