Al-Andalus (الأندلس) was the Arabic name for the Muslim-ruled part of the Iberian Peninsula, from 711 to 1492. At its height it encompassed almost all of Spain and Portugal. The name may derive from 'Vandalusia' (land of the Vandals) or possibly from an older pre-Islamic toponym. For eight centuries Al-Andalus formed the western wing of the Islamic world: a land where Berber soldiers, Arab poets and Jewish philosophers met one another.

Who conquered Spain in 711?

In April 711, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber general in the service of Musa ibn Nusayr, the Umayyad governor of North Africa, crossed the Strait with about 7,000 men. The Rock of Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq, 'mountain of Tariq') is named after him. At the Battle of Guadalete he defeated King Roderic. Within four years virtually the entire peninsula was under Muslim rule. A young Berber general conquered a Visigothic kingdom that was already faltering; history sometimes takes swift, improbable turns.

What was the Convivencia?

The Convivencia (Spanish for 'living together') is the academic term for the periods in which Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together in relative peace in Al-Andalus, above all under the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031). Languages, mathematics, poetry and philosophy crossed paths without pause. The Convivencia was not idyllic; there were tensions and persecutions. Yet it shows what becomes possible when just governance and shared learning reinforce one another.

Who were the great scholars of Al-Andalus?

Among the Muslim scholars: Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 1198, philosophy and medicine), Ibn Hazm (d. 1064, theology and the prose of love), Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185, the philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan), az-Zahrawi (Albucasis, d. 1013, father of surgery) and al-Idrisi (d. 1165, cartography). Among the Jewish: Maimonides (Rambam, born in Córdoba in 1138). Their works entered Europe through Toledo and Salerno, leaving the Renaissance with a quiet debt to Al-Andalus that has never been fully acknowledged.

How did Al-Andalus end in 1492?

On 2 January 1492, Sultan Boabdil (Muhammad XII) surrendered Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs. It was the end of almost 800 years of Muslim rule on the peninsula. That same year the Jews were expelled from Spain and Columbus sailed for America. Muslims were pressured into conversion or, in 1609, expelled for good (the Moriscos). Boabdil's mother is said to have rebuked him: "Weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man", words that still echo beneath the gates of the Alhambra.

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Al-Andalus

Overview

الأندلس

Frequently asked questions

What was Al-Andalus?: Al-Andalus (الأندلس) was the Arabic name for the Muslim-ruled part of the Iberian Peninsula, from 711 to 1492. At its height it encompassed almost all of Spain and Portugal. The name may derive from 'Vandalusia' (land of the Vandals) or possibly from an older pre-Islamic toponym. For eight centuries Al-Andalus formed the western wing of the Islamic world: a land where Berber soldiers, Arab poets and Jewish philosophers met one another.
Who conquered Spain in 711?: In April 711, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber general in the service of Musa ibn Nusayr, the Umayyad governor of North Africa, crossed the Strait with about 7,000 men. The Rock of Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq, 'mountain of Tariq') is named after him. At the Battle of Guadalete he defeated King Roderic. Within four years virtually the entire peninsula was under Muslim rule. A young Berber general conquered a Visigothic kingdom that was already faltering; history sometimes takes swift, improbable turns.
What was the Convivencia?: The Convivencia (Spanish for 'living together') is the academic term for the periods in which Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together in relative peace in Al-Andalus, above all under the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031). Languages, mathematics, poetry and philosophy crossed paths without pause. The Convivencia was not idyllic; there were tensions and persecutions. Yet it shows what becomes possible when just governance and shared learning reinforce one another.
Who were the great scholars of Al-Andalus?: Among the Muslim scholars: Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 1198, philosophy and medicine), Ibn Hazm (d. 1064, theology and the prose of love), Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185, the philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan), az-Zahrawi (Albucasis, d. 1013, father of surgery) and al-Idrisi (d. 1165, cartography). Among the Jewish: Maimonides (Rambam, born in Córdoba in 1138). Their works entered Europe through Toledo and Salerno, leaving the Renaissance with a quiet debt to Al-Andalus that has never been fully acknowledged.
How did Al-Andalus end in 1492?: On 2 January 1492, Sultan Boabdil (Muhammad XII) surrendered Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs. It was the end of almost 800 years of Muslim rule on the peninsula. That same year the Jews were expelled from Spain and Columbus sailed for America. Muslims were pressured into conversion or, in 1609, expelled for good (the Moriscos). Boabdil's mother is said to have rebuked him: "Weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man", words that still echo beneath the gates of the Alhambra.