UNIT 5. MIDDLE AGES IN SPAIN
THE TEST WILL BE NEXT MONDAY, 8th May 2023
The Middle Ages started with the Fall of the Roman Empire (476) and finished with the Discovery of America in 1.492.
The Visigoths
Before the end of the Roman Empire, various Germanic tribes came to Roman Hispania. One of these tribes were the VISIGOTHS.
They came in the 5th Century A.D.
At first the Visigoths helped the Romans fight other tribes, but when the Roman Empire fell, the Visigoths established a new kingdom with its capital in Toledo in 507 A.D.
CHARACTERISTICS
Government:
The king made laws.
They have special meetings with nobles and bishops.
Religion:
They were catholic, and they have the same religion.
Culture: They spoke Latin and adopted Roman laws.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the economy changed:
There were less trade population of cities and towns decreased.
Most of them were farmers and lived in the countryside.
They used gold, silver and stones to make jewellery.
They built small stone churches.
AL-ANDALUS
The muslims armies came to the Iberian Peninsula from the North of Africa in 711 A.D.V They conquered the Visigoths kingdom of Toledo. And Spain became a new Muslim territory called Al-Andalus.
CHARACTERISTICS:
The Muslim Empire was called the caliphate and it was ruled by the caliph.
Muslims believe in one god (Allah) and they follow the book Koran, their religion is ISLAM.
Muslims defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete in 711A.D.
From 711 A.D. to 929 A.D. al-Andalus was an EMIRATE governed by and emir that represents the caliph and the capital was Córdoba.
In 929 A.D. an emir called Abderramán III declared al-Ándalus an independent caliphate and he established the Córdoba Caliphate until 1031 A.D.
During the 11th Century there was a political crisis and it was divided into TAIFA KINGDOMS, each kingdom ruled by a different emir.
They fought against each other and they were attacked and conquered by Christians Kingdoms in 1238.
Finally in 1238 the Kingdom of Granada was the ony remaining kigdom.
LIFE IN AL-ANDALUS
Most people were farmers and they raised goats and sheep, and they were experts in irrigated farming.
There were artisans.
Merchants sold products made by artisans.
Agriculture was the most important economic activity.
People spoke ARABIC.
Cities were ruled by a governor. He lived in the ALCAZABA, it was a FORTRESS.
Some of the most beautiful buildings are the Alhambra in Granada and the
Great Mosque in Córdoba.
Most people were MUSLIMS.
The MOSQUE was an important building.
There were MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS AND JEWISH and lived peaceful.
This mixture of cultures made al-Andalus one of the most advanced states.
They didn’t consider Christians and Jewish equals, but they gave them some rights: Christians and Jews could live where they wanted and practice their religion They could do any job, but they couldn´t have authority over a Muslim. They had to pay special TAXES, wear a special badge and obey Muslim laws. They couldn´t carry weapons.
THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS
In 722 D.C. in the Battle of Covadonga Muslims fought against Christians. Pelayo was the leader of Christians and defeated Muslims in the battle. Then Don Pelayo established the Kinngdom of Asturias and some other kingdoms such as: The kigdom of León, Castilla, Navarra and Aragón. During the Middle Ages these kingdoms were changing and at the end of the 15th century there were 5 kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula:
- Kingdom of Portugal
- Kingdom of Castilla
- Kingdom of Navarra
- Kingdom of Aragón
- Muslim kingdom of Granada
CHARACTERISTICS:
Society was divided into: clergy, nobles and peasants.
Most people were peasants and lived in the countryside.
They grew crops and raised animals.
There wasn´t too much trade.
There were some artisans (blacksmiths and milers) and soldiers to defend the land.
The king ruled the country, but the countryside was divided into small areas. Each area ruled by a noble (Lord).
Most people were Christians.
There were priests and monks.
Each kingdom had its own language, but they were similar to Latin.
There were two styles: ROMANESQUE and GOTHIC.
RECONQUISTA Reconquista is the process were Christian kingdoms conquered lands from al-Andalus between the 8th and 15th Century.
They did it, because kings needed more land from growing crops and raising animals, also because the population was increasing.
Also, Christians thought that the lands of al-Andalus should be ruled by Christians.
During the Reconquista:
· Alfonso VI conquered Toledo.
· In 1212 they won the Battle of Navas de Tolosa.
· Then they conquered other territories: Balearic Islands, Córdoba and Sevilla.
· In 1492 they conquered the last muslim kingdom: Granada
