Misplaced Pages

#908091

103-655: Balaguer was conquered from the Moors by Ermengol VI of Urgell in 1106; he made it his new capital, and it remained so for subsequent counts of Urgell. A Jewish community existed in Balaguer from the 11th century to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. The town has a Gothic bridge, the "Pont de Sant Miquel", over the Segre river. This bridge was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in

206-845: A civil war in 739 that lasted until 743 known as the Berber Revolt . The Berbers revolted against the Umayyads , putting an end to Eastern dominion over the Maghreb. Despite racial tensions, Arabs and Berbers intermarried frequently. A few years later, the Eastern branch of the Umayyad dynasty was dethroned by the Abbasids and the Umayyad Caliphate overthrown in the Abbasid revolution (746–750) . Abd al-Rahman I , who

309-515: A heraldic symbol has been deprecated in modern North America . For example, the College of Arms of the Society for Creative Anachronism urges applicants to use them delicately to avoid causing offence. Fall of Granada The Granada War ( Spanish : Guerra de Granada ), also called Spanish Christian–Muslim War of 1481–1492 , was a series of military campaigns between 1481 and 1492 during

412-505: A hereditary trait with them; all but Sulaiman al-Zafir (God have mercy on him!), whom I remember to have had black ringlets and a black beard. As for al-Nasir and al-Hakam al-Mustansir (may God be pleased with them!), I have been informed by my late father, the vizier, as well as by others, that both of them were blond and blue-eyed. The same is true of Hisham al-Mu'aiyad , Muhammad al-Mahdi, and `Abd al-Rahman al-Murtada (may God be merciful to them all!); I saw them myself many times, and had

515-512: A high level of religious conversion (whether voluntary or enforced), driven by historical episodes of social and religious intolerance, that ultimately led to the integration of descendants." According to historian Richard A. Fletcher , "the number of Arabs who settled in Iberia was very small. 'Moorish' Iberia does at least have the merit of reminding us that the bulk of the invaders and settlers were Moors, i.e., Berbers from Algeria and Morocco." In

618-462: A large degree of control in directing the army as a whole. The Granadans, meanwhile, were beset with civil war, preventing the establishment of a unified command. The Christian army was almost completely Castilian; Aragonese and foreign mercenary participation was minimal. Of the Castilian army, Andalusia contributed far more troops than the other territories, with much of its population conscripted into

721-569: A vast increase from the paltry numbers seen in the War of the Castilian Succession. Primitive arquebuses also saw use in the war, though only to a small degree. Heavy cavalry knights were a much smaller factor in the Granada War than seen in earlier warfare. Light cavalry jinetes took on a more prominent role instead. The open-field battles in which cavalry were the most important were rare;

824-576: Is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim populations of the Maghreb , al-Andalus ( Iberian Peninsula ), Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages . Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defined people. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that the term had "no real ethnological value." Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied

927-712: Is presumably of Phoenician origin. Some sources attribute a Hebrew origin to the word. During the classical period, the Romans interacted with, and later conquered, parts of Mauretania , a state that covered modern northern Morocco , western Algeria , and the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla . The Berber tribes of the region were noted in the Classics as Mauri , which was subsequently rendered as "Moors" in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri (Μαῦροι)

1030-655: Is recorded as the native name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii ( Ancient Greek : Μαυρούσιοι ). The Moors were also mentioned by Tacitus as having revolted against the Roman Empire in 24 AD . During the Latin Middle Ages, Mauri was used to refer to Berbers and Arabs in the coastal regions of Northwest Africa. The 16th century scholar Leo Africanus (c. 1494–1554) identified

1133-497: Is usually said to be the formal beginning of the Granada War. Abu Hasan attempted to retake Alhama by siege in March but was unsuccessful. Reinforcements from the rest of Castile and Aragon averted the possibility of retaking Alhama in April 1482; King Ferdinand formally took command at Alhama on May 14, 1482. The Christians next tried to besiege Loja but failed to take the town. This setback

SECTION 10

#1732847545909

1236-680: The Reconquista ("Reconquest") soon after the Islamic conquest in the 8th century. Christian states based in the north and west slowly extended their power over the rest of Iberia. The Kingdom of Navarre , the Kingdom of Galicia , the Kingdom of León , the Kingdom of Portugal , the Kingdom of Aragon , the Marca Hispánica , and the Crown of Castile began a process of expansion and internal consolidation during

1339-612: The Aghlabid Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily , developing it as a port. They eventually went on to consolidate the rest of the island . Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries-long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe , which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista . In 1224, the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to

1442-468: The Alhambra that day in case resistance materialized, which it did not. Granada's resistance had come to its end. The most notable facet of the Granada War was the power of bombards and cannons to greatly shorten the many sieges of the war. The Castilians and Aragonese started the war with only a few artillery pieces, but Ferdinand had access to French and Burgundian experts from his recent wars, and

1545-596: The Azawagh Arabs , after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. The authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language does not list any derogatory meaning for the word moro , a term generally referring to people of Maghrebian origin in particular or Muslims in general. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular and Muslims in general. In

1648-635: The Bangsamoro "Moro Nation". Moreno can mean "dark-skinned" in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a humorous name for "wine", especially that which has not been "baptized" or mixed with water, i.e., pure unadulterated wine. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, applied to both Filipino Moros from Mindanao, and the moriscos of Granada . Moro refers to all things dark, as in "Moor", moreno , etc. It

1751-557: The Crown of Aragon . Despite the weakening economy, taxes were still imposed at their earlier high rates to support Granada's extensive defenses and large army. Ordinary Granadans paid triple the taxes of (non-tax-exempt) Castilians. The heavy taxes that Emir Abu-l-Hasan Ali imposed contributed greatly to his unpopularity. These taxes did at least support a respected army; Hasan was successful in putting down Christian revolts in his lands, and some observers estimated he could muster as many as 7,000 horsemen. The frontier between Granada and

1854-487: The Crusades , as a pun on the bearer's name in the canting arms of Morese, Negri, Saraceni, etc., or in the case of Frederick II , possibly to demonstrate the reach of his empire. The arms of Pope Benedict XVI feature a moor's head, crowned and collared red, in reference to the arms of Freising, Germany . In the case of Corsica and Sardinia, the blindfolded moors' heads in the four quarters have long been said to represent

1957-785: The Inquisition in Spain . The Muslim population of Granada rebelled in 1499 . The revolt lasted until early 1501, giving the Castilian authorities an excuse to void the terms of the Treaty of Granada (1491) . In 1501, Castilian authorities delivered an ultimatum to the Muslims of Granada: they could either convert to Christianity or be expelled. The Inquisition was aimed mostly at Jews and Muslims who had overtly converted to Christianity but were thought to be practicing their faiths secretly. They were respectively called marranos and moriscos . However, in 1567 King Philip II directed Moriscos to give up their Arabic names and traditional dress, and prohibited

2060-610: The Isma'ili rulers of the Fatimid Caliphate . Four years later, the Fatimid governor was ousted from Palermo when the island declared its independence under Emir Ahmed ibn-Kohrob. The language spoken in Sicily under Muslim rule was Siculo-Arabic . In 1038, a Byzantine army under George Maniakes crossed the strait of Messina. This army included a corps of Normans that saved the situation in

2163-610: The Philippines , a former Spanish colony , many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao and other southern islands Moros . The word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people . The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym , with many self-identifying as members of

SECTION 20

#1732847545909

2266-624: The Spanish Inquisition , and Ferdinand brought the Inquisition to Aragon where previously it had not held power. Castile was the main beneficiary of the war, as it had also spent by far the majority of the money and manpower to prosecute it, and completely annexed Granada. The conquest of Granada meant little for Aragon's strategic position, but it did help secure Castilian support in Italy and France, where Aragon's interests lay. The task of funding

2369-669: The Strait of Gibraltar onto the Iberian Peninsula , and in a series of raids they conquered Visigothic Christian Hispania . Their general, Tariq ibn Ziyad , brought most of Iberia under Islamic rule in an eight-year campaign. They continued northeast across the Pyrenees Mountains but were defeated by the Franks under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Maghreb fell into

2472-520: The settlement of Lucera , which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Spain, although a Muslim minority persisted until their expulsion in 1609. The etymology of the word "Moor" is uncertain, although it can be traced back to the Phoenician term Mahurin , meaning "Westerners". From Mahurin , the ancient Greeks derive Mauro , from which Latin derives Mauri . The word "Moor"

2575-506: The 3,000 horses (1482), 1,000 to 1,500 (1483, 1485 and 1487) or even 3–400 riders (1489 and 1491). Concerning the infantry, De Miguel Mora states that a Muslim soldier captured by the Castilians during the siege of Baza confessed that the real infantry strength of the garrison was 4,000 men and not 15,000. So, the Muslim armies could not exceed some 4,000 infantry. At the end of the war, the ratio

2678-614: The African garrison and Christian renegades (converts to Islam) fought tenaciously, fearing the consequences of defeat. Near the end, the notables of Málaga finally offered a surrender, but Ferdinand refused, as generous terms had already been offered twice. When the city finally fell, Ferdinand punished almost all the inhabitants for their stubborn resistance with slavery, while renegades were burned alive or pierced by reeds. The Jews of Malaga, however, were spared, as Castilian Jews ransomed them from slavery. Historian William Prescott considered

2781-746: The Algarve ". The Moorish Kingdom of Granada continued for three more centuries in southern Iberia. On 2 January 1492, the leader of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada surrendered to the armies of a recently united Christian Spain (after the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragón and Isabella I of Castile , the " Catholic Monarchs "). The Moorish inhabitants received no military aid or rescue from other Muslim nations. The remaining Jews were also forced to leave Spain, convert to Roman Catholic Christianity, or be killed for refusing to do so. In 1480, to exert social and religious control, Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to allow

2884-413: The Castilian lands of Andalusia was in a constant state of flux, "neither in peace nor in war." Raids across the border were common, as were intermixing alliances between local nobles on both sides of the frontier. Relations were governed by occasional truces and demands for tribute should those on one side have been seen to overstep their bounds. Neither country's central government intervened or controlled

2987-556: The Castilians did not even bother to ask for or obtain reparation for a raid in 1477. Truces were agreed upon in 1475, 1476, and 1478. In 1479, the Succession War concluded with Isabella victorious. As Isabella had married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469, this meant that the two powerful kingdoms of Castile and Aragon would stand united, free from the inter-Christian strife which had allowed the Emirate of Granada to survive. The truce of 1478

3090-490: The Castilians. Occasional threats of deprivation of office were necessary to keep the army in the field, and Isabella came personally to the siege to help maintain the morale of both the nobles and the soldiers. After six months, al-Zagal surrendered, despite his garrison still being largely unharmed; he had become convinced that the Christians were serious about maintaining the siege as long as it would take, and further resistance

3193-706: The Catholic Monarchs, despite holding only the city of Granada and the Alpujarras Mountains. It was clear that such a position was untenable in the long term, so Boabdil sent out desperate requests for external aid. Qaitbay , the Sultan of Egypt mildly rebuked Ferdinand for the Granada War, but the Mamluks that ruled Egypt were in a near constant war with the Ottoman Turks . As Castile and Aragon were fellow enemies of

Balaguer - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-451: The Christian forces took some of his land, perhaps assuming it would shortly be returned to him. In 1489, the Christian forces began a painfully long siege of Baza, the most important stronghold remaining to al-Zagal. Baza was highly defensible as it required the Christians to split their armies, and artillery was of little use against it. Supplying the army caused a huge budget shortfall for

3399-512: The Christians aggressively increased their artillery forces. The Muslims, however, lagged far behind in their use of artillery, generally only using the occasional captured Christian piece. The historian Weston F. Cook Jr. wrote "Gunpowder firepower and artillery siege operations won the Granadan war, and other factors in the Spanish victory were actually secondary and derivative." By 1495, Castile and Aragon controlled 179 pieces of artillery total,

3502-416: The Christians were generally unified. The Granadans were also bled economically by the tribute ( Old Spanish : paria ) they had to pay Castile to avoid being attacked and conquered. The war saw the effective use of artillery by the Christians to rapidly conquer towns that would otherwise have required long sieges. On January 2, 1492, Muhammad XII of Granada (King Boabdil) surrendered the Emirate of Granada,

3605-633: The Granadans, badly outnumbered, generally avoided such battles. The Castilians also employed a large number of supporting men; a huge force of workers were mustered in 1483 to destroy crops and pillage the countryside rather than engage directly in battle. Coordination and logistics were difficult given the mountainous terrain, but the Christians diligently built a series of roads through the mountains to deliver food and supplies to their troops. Politically, many nobles insisted on controlling their own forces, but Ferdinand and Isabella were still able to exercise

3708-514: The Islamic territory in Iberia fell under the rule of the Almohad Caliphate in 1153. This second stage was guided by a version of Islam that left behind the more tolerant practices of the past. Al-Andalus broke up into a number of taifas (fiefs), which were partly consolidated under the Caliphate of Córdoba. The Kingdom of Asturias , a small northwestern Christian Iberian kingdom, initiated

3811-871: The Middle Ages. The term ascribed to them in Anglo-Norman blazon (the language of English heraldry ) is maure , though they are also sometimes called moore , blackmoor , blackamoor or negro . Maures appear in European heraldry from at least as early as the 13th century, and some have been attested as early as the 11th century in Italy , where they have persisted in the local heraldry and vexillology well into modern times in Corsica and Sardinia . Armigers bearing moors or moors' heads may have adopted them for any of several reasons, to include symbolizing military victories in

3914-525: The Moors ( Mauri ) as the native Berber inhabitants of the former Roman Africa Province ( Roman Africans ). In medieval Romance languages , variations of the Latin word for the Moors (for instance, Italian and Spanish : moro , French : maure , Portuguese : mouro , Romanian : maur ) developed different applications and connotations. The term initially denoted a specific Berber people in western Libya , but

4017-1069: The Moors were dominant between 711 and 1492. The best surviving examples of this architectural tradition are the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba and the Alhambra in Granada (mainly 1338–1390), as well as the Giralda in Seville (1184). Other notable examples include the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara (936–1010) and the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz , now a church, in Toledo , the Aljafería in Zaragoza and baths such as those at Ronda and Alhama de Granada . Moors—or more frequently their heads, often crowned—appear with some frequency in medieval European heraldry , though less so since

4120-427: The Muslim ranks and the cunning of the Marquis of Cádiz allowed the western reaches of Granada to be seized with unusual speed in 1485. Ronda fell to him after fifteen days, thanks to his negotiations with the city's leaders. Ronda's fall allowed Marbella , a base of the Granadan fleet, to come into Christian hands next. Boabdil was soon released from Christian protection to resume his bid for control of Granada. For

4223-468: The Turks, the Sultan had no desire to break their alliance against the Turks. Boabdil also requested aid from the Sultanate of Fes in crisis , but no reply is recorded by history. North Africa continued to sell Castile wheat throughout the war and valued maintaining good trade relations. In any case, the Granadans no longer controlled any coastline from where to receive overseas aid. No help would be forthcoming for Granada. An eight-month siege of Granada

Balaguer - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-405: The allure of new lands, while Ferdinand and Isabella centralized and consolidated their power. The aftermath of war brought to an end coexistence between religions in the Iberian peninsula: Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or be exiled in 1492, and by 1501, all of Granada's Muslims were obliged to convert to Christianity , become slaves, or be exiled; by 1526 this prohibition spread to

4429-423: The background. The Día de la Toma de Granada is a civic and religious festival held each year in Granada on the anniversary of the city's conquest, January 2. In the 21st century, parties of the left have criticised and boycotted the date, instead proposing that Granada's festival be that of Mariana Pineda , a 19th-century heroine. In 2019 and 2020, the party PP celebrated the event, also attended by Vox and

4532-400: The battle of "Cap de Pont" (bridgehead battle in 1938) and rebuilt after the war. Another Gothic building is the Santa Maria Church, in the heights above the city, in line with a quite finely conserved wall dating to the 15th century AD. The historic mansion Palauet de la muralla de Balaguer , converted to a hotel, is located in the city center and part of the old city wall forms the back of

4635-474: The building. The historic town is on the right bank of the Segre but, following the Spanish Civil War , construction began on a modern bridge, which initiated development of a modern extension of the town on the left bank. General Franco's forces first entered Catalonia from Aragon in 1938 through Balaguer's bridgehead. This Province of Lleida location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Moors The term Moor

4738-408: The capture of King Boabdil, however, Ferdinand decided to use him to conquer Granada entirely. In a letter written in August 1483, Ferdinand wrote "To put Granada in division and destroy it We have decided to free him.... He [Boabdil] has to make war on his father." With Boabdil's release as a pseudo-Christian ally, the Granadan civil war continued. A Granadan chronicler commented that Boabdil's capture

4841-475: The city of Granada , and the Alhambra palace to the Castilian forces. The war was a joint project between Isabella's Crown of Castile and Ferdinand's Crown of Aragon . The bulk of the troops and funds for the war came from Castile, and Granada was annexed into Castile's territory. The Crown of Aragon was less important: apart from the presence of King Ferdinand himself, Aragon provided naval collaboration, guns, and some financial loans. Aristocrats were offered

4944-523: The continuation of further conquest, but an Arab assault took Carthage and held it against a Byzantine counterattack. Although a Christian and pagan Berber rebellion pushed out the Arabs temporarily, the Romanized urban population preferred the Arabs to the Berbers and welcomed a renewed and final conquest that left northern Africa in Muslim hands by 698. Over the next decades, the Berber and urban populations of northern Africa gradually converted to Islam, although for separate reasons. The Arabic language

5047-449: The fall of Málaga the most important part of the war; Granada could not reasonably continue on as an independent state without Málaga, its chief port. Al-Zagal lost prestige from the fall of Málaga, and Boabdil took over all of the city of Granada in 1487; he additionally controlled the northeast of the country with Vélez-Rubio , Vélez-Blanco , and Vera . Al-Zagal still controlled Baza , Guadix , and Almería . Boabdil took no action as

5150-400: The first clash against the Muslims from Messina. After another decisive victory in the summer of 1040, Maniaces halted his march to lay siege to Syracuse . Despite his success, Maniaces was removed from his position, and the subsequent Muslim counter-offensive reconquered all the cities captured by the Byzantines. The Norman Robert Guiscard , son of Tancred, invaded Sicily in 1060. The island

5253-445: The former lower or untouchable castes) to Islam or descendants of a marriage alliance between a Middle Eastern individual and an Indian woman. Within the context of Portuguese colonization , in Sri Lanka ( Portuguese Ceylon ), Muslims of Arab origin are called Ceylon Moors , not to be confused with "Indian Moors" of Sri Lanka (see Sri Lankan Moors ). Sri Lankan Moors (a combination of "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors") make up 12% of

SECTION 50

#1732847545909

5356-466: The four Moorish emirs who were defeated by Peter I of Aragon and Pamplona in the 11th century, the four moors' heads around a cross having been adopted to the arms of Aragon around 1281–1387, and Corsica and Sardinia having come under the dominion of the king of Aragon in 1297. In Corsica, the blindfolds were lifted to the brow in the 18th century as a way of expressing the island's newfound independence. The use of Moors (and particularly their heads) as

5459-433: The greatest grain loads contracted, that also coincides with the largest revenue of Castile during the campaign, some 200 million); and 10–12,000 men for 1490–91 (final siege of Granada). A 20% of them should be cavalry. In relation to Muslim armies, according to Gabiola, the strengths mentioned by the sources (15,000 to 50,000 infantry, or 4,500–7,000 cavalry) should also be discarded. More plausible strengths mentioned are

5562-503: The group Hogar Social, distributing Spanish flags, with attendees chanting in praise of Spanish identity, while other groups such as the Revolutionary Anticapitalist Left turned out to oppose the celebration altogether, labelling the conquest a genocide. During the celebration, the Spanish Legion marches with its music band; it has become a rallying point for far-right and nationalist groups that have sparked incidents in late years. The Spanish Socialists shifted their position from removing

5665-429: The honour of being received by them, and I remarked that they all had fair hair and blue eyes. The languages spoken in the parts of the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule were Andalusian Arabic and Mozarabic ; they became extinct after the expulsion of the Moriscos , but Arabic language influence on the Spanish language can still be found today. The Muslims were resisted in parts of the Iberian Peninsula in areas of

5768-399: The incentives put in place by Fredrich II. Some Muslims from Lucera would also later convert due to oppression on the mainland and had their property returned to them and returned to Sicily. During the reigns of Frederick II as well as his son, Manfred , a large amount of Muslims were brought, as slaves, to farm lands and perform domestic labor. Enslaved persons in Sicily were not afforded

5871-560: The island nation, and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In the Philippines, the longstanding Muslim community, which predates the arrival of the Spanish, now self-identifies as the " Moro people ", an exonym introduced by Spanish colonizers due to their Muslim faith. In 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from northern Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Iberian Peninsula then came to be known in Classical Arabic as al-Andalus, which at its peak included most of Septimania and modern-day Spain and Portugal . In 827,

5974-488: The last Arab strongholds, fell to the Christians. Islamic authors noted the tolerance of the Norman kings of Sicily. Ali ibn al-Athir wrote: "They [the Muslims] were treated kindly, and they were protected, even against the Franks . Because of that, they had great love for King Roger." The Muslim problem characterized Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily under Holy Roman Emperors Henry VI and his son, Frederick II . Many repressive measures were introduced by Frederick II to appease

6077-478: The last Muslim state in Iberia for more than two centuries by the time of the Granada War. The other remnant al-Andalus states (the taifas ) of the once powerful Caliphate of Córdoba had long since been conquered by the Christians. Pessimism for Granada's future existed before its ultimate fall; in 1400, Ibn Hudayl wrote "Is Granada not enclosed between a violent sea and an enemy terrible in arms, both of which press on its people day and night?" Still, Granada

6180-545: The meantime, Spanish and Portuguese expeditions westward from the New World spread Christianity to India, the Malay Peninsula , Indonesia , and the Philippines . By 1521, the ships of Magellan had reached that island archipelago, which they named Las Islas Filipinas , after Philip II of Spain . In Mindanao , the Spaniards named the kris -bearing people as Moros or 'Moors'. Today this ethnic group in Mindanao, who are generally Filipino Muslim, are called "Moros". The first Muslim conquest of Sicily began in 827, though it

6283-562: The name acquired more general meaning during the medieval period, associated with " Muslim ", similar to associations with " Saracens ". During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista , the term Moors included the derogatory suggestion of "infidels". Apart from these historic associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic . They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria , Western Sahara , Tunisia , Morocco , Niger , and Mali . In Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as

SECTION 60

#1732847545909

6386-462: The name moor is applied to unbaptized children, meaning not Christian. In Basque , mairu means moor and also refers to a mythical people. Muslims located in South Asia were distinguished by the Portuguese historians into two groups: Mouros da Terra ("Moors of the Land") and the Mouros da Arabia/Mouros de Meca ("Moors from Arabia/Mecca" or "Paradesi Muslims"). The Mouros da Terra were either descendants of any native convert (mostly from any of

6489-407: The name to Arabs , Berbers , and Muslim Europeans . The term has also been used in Europe in a broader sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in al-Andalus or North Africa. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors " and " Indian Moors " in South Asia and Sri Lanka , now official ethnic designations on

6592-407: The next several centuries under the flag of Reconquista. In 1212, a coalition of Christian kings under the leadership of Alfonso VIII of Castile drove the Muslims from Central Iberia. The Portuguese side of the Reconquista ended in 1249 with the conquest of the Algarve ( Arabic : الغرب – al-Gharb ) under Afonso III . He was the first Portuguese monarch to claim the title " King of Portugal and

6695-430: The next three years, he acted as one of Ferdinand and Isabella's vassals. He offered the promise of limited independence for Granada and peace with the Christians to the citizenry; from the Catholic Monarchs, he extracted the title of Duke for whatever cities he could control. Málaga, the chief seaport of Granada, was the main objective of the Castilian forces in 1487. Emir al-Zagal was slow to march to attempt to relieve

6798-685: The northwest (such as Asturias , where they were defeated at the battle of Covadonga ) and the largely Basque Country in the Pyrenees . Though the number of Moorish colonists was small, many native Iberian inhabitants converted to Islam . By 1000, according to Ronald Segal , some 5,000,000 of Iberia's 7,000,000 inhabitants, most of them descended from indigenous Iberian converts, were Muslim. There were also Sub-Saharan Africans who had been absorbed into al-Andalus to be used as soldiers and slaves . The Berber and Sub-Saharan African soldiers were known as "tangerines" because they were imported through Tangier . The Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and

6901-489: The number of grain loads contracted by Castile in several years and García de Gabiola has calculated the number of soldiers that could have been fed through these grain loads, and his conclusions are 12,000 men for 1482 (siege of Loja); 8,000 men for 1483 and 1484 (Granada fields sacking); 10,000 men in 1485 (Ronda siege); 10–12,000 soldiers in 1486 (second Loja siege); 12,000 for 1487 (Malaga siege); 10–12,000 in 1488 (firstst Baza siege); 20,000 soldiers in 1489 (second Baza siege,

7004-509: The outcome of the war was in doubt. For three years, Muslims could emigrate and return freely. They were allowed to keep weapons, though not firearms, a provision that however was to be annulled a month later. No one would be forced to change religion, not even former Christians who had converted to Islam. Boabdil was offered money and the rulership of a small principality in the mountainous Alpujarras , an area that would have been difficult to control in any case. At first, most of conquered Granada

7107-478: The popes, who were intolerant of Islam in the heart of Christendom . This resulted in a rebellion by Sicilian Muslims, which in turn triggered organized resistance and systematic reprisals and marked the final chapter of Islam in Sicily. The complete eviction of Muslims and the annihilation of Islam in Sicily was completed by the late 1240s when the final deportations to Lucera took place. The remaining population of Sicilian Muslims converted to Catholicism due to

7210-520: The population. The Ceylon Moors (unlike the Indian Moors) are descendants of Arab traders who settled there in the mid-6th century. When the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, they labelled all the Muslims in the island as Moors as they saw some of them resembling the Moors in North Africa. The Sri Lankan government continues to identify the Muslims in Sri Lanka as "Sri Lankan Moors", sub-categorised into "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors". The Goan Muslims —a minority community who follow Islam in

7313-423: The region. After an interlude, during which the Muslims fought a civil war , the invasions resumed in 665, seizing Byzantine North Africa up to Bugia over the course of a series of campaigns, lasting until 689. A Byzantine counterattack largely expelled the Arabs but left the region vulnerable. Intermittent war over the inland provinces of North Africa continued for the next two decades. Further civil war delayed

7416-635: The reign of the Catholic Monarchs , Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon , against the Nasrid dynasty 's Emirate of Granada . It ended with the defeat of Granada and its annexation by Castile, ending the last remnant of Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula . The ten-year war was not a continuous effort but a series of seasonal campaigns launched in spring and broken off in winter. The Granadans were crippled by internal conflict and civil war , while

7519-502: The rest of Spain. "New Christians" ( conversos ) came to be accused of crypto-Islam and crypto-Judaism . Spain would go on to model its national aspirations as the guardian of Christianity and Catholicism. The fall of the Alhambra is still celebrated every year by the City Council of Granada, and the Granada War is considered in traditional Spanish historiography as the final war of the Reconquista . The Emirate of Granada had been

7622-579: The same privileges as the Muslims in mainland Italy. The trend of importing a considerable amount of slaves from the Muslim world did not stop with the Hohenstaufen but was amplified under the Aragonese and Spanish crowns , and was in fact continued until as late as 1838 The majority of which would also come receive the label 'Moors' Moorish architecture is the articulated Islamic architecture of northern Africa and parts of Spain and Portugal, where

7725-545: The siege and was unable to harass the Christian armies safely because of the ongoing civil war; even after he left the city to come to the aid of Málaga, he was forced to leave troops in the Alhambra to defend against Boabdil and his followers. The first main city to be attacked, Vélez-Málaga , capitulated on 27 April 1487, with local supporters of Boabdil directly aiding the Christian besiegers. Málaga held out during an extended siege that lasted from 7 May 1487 until 18 August 1487; its commander preferred death to surrender, and

7828-460: The streets. For Christendom, the wresting of Granada from Islamic rule was seen as a counterbalance to the loss of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Turks forty years prior. The treaty's terms for Granada's surrender were quite generous to the Muslims, considering how little they had left to bargain with. They were similar to the terms offered to towns which surrendered earlier, when

7931-683: The usage of the collective term. The term has been applied at times to urban and coastal populations of the Maghreb , the term in these regions nowadays is rather used to denote the Arab-Berber populations (occasionally somewhat mixed-race) living in Western Sahara , and Hassaniya -speaking populations, mainly in Mauritania , Western Sahara , and Northwestern Mali . In 711 the Islamic Arabs and Moors of Berber descent in northern Africa crossed

8034-523: The use of Arabic . In reaction, there was a Morisco uprising in the Alpujarras from 1568 to 1571. In the years from 1609 to 1614, the government expelled Moriscos. The historian Henri Lapeyre estimated that this affected 300,000 out of an estimated total of 8 million inhabitants. Some Muslims converted to Christianity and remained permanently in Iberia. This is indicated by a "high mean proportion of ancestry from North African (10.6%)" that "attests to

8137-421: The war and the battles on the Granadan frontier which reached their culmination in Granada's fall. Ginés Pérez de Hita wrote an early example of historical fiction , Guerras civiles de Granada , a romantic account of the war that emphasized chivalry and heroism on both sides. A number of stories and songs appear to have been sponsored by the royal government to help steel morale for the long struggle; Sobre Baza

8240-641: The war was formidable; the total cost was estimated to be 450,000,000 maravedies . Increasing oppression of the Moors—now known as Moriscos or "New Christians"—led to the Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–71) . After the defeat of the Moors, which was not easy, almost all the Moriscos of the former Kingdom of Granada were exiled to other parts of Spain. An entire genre, romances fronterizos , developed around stories of

8343-531: The war. The nobility provided the majority of the expensive cavalry. Concerning the real strength of the armies involved, according to original sources the Castilian armies reached between 50,000 and 70,000 soldiers the years of the greatest military effort (1482, 1483, 1486, 1487, 1489 and 1491), or 10,000 to 29,000 in the quieter ones (1484, 1485, 1488, and 1490), strength which is accepted by modern scholars as Ladero Quesada. Nevertheless, according to García de Gabiola, to keep, pay and feed armies of such strength

8446-510: The warfare much. King Henry IV of Castile died in December 1474, setting off the War of the Castilian Succession between Henry's daughter Joanna la Beltraneja and Henry's half-sister Isabella . The war raged from 1475–1479, pitting Isabella's supporters and the Crown of Aragon against Joanna's supporters, Portugal , and France . During this time, the frontier with Granada was practically ignored;

8549-655: The western Indian coastal state of Goa —are commonly referred as Moir ( Konkani : मैर ) by Goan Catholics and Hindus . Moir is derived from the Portuguese word mouro ("Moor"). In the late 7th and early 8th centuries CE, the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate , established after the death of Muhammad, underwent a period of rapid growth. In 647 CE, 40,000 Arabs forced the Byzantine governor of northern Africa to submit and pay tribute, but failed to permanently occupy

8652-466: Was "the cause of the fatherland's destruction." In 1485, the fortunes of the Granadan internal conflict shifted yet again. Boabdil was expelled from the Albayzín, his base of power, by Hasan's brother al-Zagal. Al-Zagal also took command of the nation, dethroning his aging brother, who died shortly thereafter. Boabdil was obliged to flee to Ferdinand and Isabella's protection. The continuing division within

8755-579: Was 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 in favor of the Castilian armies. The Granada War proved to be valuable training for the Italian Wars , where the Castilian armies and tactics such as the tercio would acquit themselves well. The surrender of Granada was seen as a great blow to Islam and a triumph of Christianity. Other Christian states offered their sincere congratulations to Ferdinand and Isabella, while Islamic writers reacted with despair. In Castile and Aragon, celebrations and bullfights were held. People rejoiced in

8858-490: Was a poem written in 1479 encouraging persistence in the long siege. The song " Setenil, ay Setenil ", written in 1484, hoped that Ferdinand would conquer "as far as Jerusalem." The song " Una sañosa porfía " by Juan del Encina puts the depiction of the war in the lips of King Boabdil himself. Spanish Baroque playwright Calderon de la Barca wrote a play concerning the Conquest of Granada entitled Amar despues de la Muerte. It

8961-496: Was also adopted. Initially, the Arabs required only vassalage from the local inhabitants rather than assimilation, a process which took a considerable time. The groups that inhabited the Maghreb following this process became known collectively as Moors. Although a Kharijite rebellion would later push out Umayyad rule from the western Maghreb and form temporarily independent Arab, Berber and Persian dynasties, that effort failed to dislodge

9064-507: Was also used as a nickname; for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion. In Portugal, mouro (feminine, moura ) may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura , where "Moor" implies "alien" and "non-Christian". These beings were siren-like fairies with golden or reddish hair and a fair face. They were believed to have magical properties. From this root,

9167-579: Was balanced by a twist that would prove to aid them greatly: on the same day that Loja was relieved, Abu Hasan's son, Abu Abdallah (also known as Boabdil), rebelled and styled himself Emir Muhammad XII . The war continued into 1483. Abu Hasan's brother, al-Zagal , defeated a large Christian raiding force in the hills of the Axarquia east of Málaga . However, at Lucena the Christians were able to defeat and capture King Boabdil. Ferdinand and Isabella had previously not been intent on conquering all of Granada. With

9270-479: Was beyond the resources of the recently created modern states. For the campaigns in Italy (1494–1503) the Spanish armies were of 5,000, 9,000 or 15,000 men maximum, so it is rather surprising the numbers recorded 5–10 years before for Granada. Taking into account the revenues of Castile during the period (130 to some 200 million maravedies per year) it is hardly plausible that Castile could have organized more than 8,000 to 20,000 soldiers. In fact, Ladero Quesada register

9373-446: Was led by Archbishop Cisneros , who ordered mass conversions, the burning of valuable Arabic manuscripts and other measures detrimental to the Muslims (and Jews). This sparked a revolt that ended in many Muslims being forced to choose between baptism, exile, or execution. Tensions from then onward would remain high, and Castile was obliged to maintain a large military force in Granada to deter future revolts. Isabella also strengthened

9476-593: Was much interest in blondes in al-Andalus amongst the rulers and regular Muslims: All the Caliphs of the Banu Marwan (God have mercy on their souls!), and especially the sons of al-Nasir , were without variation or exception disposed by nature to prefer blondes. I have myself seen them, and known others who had seen their forebears, from the days of al-Nasir's reign down to the present day; every one of them has been fair-haired, taking after their mothers, so that this has become

9579-504: Was not until 902 that almost the entire island was in the control of the Aghlabids , from their capital Kairouan ( Tunisia ), with the exception of some minor strongholds in the rugged interior. During that period some parts of southern Italy fell under Muslim control, most notably the port city of Bari , which formed the Emirate of Bari from 847 to 871. In 909, the Aghlabids was replaced by

9682-694: Was of Arab-Berber lineage, managed to evade the Abbasids and flee to the Maghreb and then Iberia, where he founded the Emirate of Córdoba and the Andalusian branch of the Umayyad dynasty. The Moors ruled northern Africa and Al-Andalus for several centuries thereafter. Ibn Hazm , the polymath, mentions that many of the Caliphs in the Umayyad Caliphate and the Caliphate of Córdoba were blond and had light eyes. Ibn Hazm mentions that he preferred blondes, and notes that there

9785-473: Was signed on November 25, 1491, which granted two months to the city. The reason for the long delay was not so much intransigence on either side, but rather the inability of the Granadan government to coordinate amongst itself in the midst of the disorder and tumult that gripped the city. After the terms, which proved rather generous to the local Muslim population, were negotiated, the city capitulated on January 2, 1492. The besieging Christians sneaked troops into

9888-463: Was split between three Arab emirs, and the Christian population in many parts of the island rose up against the ruling Muslims. One year later, Messina fell, and in 1072 Palermo was taken by the Normans. The loss of the cities, each with a splendid harbor, dealt a severe blow to Muslim power on the island. Eventually all of Sicily was taken. In 1091, Noto in the southern tip of Sicily and the island of Malta,

9991-512: Was still theoretically in effect when Granada launched a surprise attack against Zahara in December 1481, as part of a reprisal for a Christian raid. The town fell, and the population was enslaved. This attack proved to be a great provocation, and factions in favor of war in Andalusia used it to rally support for a counterstrike, quickly moving to take credit for it, and backed a wider war. The seizure of Alhama and its subsequent royal endorsement

10094-461: Was the city of Granada . At times, the emir did not even control all the city, but rather one rival emir would control the Alhambra , and another the Albayzín , the most important district of Granada. This internal fighting greatly weakened the state. The economy declined, with Granada's once preeminent porcelain manufacture disrupted and challenged by the Christian town of Manises near Valencia, in

10197-460: Was to begin in April 1491. The situation for the defenders grew progressively dire, as their forces for interfering with the siege dwindled and advisers schemed against each other. Bribery of important officials was rampant, and at least one of the chief advisers to Boabdil seems to have been working for Castile the entire time. After the Battle of Granada a provisional surrender, the Treaty of Granada ,

10300-402: Was translated as Love After Death in 1853 by Denis Florence McCarthy, and again by Roy Campbell in 1959 (see List of Calderón's plays in English translation ). English playwright John Dryden wrote a heroic drama The Conquest of Granada , published in 1672, which focuses on a romantic love triangle and clashing loyalties in two feuding Granadan factions, leaving the besieging Castilians in

10403-520: Was treated respectfully and was therefore predominantly stable for seven years, though the Alhambra Decree of 1492 expelled the Jews that were not converso Marranos . King Boabdil soon found his position intolerable. He left for Morocco in October 1493, where he would die some forty years later. Eventually, Castile started to revoke some of the more tolerant attributes of the treaty. This initiative

10506-504: Was useless without the hope of relief, of which there was no sign. Baza was granted generous surrender terms, unlike Málaga. With the fall of Baza and the capture of al-Zagal in 1490, it seemed as if the war was over; Ferdinand and Isabella believed this was the case. However, Boabdil was unhappy with the rewards for his alliance with Ferdinand and Isabella, possibly because lands that had been promised to him were being administered by Castile. He broke off his vassalage and rebelled against

10609-414: Was wealthy and powerful, and the Christian kingdoms were divided and fought amongst themselves. Granada's problems began to worsen after Emir Yusuf III 's death in 1417. Succession struggles ensured that Granada was in an almost constant low-level civil war. Clan loyalties were stronger than allegiance to the emir , making consolidation of power difficult. Often, the only territory the emir really controlled

#908091