what was the cause of the moorish rule in spain?

Answer 1

The Moors.

Answer 2

Daren gets the points! Hats off, Sir!

Funny enough, during the centuries in which the Moorish invaders and settlers controlled up to three quarters of the Iberian peninsula, culture and science ruled outside the battlefields. During that time there was a unique coexistence of the three religious faiths all escended from the tribes of Abraham.

Once the Moors were quite kicked out in 1492 the whole thing went up and the Jewish peoples were chucked out too. The Catholic Kings managed to throw away all their muslim manpower and craftsmen and jewish traders and financiers leaving a mangled society of poor serfs that were squeezed for taxes by the owners of the land they lived on and by the crown.

Check out any of the sites that come from Googling "Moorish invasion of Spain 711"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Moorish+invasion+of+Spain+711

Answer 3

The word Moors derives from the Latin mauri, a name for the Berber tribes living in Roman Mauretania (modern day Algeria and Morocco). It has no ethnographic meaning but can be used to refer to all Muslims, Berber or Arab, who conquered the Iberian Peninsula.

These Moors, who were religious fanatics, arrived in Spain in the year 711 and thus began a period of history which would shape Iberia differently than the rest of Europe as the land adapted to a new religion, language and culture. Hispania became a part of the caliph of Damascus which was the capital of the Muslim world.

This Moorish land was known as Al-Andalus and included all of the Iberian Peninsula except for the extreme north-west from where the Christian Reconquest would originate.

Internal divisions within Moorish rule largely explain why the Moors didn't conquer the whole peninsula in those early days. Had they done so Spain may well have remained a Muslim state until today. Instead an Asturian mountaineer called Pelayo led a band of Christians to the first victory over the Moors at Covadonga in 718. The reconquest had begun.

Strangely Moorish Spain wasn't really ruled by Arabs. It is true that many high positions were taken by Arabs but most of the Moors were Berbers. Later Muwallads (converted Christians) together with the offspring of the first invaders became dominant in Moorish Spain. The invaders brought no women so the second generation of Moors were already half Hispanic!

The first 40 years of Moorish rule was volatile and Al-Andaluz needed order and unity which came in the form of Abd-er-Rahman who arrived in Almuñecar on the coast of Granada in 755. Within a year he became Emir of Al-Andalus and during his 32 year reign he would transform this land into an independent state which was the cultural light of Europe.

In Cordoba Abd-er-Rahman I founded the Mezquita in 785 when he purchased the Christian section of the San Vicente Church, a place the two faiths had shared for 50 years. The Mosque was expanded to its final glory over the next two centuries. This became the second most important place of worship in the Muslim world after Mecca.

The Moors expanded and improved Roman irrigation systems to help develop a strong agricultural sector. They introduced many new crops including the orange, lemon, peach, apricot, fig and pomegranate as well as saffron, sugar cane, cotton, silk and rice which remain some of Spain's main products today.

The frontier in the north between the Moors and the Christians was constantly on a war footing and in St James (Santiago de Compostela), the Christians found their own inspiration to match the Koran-inspired fanaticism of the Moors. Santiago became known as "Matamoros" (the Moor slayer) and to this day is Spain's patron saint.

However, there was still a long way to go before the Reconquest would succeed. In the mid-10th century Al-Mansur appeared on the scene. He led many expeditions into Christian territory over a period of 20 years and in 997 his army captured Santiago de Compostela. They destroyed the shrine and prisoners took the basilica doors and bells to Cordoba where they would be placed in the Mezquita.

Centuries of painstaking Christian advance had been destroyed by Al-Mansur's daring raid.

Answer 4

The Moors invaded Hispania in the year 711 C.E. and took control of the entire Iberian Peninsula (Spain/ Portugal) within 8 years. By 1200 the entire peninsula was supposedly Muslim but Christians still existed along with several other smaller bodies of religious followings. Although they were Muslim at the time, it does not appear that their invasion had anything to do with religion, just a "need for greed, and lust for more".

The Moors surrendered in 1492 at Granada, and interestingly enough Christopher Columbus (turned down repeatedly on his bid for Spanish Royal Funding) was granted a boon during this exact time period by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella at one of the celebrations.

These are the same two Monarchs that set in motion two things in this time period that affect us somewhat to this day.
One- The outlawed the practice of any other faith but Christianity.
Two- They created the Spanish Inquisition in order to root out Jews and Muslims who they thought were secretly still practicing their beliefs in the Spanish controlled areas.


Of course this was simply in response to what the Moors had done in Spain for 700 years already "convert or die". The Spaniards spent centuries taking back their lands and never forgave the Moors.


The Inquisition