I. Pursuing "dhimmitude" in Arab-Berber - Muslim Spain 750-1492 C.E.

 This is part I of a look at Muslim expansion into Spain: to 1492. 
The Status of Dhimmitude - the Infidel in a Muslim Society

For part II, after 1492, 
see Spain Road Ways, Pursuing dhimmitude 1492 - in Christian Spain, the Reconquest 

Christians retake Spain.

Here: 


Part I. Islamic Expansion in Spain through the centuries - Arab, Berber in Spain.

This looks at the Muslim invasions and occupation of Spain 711-1492 CE.  The Visigoths had taken over in the 5th Century in Spain, following the fall of Rome.  See ://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain_1.shtml.  Note that the Ottomans, out of Turkey, came much later - in 1369 with the Ottomans invading Bulgaria and heading north.

Note there were not Ottomans in Spain. The Ottoman Empire spread out of Turkey into Central Europe and Europe later.

1. Arab. Berber.

Muslims in Spain were Arabs and Berbers. See this Fordham University site for Islamic history - at ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html. And here are a series of maps showing Islamic conquests from time to time, including in Spain, at this University of Pennsylvania site ://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~rs143/map2.jpg. More maps at ://www.al-bab.com/arab/maps/maps2.htm.

Gibraltar, Mosque

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The invaders were also known as "Moors," and included Arab, Berber and African persons, with the largest genetic group now being identified as Berber, from North Africa - see ://sjohn30.tripod.com/id4.html. For Berber history, see ://www.adrum.com/history.htm. Their language was spoken from the Canary Islands to Egypt, now mostly in the mountains of Algeria. Fierce fighters.

2. Ottomans. These are not the same. 

The Ottomans were a a different Muslim Empire from the one that conquered Spain. Spain's conquerors were Arab-Berber Muslims, not Ottoman. Ottoman means the Turkish Muslims of a later era, that began their expansion out of Turkey in about 1300. See map at ://www.naqshbandi.org/ottomans/maps/default.htm.

The Ottomans do appear to have taken areas around Algiers. by its greatest extent in about 1699, but they then stopped. That map site also shows the extent of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, leaving only Turkey itself by 1924. Scroll down.

3. The status of Dhimmi. Dhimmitude. Dhimmis.

Regardless of which group or branch is Islam is the topic, our understanding is that each imposed a particular status on Christians and Jews after conquest by Muslims. From Arab- Berber entry at Spain, probably near Gibraltar, and then extending briefly to Poitiers, France; to the Ottomans from Turkey later knocking on the doors of Vienna, the Balkans, Asia, Central Europe.

The meaning of Islam has not been a focus of our education of ourselves or our children, to our demonstrated peril in terms of decisions we make and conclusions we draw in a vacuum as to that heritage. So, we look here at Dhimmitude.

Hot topic. Search for "dhimmi" or "dhimmitude" and you will find invective as well as objective assessment. See Hello, Fodder - Dhimmi status posts; or Europe Road Ways Themes - Kosovo I and II posts. And Joy of Equivocating, Fear of Fog, Facts before Conclusions.

4. Jewish History in the Islamic Empires.

Go here for a timeline on Jewish topics from their history in Spain. ://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8636/History.html.

What was life for a Jew or Christian in the Spain experience, who chose not to convert to Islam in Spain in those years, we will let you know. So far, we see a kind of "chastened subservience" applied, see see ://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/. A legal status with overtones of humiliation? And, the element of forbidding arms to be used against Muslims - see ://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1022035. Need to see all the cites. Still looking. Complex area.

Christian retribution against Jews after the Christian reconquest.

Dhimmi status looks benign compared to the fate of the Jews in 1492- the Reconquest, when the Christians finally drove out the Muslims, from Granada at that late date. The Christians expelled the Jews - no-one could remain who would not convert. See the Edict of Expulsion itself at ://www.sephardicstudies.org/decree.html.

So any discussion of dhimmitude, stay with restrictions; has to be seen against its Christian counterpart - get out. This sourcebook from Fordham University lets you read all about it, from original texts: ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1492-jews-spain1.html.

The invective sites in looking up Islamic law that you will find, may or may not be found to be supported by history. You need to check up on each site you find. Please do not rely on conclusions from talking heads or neighbors at the coffee shop without finding facts. Good idea.

We should criticize others, when our own Crusades were holy wars, and offensive, not just defensive, see overview of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the rationales at Spain Road Ways, Castles, Crusades.

5. The meaning of the Koran.

Where did dhimmi come from. Is it written. For those of us with an interest in what the Qur'an says, note that it cannot be translated - all is phrased as interpretation or meaning. I understand that these versions are among the best,

• "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," 1930, by Marmaduke Pickthall, see ://www.al-sunnah.com/call_to_islam/quran/pickthall/; and
  
• "The Koran Interpreted," by A. J. Arberry ://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/koran/koran-arberry10.html.
  

Arberry looks more poetic, as the Christian King James version reads more poetically than later versions. Pickthall may be easier to understand.

Status of research so far:

It looks like the conditions of dhimmitude for the conquered - second class status, no political say, no ownership of land, deference to Muslims, and pay a special tax (reducing income available) is nothing more than what good Christian men rejoiced in doing to their Christian women for several thousand years.

See next section, looking at after 1492's Edict of Expulsion of the Jews, at Spain Road Ways, Pursuing dhimmitude 1492 - in Christian Spain, the Reconquest.

Segovia - The Alcazar

Alcazar, Segovia, Spain

Fortress, castle, military academy, parts used as a prison, origins of the word "Alcazar" in Arabic, probably from the 11th Century. See http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/spain/segovia/alcazar/alcazar.html .

Segovia is a perfect first stop after arriving in Spain - an easy drive from the airport, a few wrong turns on motorways, but good signs. Inside is a hall of armor, mounted knights, knights in corners, knights around corners, in centers, off to sides. Spears, weapons. Then, in town, a huge aqueduct - Roman.

Andres Segovia, guitar, hush:  Video, Andres Segovia Plays Capricio Arrabe.  He is not from the town, Segovia, however, see http://www.allmusic.com/artist/q5675 

Segovia - Cochinillo Asado; not Andres Segovia

We started in Madrid, went to Segovia, see Segovia , and then north east toward Bilbao.

Segovia, the town, is not the birthplace of the famous classical guitarist, Andres Segovia, and is not near it - Segovia was born in Linares, in the south, see ://www.travelpost.com/EU/Spain/Andalucia/Linares/map/1911452.

Here in Segovia, not far from Madrid, is a beautiful palace with an exhibit of medieval armor and weaponry. Near the aqueduct is a cluster of find cafes. See Segovia at ://goeurope.about.com/cs/segovia/a/segovia_spain.htm. And here is the late Andres Segovia, 1893-1987://www.classicalguitar.net/artists/segovia/. This advertises free music downloads: ://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,514488,00.html
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Big roast pig. Do not confuse with the delicate roast suckling pig, cochinillo asado, Spain
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Cochinillo Asado - roast suckling pig - this site says the piglet is 21 days old and has had nothing but mother pig's milk. See ://oneforkonespoon.blogspot.com/2007/10/roast-suckling-pig-in-segovia.html. Find a recipe here - you did good if you can cut it with a plate.

Don Quixote Figures - Undoers of Injustice - Many Cultures

This is a look-back to our trip, spurred onwards by some considerations of today's (2010) American politics - The puzzle and even the inspiration of an Alvin Greene who won a substantial primary election seemingly out of nowhere, and is staying in the race for the duration, against the Biggies. Go, Alvin.

SPAIN'S MAN OF LA MANCHA; 
MEET AMERICA'S MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Cultures and empires and religions are  built upon wrongs.  Periodically, people arise to right them, with varying results. Who pans out.  Who is the actor, who the genuine. 

In Spain, think of Don Quixote: the righter of wrongs, the undoer of injustice - see ://www.thefreedictionary.com/

Let Sancho Panza himself introduce him, in straightening out which is which to those who did not know:

"And the real Don Quixote, of La Mancha, the famous, the valiant, the wise, the lover, the righter of wrongs, the guardian of minors and orphans, the protector of widows, the killer of damsels, he who has as his sole mistress the peerless Dulcinea Del Toboso, is this gentleman before you, my Master, all other Don Quixotes and all other Sancho Panzas are dreams and mockeries."

Read the book - start here: at page 197, at ://books.google.com/books?id=UzsMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=righter+of+wrongs&source=bl&ots=jKSn4bH-DW&sig=snEL23icA2JSuXsPQ_OXND6zb7o&hl=en&ei=92U_TM2GLoaglAfhgL39Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCUQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=righter%20of%20wrongs&f=false/

A Righter; one who sets out to fix.

Saint Nicholas was a Righter. when he was Bishop Nicholas, did that at Myra in intervening in the imminent execution of three innocent men, and securing their release, see ://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=59/. But Don Quixote holds our attention most, because he was dedicated to that principle. Read an okay summary at ://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/Best/RaleighQuixote.htm/ Best to read the book.

Who is like unto Don Quixote?

Shall we try America's Alvin Greene, who, by fluke or fate, won the Democratic party nomination primary for candidate to the United States Ssenate, and noone yet has found trickery or fraud or exploitation. It may still happen, still, enjoy the ride.

Is he a fraud or genuinely disingenuous.  A plain man, with education but few skills in presenting himself, awards in the military, and erroneous roads taken in his life, little stellar about him from information to date, but still he seeks to fix the things that went wrong in his life, the institutions that did not recognize him, the jobs that did not come about, etc. See the amazement at The Fey in Religion and Politics.

Spain has many legacies, but the Don Quixote story of human connection, endeavor, effort directed at windmills, is worth our best attention. See America Road Ways, Washington DC

Puerto La Pice, El Toboso - Don Quixote in La Mancha

The La Mancha area is south of Madrid, a broad area of reference points that people have tied together loosely, as having stimulated the imagination of Cervantes in creating the fictional Don Quixote. See quixote.mse.jhu.edu/.

I. PUERTO LAPICE, SPAIN - LA MANCHA

Puerto LaPice, Spain, Street scene

Puerto LaPice is a small town, see Don Quixote on the stucco on the side of the building - its favorite fictional son. It is hard to time your visit so the recycling bins are out of sight, so enjoy.

We forget over here what it is like without most everyone owning some kind of car - note there is no traffic at all.

Don Quixote, Puerto LaPice, Spain. Trough.

The Don Quixote country - the book "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616, at ://www.online-literature.com/cervantes/- remember that he is a fictional character, but there are towns associated with his adventures, and those of Sancho Panza, his companion; and Dulcinea, his heart's desire.

Here is the statue of Don Quixote at Puerto La Pice, where someone has set up a commercial enterprise to serve you lunch, a reconstructed sample Inn of the period, but clearly geared to provide the buses with a stop point: the Venta del Quijote.

Do go to the gift shop - really. Some people are gifted at selecting good goods to sell. They are here. Skilled entrepreneurs without borders.

We are not shoppers, but the black silhouette of Don Quixote and the head-down horse on a plain white thin mug was worth the buy. This commercialism is not a negative - the area does not offer many focal points, and we do enjoy lunch. Go anyway. There is a map at this site to get you oriented - .karenbrown.com/City/Spain/STATE/Puerto_L%C3%A1pice/000000000000085.php. Dulcinea's home, at El Toboso, is not far. These are not well marked, so enjoy the roads.

EL TOBOSO

Here is Don Quixote in the town of El Toboso. See www.answers.com/topic/alcazar-1.
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Don Quixote and Dulcinea, El Toboso, Spain

There is also a very fine art/gift shop in El Toboso where you can dress up as Don Quixote and Dulcinea and have your picture taken. Everybody needs good kitsch.

Other spots are Campo del Criptana with its windmills, for the rest of the Don Quixote circuit. If this is new to you, do see Man of La Mancha, 1972 film and later Broadway musical, at ://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/mancha.htm; and sing "The Impossible Dream."

Cadiz - 1100. Phoenicians BC, to Rome, to Moors, to Now

Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz is an old port city, on a peninsula, and nearly surrounded by water. It has been settled since 3000 B.C. and is the oldest city in Europe.

The James Bond film, "Die Another Day," was filmed here - looking so much like Havana. See ://cadiz.costasur.com/en/index.html/ The old town has close ties with Cuba.

Phoenicians first settled here, says ://www.andalucia.com/cities/cadiz/history.htm. That would have been in about 1100 BC.

Their range for trade was broad -- amber from the Baltic, British tin, Spanish silver.

Romans kept a navy base here, Moors constructed an extensive town, see ://www.andalucia.com/cities/cadiz.htm, but its commercial success waned. Palm trees, tropical (is this Florida?)

Columbus was brought back here when he fell in disfavor, and used this location to contact Queen Isabella for reinstatement in the good graces, see story at ://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/columbus-day/true-story/chapter11.html/

After walking the streets and squares and mosques, enjoy the beach. There are several, many near the hotels and commercial area, full of tourists, this one just as we left the peninsula.

Salamanca - The Cathedral Facade (Moorish(, Shell House, Order of St. JamesOrder

Salamanca, Spain, Cathedral facade

Spain was controlled for five hundred years or so by  the Moors - the architectural and other influences are everywhere.

Here is another kind of influence - individuality. The shell shapes affixed to the side of this house cast different shadows as the day moves on.



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Salamanca, Spain, Shell House

See it at //www.travelinginspain.com/salamanca/salamanca2.htm/ Casa de las Conchas. It was built in the 1500's and is now a library, but once was the palace of Rodrigo Maldonado. He was a knight, of the St. James Order (is that part of what much later was named the New Orleans St. James' Infirmary in our culture? I went down to the St. James' Infirmary.... blues - hear this New Orleans traditional at ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-atDxmfnIrI&feature=related).

The Order of St. James was formed in the 12th Century, see The Ancient Military Order of St. James of the Sword at ://jvarnoso.com/orders/stjamesrev.html/ It was part of the First Crusade, and upon return, its members continued on the Iberian Peninsula, gathering recruits. It also aided the Iberian kings in the reconquest from the Muslims. See its full history at the site.

The shell is the insignia of the Order. It also is the sign carried by many pilgrims on their pilgrimages - the scallop shell.

St. James' Way is the name of the Pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela - the pilgrims carried scallop shells to show their status as Pilgrims, not carrying much, so please do not rob. See a German pilgrim represented as leaving for Santiago de Compostela, at Speyer,Germany - see Germany Road Ways, Heidelburg, and Speyer and Pilgrims  Meet Jakob Spilgar there.

Salamanca - Plaza Mayor, Performances

Salamanca, Spain, Plaza Mayor

Salamanca dates from before Roman times, came under the Visigothic Kings, then the Arabs, and back and forth until the reconquest. It is particularly known for its university, famous in Medieval Spain and Europe. In 1254, the university was deemed to be one of the four leading lights of the world, by Pope Alexander IV. What were the other three? See ://www.aboutsalamanca.com/salamanca/history.asp

There is never a shortage of things to do at the end of the day. Find the main square, the "Plaza Major" - stroll, spectate, eat etc. Eat more.

Salamanca, Spain, Plaza Major, Performers

Here were jugglers.

Salamanca, Spain, Musicians

As it gets darker, go inside to eat some more, and for the musicians. Plaza Major - no end to the variety of street and eatery performances. Jugglers, music, clowns, mimes.

Salamanca houses one of Europe's earliest and finest Universities. It is northeast from Madrid. See www.red2000.com/spain/salaman.

Merida - and Rome. Estremadura Theater, Circus, Amphitheater, Bridge

Merida, Spain

Merida - this city dates from 25 BC. It is a World Heritage site. See ://worldheritage.heindorffhus.dk/frame-SpainMerida.htm. It was a provincial capital for Rome.





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See what the Romans left. A fine theater, now being renovated, that could seat 6000 spectators.
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Theater, Merida, Spain










The Roman bridge over the Gaudiana River is still standing - all spans of it, now a footbridge.
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Bridge, Gaudiana River, Merida, Spain



The Super Tank.

There is also a huge circus structure that could seat 30,000 for chariot-racing, and, we were told by a guide, they used to flood it to do mock naval battles.
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Amphitheater, Merida, Spain; including water tank facility for reenactments, naval spectacles
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The Extremadura or Estremadura section of Spain was home to the conquistatores, and is now considered remote, toward Portugal. But worth it. Find it at ://goeurope.about.com/cs/spain/a/merida_guide.htm

History Chronology - Old Spain, and Muslim Spain - Granada, Arago, Castille and Leon, Navarre: And Portugal

Maps as anchor. To make Spain's history more immediately understandable: Find a map to locate the old boundaries - references to them recur throughout Spain's history and tour books. This is from a simple Images search - ://catavino.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/castillaleon_1360.jpg.

This map shows no "Ottoman Empire" incursion into Spain (Turkish roots), but apparently Arab-Berber. See ://www.dartmouth.edu/~gov46/ottoman-empire-1580.gif

Chronology of Muslim Rule. For an overview of Muslim rule, and further maps of that influence and expansion, go to ://www.raqs.co.nz/me/islam_history.html

Timelines understood so far. These to be filled in as to impact on pre-Christian, Christian, Jew, unaffiliated, and Muslim, as we go. Dates are from the islam_history site. Will also use this site - a medieval history source, from Fordham University ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1d.html.

For a timeline on Jewish history, see ://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8636/History.html

MUSLIM TIME LINE, ESPECIALLY AS IT PERTAINS TO SPAIN; OTHER CULTURES IN SPAIN

1. Pre-Roman times

2. Roman

3. Post-Roman

Visigoths

570 CE (Christian Era used here) Birth of the Prophet Mohammed in Mecca
632 CE Death of Mohammed. Islam had spread in that short time to most of Arabia in the west and central sections

642 CE Muslims control Egypt; and by 656, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Iran;

661 CE Death of the fourth caliph, 'Ali - succession issues led over time to a split between the Sunnis and the Shi'a. By this time, the spread was this:

"Arab Empire west to Tripoli (Libya), north to Taurus [did you know the origin of Ford's model car?] and Caucasus mountains (Turkey and Georgia) and east to Pakistan." See www. raqs.co.nz/me/islam_history.html;.

4. Muslims and Spain (mostly)
711 CE - Arab Muslims enter Spain through North Africa;
732 CE - Arab Muslims cross the Indus River into India. They also got as far as Tours [tours de France? please take a joke] in France, from their earlier entry into Spain. That was as far into Europe as the Muslim expansion extended. - France to India.

Were they Sunni or Shi'a?

Do we know where they came in? What the ships looked like? When did families follow armies, or did all come at once? Where was the central authority - still back in Arab lands or independent in Spain?

What were Christians doing in the 8th Century? What beliefs, what divisions.

756-1037 CE- The "Umayyad Dynasty" - in Spain

874-999 CE - The Umayyad Dynasty was in Cordoba, Spain

1037-1492 - Fatimid dynasty in northern Africa and Syria, based on Cairo

1254-1517 CE - Moorish Muslims are in Spain (is this Turk rather than Arab, and when and how did the transition happen?) - note the Reconquest in 1492 - it must have taken additional years to complete the process?

1453 - Meanwhile, back at the European Crusades, the Crusaders capture Jerusalem

1492 - Christian Constantinople fell to the Turks; the Mamluks rule in Egypt.

In Spain, Granada falls to the Christians, ending Arab rule (but I thought Moors were there by then?)

THE EDICT OF EXPULSION AGAINST THE JEWS. And, in Spain, the Christians expel the Jews completely - everybody out who will not convert. See ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1492-jews-spain1.html. Compare that to the legal status of dhimmi applied to non-muslims in muslim lands - they could stay under restricted economic and political conditions, but they could stay and practice their own religion.


1566 - The Ottoman Empire [did the Turkish branch break away from the Arab?] Ottomans "Turkic people from Central Asia - but continued to spread Islam", see www.raqs.co.nz/me/islam_history.html.

See map here - no Ottomans in Spain apparently. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~gov46/ottoman-empire-1580.gif

1858 - end of Mughal (Muslim) rule, India
1922 - Ataturk deposes last Ottoman* sultan
1947 - Pakistan was founded as Islamic state
1979 - Islamic regime, Khumeni; also al-Qadafi (Libya?)
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Definitions:
*Ottomans: Turkic people from Central Asia, but they also spread Islam
Stats from 2005 - Muslims 26% of world population. Majority in Middle East, North Africa, 100 million in rest of Africa, over 500 million in rest of Asia, 90% of India and Pakistan are Muslim, Islam has spread to 184 countries at least. See again this recurrent site, see www.raqs.co.nz/me/islam_history.html.

5. The Reconquest 1492

6. Single Monarchy

7. Today

Why do all this? Spain's history is a different trajectory than the rest of Europe because of the Muslim rule for some 400 years. And relevant to our understanding of Muslim ways - what was the experience of Christians, Jews, the "unaffiliated," under the Muslims of that period. Who was extreme on any side, and who tolerated. What was life like under the Muslims, and how did their governing and belief system differ from contemporary Muslims, whether (like us) extremist, conservative, liberal, whatever.

Our interest here is in the chronology of the evolution of Spain through various very different kinds of rulers: and where they ruled, and when. Also the populations: Pre-Christian, Christian, Roman Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and especially the Dhimmi (Jews and Christians conquered by the Muslims, and living under economic, social and political restrictions known as "dhimmitude" until they converted, if they chose to so convert. Who was where, when, who kicked out whom, why.