The Moors in Spain
1886
The Moors in Spain
1886
In 711, a Berber general crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and everything changed. Within months, the crumbling Visigothic kingdom of Spain lay shattered at Guadalete, and from this conquest emerged one of medieval Europe's most remarkable civilizations. Stanley Lane-Poole's 1886 masterwork traces the full arc of Moorish Spain: the dazzling age of the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, where libraries outnumbered those of Paris and London combined; the brutal internecine struggles between Arab, Berber, and native Andalusian; the poetic heroics of El Cid; and the doomed last kingdom at Granada, finally extinguished in 1492. Lane-Poole writes with Victorian confidence and narrative verve, giving us khalifs and viziers, saints and martyrs, the architects who built the Alhambra and the soldiers who watched it fall. This is history as lived drama. Yet beneath the adventure lies an uncomfortable question: what does a civilization owe to its golden ages, and what happens when they end?
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“There is no greater mistake than to imagine that the Arabs, who spread with such astonishing rapidity over half the civilized world, were in any real sense a united people. So far was this from being the truth, that it demanded all Mohammed's diplomatic skill, and all his marvellous personal prestige, to keep up a semblance of unity even while he was alive. The Arabs were made up of a number of hostile tribes or clans, many of whom had been engaged in deadly blood-feuds for several generations, and all of whom were moved by a spirit of tribal jealousy which was never entirely extinguished. Had the newly-founded Mohammedan State been restrained within the borders of Arabia, there can be no doubt that it would speedily have collapsed in the rivalry of the several clans;””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“the empire that is won by the sword must be sustained by the same weapon. Honest””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“For nearly eight centuries, under her Mohammedan rulers, Spain set to all Europe a shining example of a civilized and enlightened State. Her fertile provinces, rendered doubly prolific by the industry and engineering skill of her conquerors, bore fruit an hundredfold. Cities innumerable sprang up in the rich valleys of the Guadelquivir and the Guadiana, whose names, and names only, still commemorate the vanished glories of their past. Art, literature, and science prospered, as they then prospered nowhere else in Europe. Students flocked from France and Germany and England to drink from the fountain of learning which flowed only in the cities of the Moors. The surgeons and doctors of Andalusia were in the van of science: women were encouraged to devote themselves to serious study, and the lady doctor was not unknown among the people of Cordova. Mathematics, astronomy and botany, history, philosophy and jurisprudence were to be mastered in Spain, and Spain alone. The practical work of the field, the scientific methods of irrigation, the arts of fortification and shipbuilding, the highest and most elaborate products of the loom, the graver and the hammer, the potter's wheel and the mason's trowel, were brought to perfection by the Spanish Moors. In the practice of war no less than in the arts of peace they long stood supreme.””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“This is doubtless the young Abd-er-Rahmān, before opposition and conspiracy had made him suspicious and cruel. Power has often a terrible manner of punishing its possessors.””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“This young man was the new ruler whom Charlemagne had so unsuccessfully come to expel, and his name was Abd-er-Rahmān the Omeyyad.””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“There was nothing for it but to hurry back and defend his dominions. He rapidly retraced his steps, and the main part of his army had already crossed the mountains when disaster overtook the rear in the Pass of Roncesvalles.””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
“وترقب العرب عبثًا وصول ما كانوا يؤملون من النجدات من مصر أو من سلاطين تركيا فلم تأتِ،””
— Stanley Lane-Poole
About The Moors in Spain
Chapter Summaries
- 1
- The Muslim conquest of Spain begins with the betrayal of Count Julian after King Roderick dishonors his daughter Florinda. Tarik leads 7,000 Berbers across the strait and defeats Roderick at the Battle of Guadalete in 711, ending Visigothic rule.
- 2
- The Muslims rapidly conquer most of Spain, with cities surrendering or being taken by force. The advance into France is halted by Charles Martel at Tours in 732, while Charlemagne's later invasion of Spain fails at Roncesvalles.
- 3
- The Muslim rulers establish a tolerant administration in Al-Andalus, treating Christians and Jews fairly while collecting reasonable taxes. However, tribal divisions between Arabs and Berbers create ongoing tensions and conflicts.
Key Themes
- Clash of Civilizations
- The fundamental conflict between Islamic and Christian worldviews, cultures, and political systems that shaped medieval Spain. This wasn't merely religious but encompassed different approaches to governance, learning, tolerance, and social organization.
- Rise and Fall of Empires
- The cyclical nature of political power, demonstrated through the decline of the Visigoths, the rise and fragmentation of Muslim Spain, and the eventual Christian reconquest. Each civilization reached heights of power and culture before internal divisions led to their downfall.
- Cultural Synthesis and Loss
- The remarkable flowering of art, science, and learning in Muslim Spain, particularly in Córdoba, represented a unique synthesis of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish traditions. The expulsion of Muslims and Jews represented an irreparable cultural loss for Spain.
Characters
- Tarik(protagonist)
- Berber general who led the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711. Crossed at Gibraltar with 7,000 troops and defeated King Roderick at the Battle of Guadalete, effectively conquering the Iberian Peninsula.
- Roderick (Don Rodrigo)(antagonist)
- Last Visigothic king of Spain who was defeated and killed at the Battle of Guadalete in 711. His dishonoring of Florinda led to Count Julian's betrayal and the Muslim conquest.
- Count Julian(major)
- Governor of Ceuta who betrayed Spain to the Muslims after King Roderick dishonored his daughter Florinda. Provided ships and guidance for the Muslim invasion.
- Abd-er-Rahman I(protagonist)
- Sole survivor of the Umayyad dynasty who escaped the Abbasid massacre and founded the Emirate of Córdoba in 756. Known as 'the Falcon of Quraysh' for his cunning and courage.
- Abd-er-Rahman III(protagonist)
- The Great Caliph who restored order to Al-Andalus after decades of anarchy, assumed the title of Caliph, and made Córdoba the most magnificent city in Europe. Ruled from 912-961.
- Almanzor (Ibn-Abi-Amir)(protagonist)
- Brilliant minister who became the real ruler of Al-Andalus while keeping the Caliph Hisham II secluded. Led over 50 victorious campaigns against the Christians, including the sack of Santiago de Compostela.
