Moorish culture

Location
Iberian Peninsula
(modern-day Spain, Portugal)
Particularly Andalusia (‫)الندلس‬
in Southern Spain
800 years of Muslim rule
80% of local population Muslim
Golden age of architecture, education
Seville
•Under the authority of
the Umayyad caliphate,
Almoravid empire and
Almohad dynasties
•Fell to the Christian
king Fernando III of
Castile
in 1248
•Retains many Moorish
features until today
Seville
Córdoba
•Thriving capital of the
Caliphate of Córdoba
•Governed almost all of
the Iberian peninsula.
•10th century CE:
up to 500,000 inhabitants
 the most populated
city in Europe and,
perhaps, in the world
Córdoba
Granada
•Capital of a province
of the Caliphate of
Cordoba
•Seat of the world-famous
Alhambra ‫( ال َْحْمَراء‬literally
“the Red One”), a Moorish
citadel and palace
•Today one of Spain’s
major tourist
attractions
Alhambra
•Completed towards the end of Muslim rule
in Spain by Yusuf I (1333–1353), Muhammad
V, Sultan of Granada (1353–1391)
•Last days of the Nasrid emirate of
Granada
•Refuge for Muslim artists and
intellectuals from Christian Spain’s
victories over Al-Andalus
•Mixes natural elements with man-made ones
•Testament to the skill of Muslim
craftsmen of the time
Granada / Alhambra
Granada / Alhambra
Granada / Alhambra