Al-Andalus

(noun)

Also known as Muslim Spain or Islamic Iberia, a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying at its peak most of modern-day Spain and Portugal.

Related Terms

Examples of Al-Andalus in the following topics:

  • The Mediterranean

    • In the Middle Ages, the Mediterranean Al-Andalus was a great center for culture and art, as well of philosophical and scientific thought.
    • The first Islamic dynasty to establish itself in Spain (or al-Andalus) was that of the Spanish Umayyads.
    • Al-Andalus was a great cultural center of the Middle Ages.
    • The pyxis of al-Mughira is a masterwork of the genre.
    • The Alhambra is a reflection of the culture during the last centuries of the Moorish rule of Al-Andalus, reduced to the Emirate of Granada.

  • Expansion Under the Umayyad Caliphates

    • One grandson of Hisham, Abd al-Rahman I, survived and established a kingdom in Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia), proclaiming his family to be the Umayyad Caliphate revived.
    • Abd-ar-Rahman III united al-Andalus and brought the Christian kingdoms of the north under control through force and diplomacy.
    • Abd-ar-Rahman stopped the Fatimid advance into caliphate land in Morocco and al-Andalus.
    • Córdoba was the cultural and intellectual center of al-Andalus.
    • Al-Andalus was subject to eastern cultural influences as well.

  • Beatus Manuscripts

    • Mozarabic art refers to art of Mozarabs, Iberian Christians living in Al-Andalus who adopted Arab customs without converting to Islam during the Islamic invasion of the Iberian peninsula (from the eighth through the eleventh century).

  • The Islamic Golden Age

    • The end of the age is variously given as 1258 with the Mongolian Sack of Baghdad, or 1492 with the completion of the Christian Reconquista of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, Iberian Peninsula.
    • Ibn Rushd, also known by his Latinized name Averroës (April 14, 1126–December 10, 1198), was an Al-Andalus Muslim polymath, a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Andalusian classical music theory, medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, and celestial mechanics.
    • Averroes was born in Córdoba, Al-Andalus, present-day Spain, and died in Marrakesh, present-day Morocco.
    • Persian scientist Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī significantly developed algebra in in his landmark text, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala, from which the term "algebra" is derived.
    • The term "algorithm" is derived from the name of the scholar al-Khwarizmi, who was also responsible for introducing the Arabic numerals and Hindu-Arabic numeral system beyond the Indian subcontinent.

  • The Reconquista

    • Muslim interest in the peninsula returned in force around the year 1000 when Al-Mansur sacked Barcelona in 985.
    • The Almohads, who had taken control of the Almoravids' Maghribi and al-Andalus territories by 1147, surpassed the Almoravides in fundamentalist Islamic outlook, and they treated the non-believer dhimmis harshly.
    • After the loss of Toledo in 1085, the Muslim rulers reluctantly invited the Almoravides, who invaded Al-Andalus from North Africa and established an empire.

  • Islamic Conquest of the Maghreb

    • The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world.
    • It resulted in a series of four caliphs between the death of Muawiya in 680 and the accession of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (Abdalmalek) in 685.
    • The area was divided into three provinces: Egypt with its governor at al-Fustat, Ifriqiya with its governor at Kairouan, and the Maghreb (modern Morocco) with its governor at Tangiers.

  • Charles Martel and Pepin the Short

    • Arab and Berber Islamic forces had conquered Spain (711), crossed the Pyrenees (720), seized a major dependency of the Visigoths (721–725), and after intermittent challenges, under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus, advanced toward Gaul and on Tours, "the holy town of Gaul."
    • In October 732, the army of the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Al Ghafiqi, met Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles in an area between the cities of Tours and Poitiers (modern north-central France), leading to a decisive, historically important Frankish victory known as the Battle of Tours.
    • Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was killed, and Charles subsequently extended his authority in the south.

  • The Crusades

    • For example, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre but his successor allowed the Byzantine Empire to rebuild it.
    • It became acceptable for the Pope to utilize knights in the name of Christendom, not only against political enemies of the Papacy, but also against Al-Andalus, or, theoretically, against the Seljuq dynasty in the east.

  • Aluminum

    • $2Al\quad +\quad 3{ H }_{ 2 }O\quad \longrightarrow \quad { Al }_{ 2 }{ O }_{ 3 }+3{ H }_{ 2 }$
    • Its halides (AlF3, AlCl3, AlBr3 and AlI3) are common examples.
    • A variety of compounds of empirical formula AlR3 and AlR1.5Cl1.5 exist.
    • These species usually feature tetrahedral Al centers.
    • $4LiH\quad +\quad Al{ Cl }_{ 3 }\quad \longrightarrow \quad LiAl{ H }_{ 4 }\quad +\quad 3LiCl$

  • Basic and Amphoteric Hydroxides

    • One of the most common and familiar examples of an amphoteric hydroxide is aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)3.
    • From our solubility rules, we know that Al(OH)3 is largely insoluble in neutral water; however, in a strongly acidic solution, the situation changes.
    • For example, consider the reaction of Al(OH)3 with HCl:
    • This is a classic acid-base neutralization reaction: the HCl completely protonates all three hydroxides per mole of Al(OH)3, yielding pure water and the salt AlCl3.
    • Consider the Lewis structure for Al(OH)3.