#Al-Hakam II

[isadomna]

Almanzor and Subh

Subh was originally a Christian woman from Navarre by the name Aurora. When she was just a child, was sold as a slave in the territory of Al-Andalus becoming part of the harem of the Caliph of Córdoba Al-Hakam II. She was given an exquisite training, from singing to Islamic jurisprudence to poetry, that was only available to women of the highest status and slaves. The duty of the slaves, as part of the harem, was to entertain powerful men with their songs, dances and cultured conversations. Blonde, tall and intelligent, Subh captured the Caliph’s attention becoming his favorite and wife. Subh gave her husband two sons: Abd al-Rahman (born 961 and deceased in 970) and Hisham (born 965). 

In the later years of his reign, the Caliph lost interest of the routine   management of political affairs, and reportedly left it to his favorite wife, Subh. To fill this task, she expressed the need for a secretary, and Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Amir (also known as Almanzor) was appointed to this post. Born in an alqueria on the outskirts of Torrox to a family of Yemeni Arab origin with some juridical ancestors, Almanzor left for Córdoba when still young to be trained as a faqīh. After a few humble beginnings, he joined the court administration and soon gained the confidence of Subh. The Caliph was surprised that his wives and concubines preferred the gifts of the young Almanzor to his own. There were rumors that Almanzor became Subh’s lover and that this was the reason why she was to give him such influence in the affairs of state.

In 976, Al-Hakam died and was succeeded by his son, the eleven-year old Caliph Hisham II, under the regency of Queen mother Subh, the first minister Jafar al-Mushafi, and Almanzor, who became the administrator of the properties left to Subh by Al-Hakam. It was only a matter of time before rivalries and alliances started to form between the three regents. Subh sought an alliance with Almanzor. They managed to eliminate the influence of the minister. Reportedly, Subh provided Almanzor with the necessary funds to give him control of the army, by which he could secure the stability necessary for her son, a child, to be secured as Caliph with her as regent, after which she gave him much power in her government.

The collaboration between Subh and Almanzor reportedly worked completely well, friendly and close until 986, but as Almanzor power grew and the caliph's isolation, Subh became extremely concerned, and their alliance and effective rule began to disintegrate in 996, when a conflict arouse between them, because Almanzor was so ambitious, he angered Subh and her other allies, putting him in front of her and her allies. This conflict, causing Subh to an unsuccessful attempt to depose Almanzor from his position by introducing other male favorites as his rivals. During two years of bloody rivalry only for their own power, they created divisions in the center of the caliphate. Her second and last attempt to depose him in 998 resulted in his complete accession of all power, and ended her rule. Hisham II was locked up – with all the comforts but without power – in Medina Alzahira, where his mother was probably also imprisoned. Having lost her confrontation with her former ally, Subh died shortly thereafter in 999. Almanzor was the de facto leader of the Caliphate of Córdoba until his death in 1002.   

[fotograrte]

Bote de Fátima (MAN)

Bote de marfil, realizado el año 964 (353 de la Hégira), procedente de la Catedral de Zamora.

Continue reading Bote de Fátima (MAN)

[docpiplup]

6th part of the bookscans of Al Andalus. Historical Figures, here's the previous part

The following year a very serious incident occurred in the suburb, and according to custom, al-Hakam acted summarily, executing all possible guilty suspects through the infamous crucifixion.

As if that were not enough, the mood of the population in general, an increase in the taxes that, on top of that, a Christian, the so-called Count Rabi, collected, ended up for exasperating everyone. And the spark of rebellion broke out over an apparently trivial matter, as happens on so many occasions. A soldier of the guard emir had his sword polished and it seemed to him that the swordsmith in the suburb did not attend to him with sufficient alacrity, so he killed him by piercing him with his sword in question. Al-Hakam was hunting outside Cordoba and upon returning, passing through the conflictive neighborhood, was booed. His guard arrested ten rioters and, without mercy, they were immediately crucified. The emir had barely arrived at his palace when the entire suburb was up in arms. Businesses were closed and the tents, and with sticks, stones, knives, and everything they had within their reach, artisans, merchants, and the general public headed to the doors of the Alcázar with threatening intentions and the design of demolishing them.

In those moments of anguish in the Alcázar, when his fate presented itself doubtful in the face of those angry mobs, only al-Hakam seemed to retain the calm. He asked his Christian page to fetch a jar of civet and with it he perfumed his hair and beard. The page asked him, astonished, how in those serious moments he could think of putting on perfume as if he were going to court a woman and the emir replied that he did it so that when the popu-

lace cut off his head to know that it was really the head of their prince and not that of any other. Measures were taken with all the speed that the committed moment required. The troops loyal to the emir ensured order in the city and the palace butler and his secretary gathered all the available forces to try to contain the rapidly advancing mobs that were leaving uniting more and more people. The emir's troops were beginning to falter in the face of what seemed an unstoppable force of the mutineers, until two of the generals from al-Hakam they managed to reach the first houses in the suburb. Then its inhabitants found themselves surrounded. The two exits of the neighborhood were taken by loyal to the emiral cause. The rout began... and the slaughter.

Al-Hakam gave orders that no mercy be shown to the rioters and for three the looting and massacre continued, and no one knows what it could had happened if the minister Ibn Mugith did not advise the emir to cease in that horrible carnage. The suburb was closed so that no one could leave there until al-Hakam passed sentence or thought about what to do with the rebel subjects. The solution was still terrible, as terrible as three hundred notables of the suburb would be crucified and the rest of the inhabitants who had survived would preserve their lives in exchange for immediately abandoning Córdoba. The suburb would be completely demolished, plowed and planted so that no one could build a house or a habitation there. None of al-Hakam's successors dared, until the end of the 10th century, to contravene that now distant prohibition dictated by the emir and the suburb remained, for

a long time, like a desolate and dead place in which it seemed impossible there would have been so much life.

The inhabitants of the suburb, "rabadis" as they would be known, had to abandon house, business and city in the first fortnight of April 818. Only the fuqahāʾ and their families were freed from this expulsion, much to the dismay of al-Hakam, knowing as he knew that if they had not been the direct instigators of the rebellion, they encouraged it and did nothing to calm things down. It is not well known how many people were banished from the suburb, it is believed that perhaps there were about 20,000, since it was a very populous neighborhood, although the figure may have been a bit exaggerated. And there begins the odyssey of the “rabadis”, who showed themselves to be accomplished adventurers, forced, no doubt, by the need.

Some went to take refuge in Toledo, a city always willing to welcome to all those who showed themselves against the central power. But they feared that the anger of that vengeful emir reached them, so they decided to flee further away, as far as to cross the sea. The Rabadis, with their families, left towards the Mediterranean coast, not without suffering the assault of the unscrupulous in their modest convoys in which they carried the few belongings they saved from the merciless looting to which they had already been subjected. Some went to North Africa and settled among the Berber tribes. In this region there were few cities and Prince Idris II was looking for inhabitants who could populate the city of Fez that their father had founded. It would not

take much time to increase this population with a new city, very close to the one that already existed and spread the word that everyone who came to populate both cities would be welcomed with open arms. Many Rabadis, with their families, moved there and very soon the new foundation of Idris II was known as Madinat al-Andalusiyyin, the “City of the Andalusians”. To this city they took the rabadis their knowledge of gardening and agriculture, crafts and architecture, as well as as their forms of citizen life. But this was not their greatest feat of those banished.

Part of them set out to sail the Mediterranean, dedicating themselves to privateering and piracy to survive. Although the Rabadis were not sailors, it is very possible that they they were accompanied by Valencian or Andalusian sailors, muladíes most likely, and that together they would undertake that adventure.

One day they docked in front of beautiful Alexandria, in those days subjected to fighting, that were taking place throughout Egypt, among the governors appointed by the caliph. The Rabadis became strong in the city and with the help of a faction Arab, the Lajmis, and the followers of a puritan Islam, created a kind of independent republic that they would maintain for more than ten years.

In vain the inhabitants of Alexandria tried, on more than one occasion, to get rid of these upstarts who had become masters of their city. Finally, in May 827, the governor Abd Allah ben Tahir, besieged them and after several days of siege, the Rabadides surrendered. They were allowed to go, but

they could not take any of their slaves and had to compromise that they would not dock in any port that was in Abbasid territory.

Thus they found themselves expelled from Egypt, as they had already been expelled from Córdoba, and they began the journey again, this time heading towards the island of Crete, which belonged to the Byzantine Empire. In command of that expedition that sought a place to settle, there was a man from Córdoba from Llano de los Pedroches, called Abu Hafs Umar al-Balluti. They landed on the island and occupied it in their whole. Abu Hafs al-Balluti founded a dynasty there that remained on the island for one hundred and thirty-four years, until the year 961.

They repelled incessant Byzantine attacks that wanted to recover Crete, until that the general Nikephoros Phocas managed to recapture the island for the Byzantine emperor Roman II.

Back at sea, those already distant Andalusians, for more than a century and medium, frightened the entire navigation of the central and eastern Mediterranean, also acting with great audacity in the Aegean islands.

Ziryab: the singer of Baghdad

A somewhat peculiar character from Muslim Spain was Ziryab, although he wasn't a politician, nor a religious person, nor a warrior, he was going to have a capital influence on the Andalusian society, creating fashions and implementing customs and ways of life that ended up adopting Moors and Christians, and that would remain until our days.

Ziryab was called that because he had very dark skin and he was given this nickname in reference to the black plumage of a bird, the blackbird, but its real name was Abu-l-Hasan Ali ben Nafi. He was born in Mesopotamia and was a freedman of the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. From a very young age he showed to be gifted, in a privileged way, for singing and was a disciple of another celebrity in the field of music, the singer of the Baghdad court, Ishaq al-Mawsilí. Very soon he became so famous that the Great Caliph Harun al-Rashid asked the teacher to bring his disciple to court to hear him sing.

There are many legends about this performance. One of the best known is the that Ziryab, before the caliph, very sure of himself, told him that he knew how to sing what other great singers knew but, who also sang, what no one knew sing. If the caliph so desired, he would put in his ears

a music and a song that no one had heard before. Harun al-Rashid was surprised and intrigued and wanted me to act for him, interpreting those unknown melodies.

It is said that Ziryab did not use the traditional lute as accompaniment, but who used an instrument of his invention. It was a kind of five-string guitar, the first, the third and the fifth were made with lion's guts; the second and fourth were made of red silk. To press them, instead of the typical pick of wood, he used the claw of an eagle.

Harun-al Rashid was fascinated by what he heard and told the singer that he returned the next day to perform, again, for him. But Ziryab didn't returned to the palace in Baghdad. What had happened for the musician to not coming back? Well, his master felt deep envy of the success of his disciple. He understood that he was going to take away his place as a favorite singer in the court and threatened to kill him. Ziryab, fearing for his life, decided to leave from Baghdad as soon as possible

The sad days of exile as a traveling musician began for him. For some time he lived in Cairo, crossed the deserts of Egypt and Libya and he settled in Qayrawan, a city that had nothing to do with the splendor of Baghdad or the refined Córdoba. But wherever he went, those who heard him singing could never forget the timbre of his voice and the harmony of his compositions. And so it was that through another musician, less jealous than his mas-

ter!, the Cordoban Jew Abu-l-Nasr Mansur, reached the ears of al-Hakam I the mastery of Ziryab and sent for him. Al-Hakam I, like all the emirs and, later, Andalusian caliphs, was a great lover of music and poetry and himself a notable poet. Ziryab embarked immediately to Algeciras. There, as soon as he disembarked, he received news that the emir had just died and became disheartened, thinking that his good luck was ending. But Abd al-Rahman II, son and successor of al-Hakam, let him know that he maintained the contract that his father had offered him and sent him gifts of such magnificence that the singer was clear that he would remain in al-Andalus forever. The emir received him with the greatest attention and not only that: he assigned him a fabulous pension for the time, 200 gold dinars a month, in addition to providing him with a house and servitude, giving him some land in the countryside of Córdoba, which was very productive, and complete his offering with two hundred sextars of barley and one hundred of wheat to maintain his house and his family. There was not in all Muslim world another poet, musician, singer or scholar who was better paid than Ziryab, and the splendid remunerations of which he was the object, extended, even further, his fame everywhere. In truth it must have been an exceptional being for the emir treated him with such kindness!

But to better understand the generosity of Abd al-Rahman II it is interesting to know something about what his life and his court were like, in which he adopted all the royal forms of the Court of the Abbasids. His father had left him the Treasury coffers completely packed, which allowed the new emir to dedicate

to acquire the most precious merchandise that arrived to Córdoba brought by Jewish, Slavic and Iraqi merchants.

Abd al-Rahman II was an unrepentant lover and admirer of women. Of all Europe and also from the East, beautiful young women will arrive, always virgins to the harem of the emir, who is said to have had forty-five male children and forty-two daughters. Some of his many concubines managed to reach just fame for her beauty, careful education and talent. Such is the case of the three young people known as the “Medinese”, not because they were natives of this city, what's more, one of them was Spanish, but all three had been educated in a perfect Arab culture. They were magnificent singers, versifiers and experts in Medinese music and entertained the leisure of their lord who appreciated them in such a way. So for them he had a special pavilion built inside the Alcázar.

A man like the emir, lover of all pleasures, both the sensual ones like intellectuals, it was not surprising that he appreciated moving art and only one of Ziryab, who arrived in al-Andalus in the year 822, with four children who, with over time, they would continue his work, and he stayed until his death in 857. In these thirty-five years the emir and he always maintained cordial relations and they appreciated and respected each other.

But Ziryab's activities were not only limited to music, but his genius manifested as a profound innovator of the Muslim society of the time. He created a conservatory... and a beauty institute, because Ziryab was a true and refined dandy.

[nanshe-of-nina]

Women’s History Meme || Mistresses (5/10) ↬ Subh of Córdoba (c. 940 – c. 999)

His great opportunity came in 967 when he was entrusted with the administration of the property settled by the caliph upon his favourite consort, Subh – another concubine of Christian and Navarrese origin, carried off a captive to Córdoba. From that moment Almanzor’s future was assured. As Subh’s protégé and, it was whispered, her lover, he rose rapidly to become one of the leading civil servants of al-Andalus. When the caliph al-Hakem II died in 976 his son by Subh, Hisham II, was aged only eleven. The regency which governed in his name was a triumvirate formed of al-Mushafi, the first minister of the late caliph; the leading military man of al-Andalus, the general Ghalib; and Almanzor — Moorish Spain by Richard Fletcher One of the most famous examples is Subh, the jarya of the caliph al-Hakam, one of the greatest Umayyad caliphs of the Muslim Empire in Spain. Subh was consumed by ambition. She had two major faults to answer for to the Muslims: she was a foreigner and a Christian. Obviously such things could take place without unrest only in Muslim Spain, that particularly open and cosmopolitan civilization. Subh is usually called by the historians Sabiha Malika Qurtuba, queen of Cordova, Sabiha being one of the diminutives from the root word sabah, dawn. Her original name was Aurora, which had to be Arabicized without misrepresenting it too much. But others said that the prince, entranced by the beauty of the foreigner, called her Subh because she had that amazing soft glow of the Mediterranean dawn. She was the wife of al-Hakam al-Mustansir, the ninth Umayyad caliph of the western branch which reigned in Spain with Cordova as its capital for almost three centuries (138/756 to 422/1031). — Forgotten Queens of Islam by Fatimah Mernissi

[jartita-me-teneis]

ABBAS IBN FIRNÁS, EL PRIMER HOMBRE QUE VOLÓ Y LO CONTÓ

A lo largo de la historia de la humanidad ha habido personas memorables cuya contribución a la ciencia se puede considerar como algo excepcional. Conocemos a muchos de ellos y, concretamente en el contexto de la aeronáutica, pero hay otros nombres que, sin embargo, han pasado de forma más discreta a la historia a pesar de que su contribución ha sido ciertamente notable. Tal es el caso de un científico, historiador, poeta, inventor y, desde luego, pionero aeronáutico, como fue Abbas Ibn Firnas.

Muchos se sorprenden al conocer que este hombre fue el primero capaz de volar con un artefacto más pesado que el aire, manteniéndose en vuelo alrededor de diez minutos. Y lo hizo, además, más de mil años antes que los hermanos Wright, concretamente en el año 875. Pero, ¿quién fue Abbas Ibn Firnas?

Su nombre de nacimiento fue Abu al-Qāsim Abbās ibn Firnās y vino al mundo en el año 810 en los alrededores de la ciudad de Ronda (Málaga, España). Se sabe relativamente poco de su infancia, salvo que adquirió una extensa cultura y empezó a destacar en diversas disciplinas, lo que le condujo inexorablemente a la que en aquel momento era la ciudad más rica e influyente de Al-Andalus, Córdoba. Allí destacó como científico, inventor, poeta, filósofo, alquimista, músico y astrólogo hasta tal punto que recibió el sobrenombre de Hakim Al Andalus (el sabio de Al Andalus).

Una vez en Córdoba desarrolló extensamente sus facetas de conocimiento contribuyendo de forma significativa en el avance de las ciencias y las artes en las cortes de los emires al-Hakam (796-822), Abderramán II (822-852) y Muhammad I (852-886).

En el campo científico fue el primero en utilizar en toda la Península Ibérica, y probablemente en Europa, las tablas astronómicas de Sinhind, de origen hindú, que más tarde resultarían básicas en el desarrollo de la ciencia europea y se estudiarían en las universidades medievales como asignatura del Quadrivium (donde se integraban la música, la aritmética, la geometría y la astronomía).

Introdujo en el mundo occidental la técnica para tallar el cristal de roca e incluso desarrolló procedimientos de alquimia para crear cristales a partir de diferentes minerales.

Construyó para el emir de Córdoba una clepsidra (en árabe Al-Maqata-Maqata), un reloj complejo que utiliza agua como energía, a la que cierran o abren el paso una serie de válvulas y sirve para dar las horas en cualquier momento del día o de la noche, algo poco corriente en su época.

También desarrolló la primera esfera armilar (o astrolabio esférico) de Europa, utilizada para realizar cálculos y observaciones astronómicas aproximadas, orientando los círculos del instrumento según el plano de los círculos celestes.

Como ejemplo de su avanzado conocimiento astronómico, construyó en su residencia de Córdoba un planetario, articulado mecánicamente, que representaba la bóveda celeste. Incluso lo ambientó con efectos sonoros y visuales que simulaban los distintos meteoros: la tormenta, el rayo y el trueno.

En el contexto de la aeronáutica, Abbas Ibn Firnás es un referente extraordinario como precursor del paracaídas y por ser la primera persona que diseñó, construyó y probó con éxito artefactos que se podían mantener en el aire. Lo hizo seiscientos años antes de que Leonardo da Vinci desarrollara sus diseños de máquinas voladoras y más de mil años antes de que los hermanos Wright hicieran su famoso vuelo.

Su primer hito aeronáutico fue en el año 852, en el que saltó al vacío desde el alminar de la Mezquita de Córdoba utilizando una lona a modo de innovador paracaídas. Nunca se había intentado algo así. O, al menos, nadie pudo contarlo hasta aquella fecha. El resultado fue un descenso relativamente rápido, con un aterrizaje tosco y varios huesos rotos, pero con la firme convicción de que aquello podía funcionar. Este hecho se considera de forma generalizada como el uso del primer paracaídas de la historia.

Años más tarde, en 875, diseñó un planeador a base de madera y tela de seda (adornada con plumas de diversas aves) con el que se lanzó desde las colinas de la Ruzafa, cercanas a Córdoba. Seguro de que aquel ingenio funcionaría, había convocado a centenares de personas a lo largo del recorrido. También estaban presentes muchos miembros de la corte de Muhammad I, emir del califato andalusí. El resultado fue un vuelo sostenido aprovechando las corrientes de aire que duró entre dos y diez minutos (dependiendo de las crónicas que se tomen como referencia). Según parece, el control del artilugio fue bastante deficiente y fue posiblemente la causa del accidentado aterrizaje en el que se lastimó seriamente ambas piernas. Posteriormente atribuyó el problema a la necesidad de incorporar una cola al diseño de la aeronave. Con 65 años, muchos para su época, ya no volvió a intentarlo, pero se convirtió en el primer hombre en la historia que volaba con un artefacto más pesado que el aire… y podía contarlo.

Fuente https://aertecsolutions.com/

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

Royal Deaths, 1st October

552 - Teja, King of Ostrogoten, dies in battle.

959 - King Eadwig of England, "the All-Fair", dies at about 18, circumstances unknown.

976 - Al-Hakam II, Moors kalief of Cordoba.

1040 - Alan III, Duke of Brittany (poisoned).

1310 - Beatrice of Burgundy, Lady of Bourbon.

1361 - Margaret of Windsor, daughter of King Edward Ill of England, aged 15.

1868 - Mongkut, King of Thailand, opened country to the West (inspiration for musical "The King and I"), died of malaria at 63.

1901 - Abdur Rahman Khan, Emir of Afghanistan.

1919 - Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen.

[spoekelse]

Extremely interesting video about homosexuality and gender expression in the Islamic world.

Caliph al-Hakam II of Cordoba was what we would call gay- he wasn't attracted to women, and thus produced no heir until his wife Subh cut her hair, dressed like a man, and went by the name Ja'far (a male name)

It's very good, it talks about lesbians, makes a distinction between homosexuality and pederasty, and how Victorian cultural norms gave us the very anti-gay culture in the Islamic world we see today.

[ranah-upaya]

Sejarah Singkat Daulah Bani Umayyah

SEJARAH BERDIRI

Pendirinya Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan

Masuk Islam bersama saudaranya Yazid saat Fathu Makkah / Umrah Qadha, 7 H / Gubernur Damaskus - Masa Umar bin Khattab s/d Masa Utsman

Tiga Prinsip Muawiyah 1- Memperlakuakn sebaik baiknya semua tokoh sahabat senior / Bani Hasyim 2- Memperkokoh keamanan di seantero dunia Islam / menugasi beberapa tokoh / Utbah bin Abi Sufyan / Marwan bin Hakam / Said bin Al-Ash / Aamr bin Ash / Al Mughirah bin Syu'bah / Maslamah bin Mukhallad 3- Mengawasi langsung urusan negaranya dan mengetahui semua persoalan, baik kecil maupun besar

Diantara akhlaknya, mempersilahkan rakyatnya menemui 5 kali (bahkan setiap waktu)

Dinasti Umayah berkuasa hampir 1 Abad (-+ 90 tahun)

4 Orang Khalifah memegang kekuasaan sepanjang 70 tahun:

Muawiyah

Abdul Malik

Al Walid

Hisyam bin Abdul Malik

10 Khalifah lainnya - 20 tahun.

Khalifah - khalifah terbesar:

Muawiyah

Abdul Malik

Umar bin Abdul Aziz

Muawiyah : 41 H / Wafat 60 H / Damaskus / Pendiri Muawiyah

Yazid I : Membereskan huru-hara pendukung Husein / perang Karbala / Pemberontakan Mekah Madinah Ka'bah runtuh / terserang manjanik / Orang Madinah mengganti Abdullah bin Handzalah Perang antara pasukan Yazid dan Anshar (Uqbah Al Murri) / Dimenangkan Yazid I / Al Harrah Quraish membai'at Abdullah bin Muti' / Mekah membai'at Abdullah Bin Zubair Yazid I meninggal 64 H

Muawiyah II : -40 Hari / Tekanan jiwa berat / Keturunan Muawiyah habis

Marwan bin Hakam : Punya stempel Khalifah masa Utsman / Gubernur Madinah masa Muawiyah / Penasehat Yazid / Pemberontakan Syiah Khawarij / Mengalahkan Dahhak bin Qais / Menduduki Mesir / Melantik Abdul Aziz Palestine, Hijaz, Irak/ Wafat 65 H

Abdul Malik (anak) : Pendiri Kedua / Ulama Fiqh / Meredamkan pemberontakan sebelumnya / Pemakaian bahasa Arab-Bahasa Administrasi Sebelumnya Yunani dan Qibti / Mencetak uang secara teratur / Gedung, Masjid, Saluran Air / 21 Tahun Al Hajjaj Bin Yusuf - gubernur Hijaz / Raja Turki - Ratbil - serang Sijistan / Perbaikan saluran aiar sungai / Kemajuan perdagangan / perbaikan sistem ukuran timbang / takaran keuangan / penyempurnaan Mushaf Al Quran dengan titik tertentu / Wafat 86 H.

Al Walid (anak) : 10 tahun (86-96 H) / Islam di Spanyol - Thariq Bin Ziyad / Afrika Utara - Musa bin Nushair / menyempurnakan pembangunan / Masjid Al Amawi (Damaskus) / Menyantuni yatim piatu, fakir miskin, cacat, lumpuh, buta, kusta / Wafat 96 H

Sulaiman (adik) : Kurang bijaksana / suka harta / ingin Ghanimah dari Spanyol (Dibawa Musa)/memperlambat kedatangan Musa- harapannya jatuh ke tangan / Musa menolak / musa disiksa, dipecat, menyiksa keluarga pendahulu yang membantu kejayaan Umayyah

Umar bin Abdul Aziz : Lembaran putih Bani Umayyah / punya karakter yang tidak terpengaruh kebijaksanaan disesali / Khalifah yang takwa dan bersih / Gubernur Mesir / Lahir di Hilwan (Mesir) / Keturunan Umar bin Khattab dari garis ibu / Ulama Hadits / memerintahkan menulis hadits / menikah dg Fatimah binti Abdil Malik / Zahid, sederhana, kerja keras, juang tanpa henti / Khilafah -2th / 40 dinar tiap tahun / jual barang lama - uang ke baitul mal / mendamaikan Amawiyah, Syiah, Khawarij / menaikkan gaji gubernur / santunan / memperbarui dinas pos / menyamakan orang arab dan non arab / mengurangi pajak / menghentikan Jizyah bagi Islam baru/wafat 101 H.

Yazid II : Perselisihan Mudhariyah dan Yamaniyah / Kemunduran Umayyah 10 Hisyam bin Abd Malik : 20 th (105-125 H)/bersih, pemurah, gemar indah, akhlak mulia, teliti uang, takwa, adil/ terjadi gejolak dipelopori Syiah, sekutu Abbasiyah/ ada selisih putra mahkota melemahkan Umayyah.

Ada 4 Khalifah lain : Al Walid II, Yazid III, Ibrahim bin Al Walid, Marwan bin Muhammad / penghabisan / Terbunuh Abbasiyah 132 H/750 M

KEJAYAAN DAN KEMUNDURAN UMAYYAH

Ekspansi Wilayah 1- Melawan pasukan Romawi di Asia Kecil (Konstantinopel / Kep. Laut Tengah) 2- Afrika Utara / Samudera Atlantik / Jabal Thariq - Spanyol 3- Wilayah Timur / sebelah timur Irak / Turkistan Utara / Sindh bagian selatan

Penaklukan Tunis / Khurasan - Sungai Oxus / Afghanistan - Kabul

Masa Abdul Malik Balkh / Bukhara / Khawarizm / Fergana / Samarkand / India - Balukhistan, Sind, Punjab, Maltan

Masa Al Walid Maroko dan Aljazair / ke Eropa oleh Thariq bin Ziyad / Cordova / Seville / Elvira / Toledo

Umar bin Abd Aziz Serangan ke Prancis - Abdurrahman bin Abdullah Al Ghafiqi / Bordeau dan Poitiers / Kota Tours / Al Ghafiqi terbunuh / kembali ke Spanyol

Penaklukkan Romawi : Selalu melakukan pengintaian dan Ekspedisi / dikepung 50 H/670 M & 53-61 H/672-680 M (tidak berhasil) / 1.700 Kapal / penaklukan Pulau Jarba (Tunisia) 49 H/669 m / Rhodesia 53H/673 M, Crete 55 H/680 M / Kep. Ijih dekat Konstantin 57 H/680 H

Penaklukkan Afrika : Benzarat (41 H/661 M) / Qamuniyah (dekat Qairawan) 45 H/665 M / Susat / Uqbah bin Nafi' menaklukkan Sirt dan Mogadishu, Tharablis, Wadan / Kur / Maghrib tengah (Aljazair)

Penaklukkan Wil Timur : Asia Tengah & Sindh / Antara Sungai Sayhun dan Jayhun / Kerajaan Thakharistan (Balkh) / Shafaniyan (Syawman) Shagad (Samarkand) / Bukhara / Farghanah (Jahandah) / Khawarizm (Jurjaniyah) / Asyrusanah (Banjakat) / Syasy (Bankats) / Mayor Kaum Paganis / 41 H/661 M / Abdullah bin Ziyad di Pegunungan Bukhara 44H/664 M.

SEBAB KEMUNDURAN 1- Beberapa Khalifah, kepribadian lemah 2- Hidup mewah, berlebihan harta 3- Memberi keputusan pada Panglima karena nafsu 4- Perselisihan karena Putra Mahkota 5- Perselisihan internal, rebutan kekuasaan 6- Fanatisme kearaban 7- Perselisihan dengan Budak yang dimerdekakan 8- Gerakan-gerakan pemberontak (Syiah, Khawarij, propaganda Abbasiyah)

Sebab Umum 1- Byzantium semakin kuat 2- Problem Ekonomi

PERADABAN DINASTI UMAYYAH 1- Katib Rasail (surat menyurat) 2- Katib Kharraj (penerimaan dan pengeluaran negara) 3- Katib Jundi (Ketentaraan) 4- Katib Syurtah (Keamanaan dan Ketertiban Umum) 5- Katib Qudhat (Badan Peradilan)

Pembangunan Terbaik : Qubah Shakhra' (Dome of The Rock) / Yerussalem Tokoh Terkenal : Al Ahthal / Farazdag / dll Ilmu Pengetahuan 1- Pengembangan Bahasa Arab 2- Kota pusat kegiatan ilmu (Marbad) 3- Ilmu Qiraat / Abdullah bin Qusair & Ashim bin Abu Nujud 4- Ilmu Tafsir / Mujahid 5- Ilmu Hadits / Muhammad bin Syihab al Zuhri / Hasan Bashri / Ibnu Abu Malikah / Al Sya'bi Abu Amru 6- Ilmu Fiqh / Qasim Ubaidullah / Urwah / Kharijah 7- Ilmu Nahwu 8- Ilmu Geografi dan Tarikh 9- Usaha Penerjemahan / Khalid bin Yazid

Beberapa Peran Khalifah Dalam Peradaban 1- Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan Membaca, menulis, berhitung, berenang, Al Quran, Ibadat / Mapel Utama "Adab" / Majelis Adab / Gurunya = Muaddib 2- Abdul Malik bin Marwan Adab - jauhkan orang jahat / berkata benar / Syair - mulia & berani / bersuci / adab minum air - dihirup pelan-pelan / menegur - tempat tertutup - tidak diketahui aib 3- Hisyam bin Abdil Malik Hendaklah bertakwa / melaksanakan apa yang dipercayakan / melatih dengan membaca Kitab Allah / riwaytakan syair yang baik / mengetahui halal dan haram / mengenalkan pidato dan cerita 4- Umar bin Abdul Aziz Hadits dibukukan - diajarkan di majlis-majlis / Dilakukan Ulama Muhammad bin Syihab al-Zauhri (guru Imam Malik) -> Ulama pertama yang membukukan hadits

Perpustakaan Daerah / 20 Januari 2023 / 13.24 Sejarah Peradaban Islam / Prakenabian Hingga Islam di Indonesia Dr. Din Muhammad Zakariya, M.Pd.I Penerbit Madani

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.1 (before 1900)

365 – The Alemanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities. 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freising, which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi (Austria in Old High German). 1009 – Berber forces led by Sulayman ibn al-Hakam defeat the Umayyad caliph Muhammad II of Córdoba in the battle of Alcolea. 1141 – Empress Matilda's reign as 'Lady of the English' ends with Stephen of Blois regaining the title of 'King of England'. 1179 – Philip II is crowned as 'King of France'. 1214 – The port city of Sinope surrenders to the Seljuq Turks. 1348 – The anti-royalist Union of Valencia attacks the Jews of Murviedro on the pretext that they are serfs of the King of Valencia and thus "royalists". 1503 – Pope Julius II is elected. 1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time. 1520 – The Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, is first discovered and navigated by European explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the first recorded circumnavigation voyage. 1555 – French Huguenots establish the France Antarctique colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1570 – The All Saints' Flood devastates the Dutch coast. 1601–1900 1604 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London. 1611 – Shakespeare's play The Tempest is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London. 1612 – During the Time of Troubles, Polish troops are expelled from Moscow's Kitay-gorod by Russian troops under the command of Dmitry Pozharsky (22 October O.S.). 1683 – The British Crown colony of New York is subdivided into 12 counties. 1688 – William III of Orange sets out a second time from Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands to seize the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland from King James II of England during the Glorious Revolution. 1755 – In Portugal, Lisbon is totally devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 people. 1765 – The British Parliament enacts the Stamp Act on the Thirteen Colonies in order to help pay for British military operations in North America. 1790 – Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France, in which he predicts that the French Revolution will end in a disaster. 1800 – John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed the White House). 1805 – Napoleon Bonaparte invades Austria during the War of the Third Coalition. 1814 – Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars. 1848 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the first medical school for women, Boston Female Medical School (which later merged with the Boston University School of Medicine), opens. 1861 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as the commander of the Union Army, replacing General Winfield Scott. 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast. 1893 – The Battle of Bembezi took place and was the most decisive battle won by the British in the First Matabele War of 1893. 1894 – Nicholas II becomes the new (and last) Tsar of Russia after his father, Alexander III, dies. 1894 – Buffalo Bill, 15 of his Native Americans, and Annie Oakley were filmed by Thomas Edison in his Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey. 1896 – A picture showing the bare breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time. 1897 – The first Library of Congress building opens its doors to the public; the library had previously been housed in the Congressional Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol. 1897 – Italian Sport-Club Juventus is founded by a group of students of Liceo Classico Massimo d'Azeglio.

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … October 17

976 – Cordoba, Spain: Hisham II becomes Caliph at age 11. He is the openly homosexual son of the openly homosexual Al-Hakam II. Both kept male harems.

1535 – Rome: Pope Paul III wrote a letter to his son Duke Pier Luigi Farnese on this day and scolded him for having male lovers with him on an official mission to the court of the Emperor. Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese who later became Pope Paul III.

1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott (d.1991) was an Australian (later American) novelist.

Elliott was born in Sydney to the writer Helena Sumner Locke and the journalist Henry Logan Elliott. His mother died of eclampsia one day after his birth. Elliott was raised by his aunts, who had a fierce custody battle over him, fictionalized in Elliott's autobiographical novel, Careful, He Might Hear You.

Elliott became an actor and writer with the Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre. He was drafted into the Australian Army in 1942, but instead of being posted overseas, he worked as a clerk in Australia. He used these experiences as the inspiration for his controversial play, Rusty Bugles. The play toured extensively throughout Australia and achieved the notoriety of being closed down for obscenity by the Chief Secretary's Office.

However, Rusty Bugles' place in the history of Australian theatre rests on more than notoriety. Mac is a memorable character in the play, and in the first production, Frank O'Donnell transformed audiences' understanding of the typical Australian 'bludger' or 'scrounger'. To the men in his unit, he appeared a winner even when he was losing, but with the discovery of his wife's infidelity, his fragility becomes apparent.

Elliott moved to the United States in 1948, where he ranked in the pantheon of leading playwrights during the Golden Age of live television dramas, writing more than 30 original plays and numerous adaptations for such shows as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One and Playhouse 90. He also wrote a play Buy Me Blue Ribbons, which had a short run on Broadway. In 1955, he obtained United States citizenship and did not return to Australia until 1974.

Elliott's best known novel, Careful, He Might Hear You, won the 1963 Miles Franklin Award and was turned into a film in 1983.

As a gay man during a time when this was socially problematic, Elliott was uncomfortable with his sexuality. He kept it secret until nearly the end of his life before coming out in his book Fairyland. Because of these fears, Elliott had affairs but never had any stable relationships.

1920 – Born: Brooding and intense, Montgomery Clift (d.1966) was one of a group of young actors in the 1950s who personified the emotionally repressed loss of innocence of the post-World War II generation. A dedicated actor who exhausted himself both emotionally and physically with the depth of his characterizations, Clift was also an isolated and tortured, closeted gay man who used drugs and alcohol to escape his pain.

Although he was both friend and inspiration to the likes of Marlon Brando and James Dean, Clift felt his own acting achievements were undervalued, and he died as bitter and broken as the characters he played in many of his films.

Clift was born into privilege in Omaha, Nebraska on October 17, 1920, the son of a wealthy stockbroker. His father spent most of his time working in New York, leaving Clift, his twin sister Roberta, and his older brother Brooks in the care of their high-strung mother. An upper-class childhood filled with lengthy trips to Europe and the Bahamas ended suddenly with the stock market crash of 1929, and the family moved to a small house in Sarasota, Florida. There Clift discovered the theater in a local teen acting club.

Clift's mother encouraged her son's acting ambitions, and when the family moved back to New York in 1935, he auditioned and was cast in a Broadway production, Fly Away Home. His 1938 performance in the lead in Dame Nature established Clift's acting career. He was seventeen years old.

Clift's success on Broadway continued, and he soon found himself courted by Hollywood film executives. He rejected a number of scripts before finally making a memorable film debut in Howard Hawks' 1948 film Red River opposite John Wayne. Repotedly, both Wayne and Walter Brennan were offended by Clift's homosexuality, and stayed away from him while filming Red River. For his part, Clift was offended by the pro-USA political beliefs of those two older actors.

He followed that with a critical success in Fred Zinneman's The Search (1948), which earned him the first of four academy award nominations. Clift continued to make successful films and developed friendships in Hollywood, the closest of which was with actress Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor and Clift were both passionate and vulnerable people who felt a bond immediately. They worked together on several films, beginning with George Stevens' A Place in the Sun in 1951, and remained friends until the end of his life.

Clift had always had relationships with men, but he dated Taylor and other women to conceal his homosexuality. In the early 1950s, he turned down a role in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, based on the infamous Leopold and Loeb gay murder case, probably because it might have led to speculation about Clift's own life.

Though at the beginning of his career, he drank only moderately and conducted his private life discreetly, by the mid 1950s he was using alcohol and drugs excessively and spending wild nights cruising. In 1954, Clift rented a house in the gay resort of Ogunquit, Maine, and spent the summer picking up men on the beach for S&M parties. The studios did their best to keep Clift's exploits out of the press, but rumors about his lifestyle abounded.

On May 12, 1956, after leaving a party at Taylor's, Clift drove his car into a telephone pole. The crash caused scarring and partial paralysis of his face, which would affect his appearance for the rest of his life. Although he continued to act, and gave some of his most memorable performances after the accident (in, for example, Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg and John Huston's The Misfits in 1961), both his expressive acting and his personal life were never the same. His post-accident career has been referred to as the 'longest suicide in Hollywood' because of his continued substance abuse.

In his final years, Clift plunged more deeply into drug and alcohol abuse and wild sexual behavior. He began to be considered unreliable by studio bosses. Sadly, by the time his companion Lorenzo James found him dead of a heart attack at their home, on July 23, 1966, he was virtually unemployable.

1933 – On this date the Singing Nun was born (d.1985). Sœur Sourire a.k.a. Sister Smile was a Belgian nun, who had a world hit in and around 1963 with 'Dominique'. Her real name was Jeanine Decker and her name in the convent was Sister Luc-Gabrielle. She was born in Waver. In 1966 a film was released based on her life, under the title of 'The Singing Nun', with Debbie Reynolds in the title role.

Deckers became increasingly critical of Catholic doctrines and eventually became a public advocate for contraception. She also agreed with John Lennon's statements about Jesus in 1966. In 1967, she recorded a song entitled "Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill" — a paean to artificial birth control — under the name Luc Dominique. It was a commercial failure.

Her musical career over, Deckers opened a school for autistic children in Belgium. In the late 1970s, the Belgian government claimed she owed approximately $63,000 USD in back taxes. Deckers countered that the royalties from her recording were given to the convent and therefore she was not liable for payment of any personal income taxes. Lacking any receipts to prove her donations to the convent and her religious order, Deckers ran into heavy financial problems. In 1982, she tried, once again as Sœur Sourire, to score a hit with a disco synthesizer version of "Dominique", but this last attempt to resume her singing career failed.

Citing their financial difficulties in a note, she and her companion of ten years, Annie Pécher, both committed suicide by an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol in March 1985. She was 51.

London Mardi Gras, the precurser to Pride, which Barry Jackson helped to organize in 1999

1946 – Barry Jackson, British gay activist and corporate and public affairs manager was born on this date (d.1999).

Born in south London, Barry read mathematics at the University of Sussex from 1966-69. There he was active in the student union, quickly learning to defuse arguments, and in student journalism.

In 1975, he went to work for North West Arts in Manchester, and then became development director of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He joined the University of Westminster in this role in 1990, before moving to the committee of vice-chancellors and principals as director of corporate affairs. There he ran campaigns to increase public funding for university research, to stop planned cuts in other areas of funding and to enhance recognition of the contribution universities make to regional and international competitiveness.

In 1994 he joined the board of the Actors Touring Company, and toured Greece when it presented simultaneous productions of Euripides's Ion in English and Greek.

While in Manchester, Barry became involved with the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, the first of a number of lesbian and gay groups which would benefit from his campaigning, communications and fundraising skills. His understanding and good humour in the often difficult circumstances created by prejudice and intolerance were later evident in his work at London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard. Between 1980-98, Barry spoke to many thousands of lesbians and gay men, their families and friends who had phoned, often in fear and confusion.

He also helped organise the first national conference on Aids in 1983, encouraged and supported the development of the Terrence Higgins Trust, and went on to be involved in a number of Aids organisations.Most of this he did with his closest friend, Mike Rhodes, who died suddenly in 1991. Barry helped set up the Mike Rhodes Trust, which makes an annual award to an individual who has "contributed most to promoting understanding of lesbian and gay life".

Shortly before his death from leukaemia aged 53, he was centrally involved in the staging of 1999's London Mardi Gras. The lesbian and gay festival brought together many strands in his life: activism with business acumen, politics with fun and style, an arts programme with a cutting edge and London with Sydney, two cities he loved.

1960 – Rob Marshall is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe nominee and four-time Emmy winner whose most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award Best Picture winner Chicago.

He debuted in the film industry with the Emmy Award-wining TV adaptation of the musical Annie by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. After that he went on to direct the much anticipated adaptation of the Kander and Ebb musical Chicago in 2002 for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. His next feature film was the drama Memoirs of a Geisha based on the best-selling book of the same name by Arthur Golden starring Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe. The film went on to win three Academy Awards and gross $162,242,962 at the worldwide box office.

In 2009, Marshall directed Nine, an adaptation of the hit Broadway production with the same name starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Penélope Cruz, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Marshall then went on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth chapter of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series starring Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penélope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush, which opened on May 20, 2011.

Marshall lives in New York City with his life partner John DeLuca.

1969 – Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland. He dropped out of Prince of Wales High School in St. John's before completing his diploma requirements. However, in 2002 he was presented with an honorary doctor of letters by Laurentian University and in 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets when he was in his teen years.

Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. A pointed, satirical political commentary on Canadian life after Meech Lake, Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada. Mercer came to greater attention for his role in the satirical news show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and his spinoff special Talking To Americans was the highest-rated comedy special in the history of CBC Television, with 2.7 million viewers. He is currently seen regularly in The Rick Mercer Report.

In December 2004 Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising the One-Tonne Challenge for the Government of Canada. All of Mercer's fees for the campaign went to Casey House, a hospice in Toronto for people living with AIDS. Casey House was founded by June Callwood, who appeared as a celebrity guest on Monday Report.

In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of the Canadian AIDS Society.

In November 2010, Mercer joined the It Gets Better, Canada campaign, a series of videos that aim to help gay and lesbian youth to overcome bullying.

Mercer's partner is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and is currently the executive producer of The Rick Mercer Report. He regards his personal life as private, and says little about it in public.

2003 – On this date Hijra eunuchs in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh float the political party Jiti Jitayi. In the culture of the Indian subcontinent a hijra (also known by a number of different names and romanized spellings) is usually considered a member of "the third sex" — neither man nor woman. Most are physically male or intersex, but some are female. Hijras usually refer to themselves as female at the language level, and usually dress as women.

Census data does not exist, but estimates range from 50,000 to 5,000,000 in India alone. Although they are usually referred to in English as "eunuchs", relatively few have any genital modifications. A third gender has existed in the subcontinent from the earliest records, and was clearly acknowledged in Vedic culture, throughout the history of Hinduism, as well as in the royal courts of Islamic rulers.

[ramadhanseries]

தமிழில்........

What happened on the third day of Ramadan throughout history?

On the third day of Ramadan throughout history, Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Mohammed, passed away in 11 hijri, arbitration between the prophet’s companions was agreed upon on 37 hijri and Al-Hakam II became the second caliph of Cordoba in Andalusia in 350 hijri.

According to some historians, Fatimah al-Zahra was born while the Kaaba was being built.

Following the Battle of Badr, she married Ali bin Abi Taleb and had three children with him, Al-Hassan, Al-Hussein, Mohsen, who died at a young age, and Zainab and Um Kulthoum.

According to heritage researcher Wassim Afif, she died on the third day of Ramadan in 11 hijri.

The most strife in the history of Islam also occurred on the third day of Ramadan in 37 hijri. It happened between Ali ibn Abi Taleb and Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan after the death of Uthman ibn Affan.

As a result of arbitration, the most dangerous ideological faction in the history of the Islamic state, the Khawarij, emerged. The arbitration between Ali and Muawiyah was agreed upon in 37 hijri following the Battle of the Camel, and it’s linked to the emergence of the Khawarij and Muawiyah’s seizure of Egypt.

Al-Hakam II assumed governance of Andalusia on the third day of Ramadan. According to Arab and foreign historians, he was a great and knowledgeable king.

He was the ninth emir of the Umayyad state in Andalusia and the second caliph of Andalusia, and he ruled from 350 hijri until 366 hijri.

Al-Hakam’s reign was distinguished for its diplomacy as he exploited disputes between Spanish statelets and limited Spanish threats.

He loved education and sought to make it available for everyone as there were 277 free schools during his reign.

Al-Hakam ruled for 15 years and five months, and he died at 63. His son Hisham succeeded him when he was only 10 years old.

வரலாற்றில் ரமழானின் மூன்றாம் நாளில் என்ன நடந்தது?

வரலாறு முழுவதும் ரமழானின் மூன்றாவது நாளில், நபிகள் நாயகத்தின் மகள் பாத்திமா ரலி 11 ஹிஜ்ரியில் காலமானார், தீர்க்கதரிசியின் தோழர்களுக்கிடையேயான நடுவர் 37 ஹிஜ்ரியில் ஒப்புக் கொள்ளப்பட்டது மற்றும் அல்-ஹகம் II 350 இல் ஆண்டலூசியாவில் கோர்டோபாவின் இரண்டாவது கலீஃபாவானார். .

சில வரலாற்றாசிரியர்களின் கூற்றுப்படி, காபா கட்டப்படும் போது ஃபாத்திமா ரலி அல்-சஹ்ரா பிறந்தார்.

பத்ர் போரைத் தொடர்ந்து, அவர் அலி பின் அபி தலேப்பை மணந்தார்கள் மற்றும் அவருடன் மூன்று குழந்தைகளைப் பெற்றார்கள், அல்-ஹசன், அல்-ஹுசைன், இளம் வயதிலேயே இறந்த மொஹ்சென், மற்றும் ஜைனப் மற்றும் உம் குல்தூம்.

பாரம்பரிய ஆய்வாளர் வாசிம் அஃபிஃப் கருத்துப்படி, அவர் 11 ஹிஜ்ரியில் ரமழானின் மூன்றாம் நாளில் இறந்தார்கள்.

ஹிஜ்ரி 37 இல் ரமழானின் மூன்றாம் நாளில் இஸ்லாத்தின் வரலாற்றில் மிகவும் கலவரம் ஏற்பட்டது. இது உத்மான் இப்னு அஃப்பானின் மரணத்திற்குப் பிறகு அலி இப்னு அபி தலேப் மற்றும் முஆவியா இப்னு அபி சுஃப்யானுக்கு இடையே நடந்தது.

நடுவர் மன்றத்தின் விளைவாக, இஸ்லாமிய அரசின் வரலாற்றில் மிகவும் ஆபத்தான கருத்தியல் பிரிவு, கவாரிஜ் உருவானது. ஒட்டகப் போரைத் தொடர்ந்து ஹிஜ்ரி 37 இல் அலி மற்றும் முவாவியா இடையேயான நடுவர் உடன்படிக்கை செய்யப்பட்டது, மேலும் இது கவாரிஜ் மற்றும் முவாவியாவின் எகிப்தைக் கைப்பற்றியதன் தோற்றத்துடன் இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

ரமழானின் மூன்றாம் நாளில் அல்-ஹகம் II ஆண்டலூசியாவின் ஆட்சியை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். அரேபிய மற்றும் வெளிநாட்டு வரலாற்றாசிரியர்களின் கூற்றுப்படி, அவர் ஒரு சிறந்த மற்றும் அறிவுள்ள மன்னர்.

அவர் அண்டலூசியாவில் உமையா மாநிலத்தின் ஒன்பதாவது அமீராகவும், அண்டலூசியாவின் இரண்டாவது கலீஃபாவாகவும் இருந்தார், மேலும் அவர் 350 ஹிஜ்ரி முதல் 366 ஹிஜ்ரி வரை ஆட்சி செய்தார்.

அல்-ஹகாமின் ஆட்சியானது அதன் இராஜதந்திரத்திற்காக ஸ்பெயினின் மாநிலங்களுக்கு இடையிலான மோதல்கள் மற்றும் வரையறுக்கப்பட்ட ஸ்பானிஷ் அச்சுறுத்தல்களை பயன்படுத்திக் கொண்டது.

அவர் கல்வியை நேசித்தார் மற்றும் அவரது ஆட்சியில் 277 இலவச பள்ளிகள் இருந்ததால் அனைவருக்கும் அதை கிடைக்கச் செய்ய முயன்றார்.

அல்-ஹகம் 15 ஆண்டுகள் மற்றும் ஐந்து மாதங்கள் ஆட்சி செய்தார், மேலும் அவர் 63 வயதில் இறந்தார். அவரது மகன் ஹிஷாம் அவருக்கு 10 வயதாக இருந்தபோது அவருக்குப் பிறகு பதவியேற்றார்.

[docpiplup]

As I promised, let's start with the bookscans:

Al-ANDALUS. PERSONAJES HISTÓRICOS

(Al Andalus. Historical figures)

Concepción Masiá

Summary

Introduction.................................. 9

The precursors of al-Andalus.....13

Count Don Julián....................13

Tarif ben Malluk. ....................15

Musa ben Nusayr and Tariq ben Ziyad: the conquerors of Spania...........16

Abd al-Aziz: a good governor with an unfortunate fate ..........................25

The Odyssey of Prince Abd al-Rahman the Immigrant......................................29

Abd al-Rahman was only twenty-five years old.........................................36

Sulayman ben Yaqzan ben al-Arabi: Charlemagne's deceived "deceiver" ........................... ...........41

Amrus ben Yusuf: the muladí of Huesca

.............................................................47

The “rabadies”: adventurous spirits.. ..............................................53

Ziryab: the singer of Baghdad........61 Tarub: the favorite of Abd al-Rahman II...............,...........................................67 Abbas ben Firnas: the first aviator............................ ......................73 Yahya ben Hakan al-Bakri: the miserly poet.....................................................77

Abd al Chabbar and Sulayman ben Martin: the rebels of Mérida..........................81 Eulogio and Álvaro de Córdoba: pursuing martyrdom..........................85 The Andalusian Vikings..................... 95 The emir Abd Allah distrust and death...............................….................... 101 Musa ben Musa ben Qasi: the third king of Spain.......................................................107 Ibn Hafsun: the unredeemed rebel.....115 Abu Alí al-Sarrach: the Andalusian missionary. ...........................................125 Ibn Masarra: a freethinker in Spanish Islam.......,...........,...................................131 Abd al-Rahman III: the first independent caliph of al-Andalus. ...........,................................137 Hasday ibn Shaprut: the Jewish doctor of Abd al-Rahman III............ ....... ...................... ................... 145 Andalusians in France: the “Moorish kingdom” of Fraxinetum....................... 151 Rabbi ben Zayd: Bishop Recemundo............................................. 157 Al-Hakam al-Mustansir bi-llah: passion for culture.................................. 161

Ibn Abd Rabbhi, the encyclopedist, and Ibn Futais, the collector.................. 167 Al-Mansur “the Victorious” ...................171 Hisham II and Sanchuelo: misrule. .......191

Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Hazm: The pigeon neackle................................209

Hisham III al-Mu'tadd: the end of the Umayyad caliphate...............................215

Ibn al-Wafid: the gardener doctor.....221

Avempace. The supreme good: wisdom...................................................225

Zaida: the Moorish Queen of Leon and Castile........................................................227

Ibn Tufayl of Guadix: the best disciple of Avempace................. ............................ .231 Averroes: the universal Andalusian....233 Moseh ben Maimon: Maimonides..... ..239 Abu Yusuf Yaqub: the winner of Alarcos......................................................243 Ibn Arabi: the Sufi mystic.....................249 Avenzoar: a long dynasty of doctors. ...................................................253 Al-Ahmar: Abenámar, Moor of the Morería. ...,...............................................255 The Abencerrajes. ..................................261 Boabdil the Younger: the last Moorish king ............................................................267 Aben Humeya: the last Muslim leader of Spain................ ..........................................275 Bibliography .............................................285

Note: The spelling of Muslim names is taken from the works of: Levy Provençal, Muslim Spain, and González Ferrín, General History of al-Andalus.

Introduction

In the long eight hundred years that the Muslims remained in Spain, there were many personalities who, in all the fields of knowledge, sciences, letters and arts, stood out unequivocal, marking a milestone not only in the culture of al-Andalus, but that had a relevant character in universal culture.

On the other hand, the almost constant struggle between Christians and Muslims would also generate a whole series of great warriors who, for example, the infante Don Juan Manuel considered the best gifted for the war of all those who existed in the East and the West of their time.

The date that we all know as the arrival of the Muslims to Gothic Spania dates back to the year 711. Its expansion throughout the territory was so rapid as had been the conquest of the Persian empire and its presencein large areas of Asia or North Africa, but from a cultural point of view, the 8th century was totally sterile. The new conquerors who arrived from beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, were men at arms, mostly illiterate, who could do little contribute to a Christian Spania whose culture continued to develop under the dictates of the wisdom of Saint Isidore of Seville. Still they were left on the Peninsula

many areas where Christianity had not taken root and its importance regarding the assimilation of Islam.

The first governors of al-Andalus, dependent on Caliphate of Damascus, during the first years of occupation had to face many enormous internal problems, originated by the different origins of their own people, Arabs and berebers, mostly, while cultural issues occupied a very secondary level. But, possibly for purely practical reasons, Arabic as a language was introduced into the Christian field. According to Juan Vernet, it is possible to find some codices from times as early as the 9th century, that in its margins appear apostilles or comments in Arabic, and it seems that this language was already rooted among the Mozarabs, that is, the Christians who continued to live and preserve their religion in Muslim-dominated territories, in times before Abd al-Rahman II.

But it will be Abd al-Rahman I the Immigrant, who arrived in al-Andalus from Syria as the only survivor of the exterminated Umayyad dynasty, the one who will be concerned with introducing the principles of oriental culture in Spain, limiting itself to the legal-religious sciences that, in those moments, were the most important for the newly Muslims arrived. It was during the time of Abd al-Rahman II that the first wise men, who can be called that, enrich the cultural landscape of al-Andalus.

Poets, doctors, philosophers, mathematicians, geographers, undefeated generals...All of them will give al-Andalus and Europe a series of works that, by their importance will be translated, searched, accepted and will serve as a basis for the western culture and Renaissance ideas, in such a way that many of the great sages of the Italian Renaissance considered that all knowledge of the time came from Muslim Spain, which all the wise men were of Andalusian origin. And when the political decline and the disintegration of the caliphate, will not stop birth, grow and develop distinguished minds that will continue to maintain,for a long time, the prestige of al-Andalus. Curiously, this situation will be repeated throughout the history of Spain, when the Arab occupation just be a memory. The Spanish Golden Age will coincide with decadence of the Austrias, when the country loses its pre-ponderance in Europe, and with the disaster of '98, with the loss for Spain of its last colonies, will produce a cultural and scientific renaissance that has been called the Silver age.

Through the pages of this book we want to highlight those figures who occupied a predominant place in the history of al-Andalus, although not all of them were necessarily Muslims, since that in that cultured and tolerant al-Andalus, many Jews and some other Christians showed their genius, and of those who, often, we know more about his works than about his biography. But whatever religion they had, they were all, after all, Andalusians, born and raised in the extensive lands of al-Andalus. As a matter of curiosity we will include some groups of characters anonymous people who, due to their surprising

actions, on occasions dictated by necessity, they reveal the ingenuity or character of the Andalusians. Such would be the case of the "rabadíes", of the Moors who, for a time, established a small kingdom in France, or those Normans who ended up becoming Andalusians and Muslims to save their lives.

Perhaps this way we will learn a little more about that crossbred Spain, in which despite so many years of struggle, truces and battles, mutual loves and hates, numerous characters belonging to the three cultures, Moors, Christians and Jews shared knowledge, affinities and forms of life, making al-Andalus the cultural beacon of the West.

The precursors of al-Andalus

Count Don Julián

The conquest of Morocco had been carried out quickly, but shallow. The Berbers were only subdued after a fierce resistance, defeated by an ambitious general who had just been appointed governor of Ifriqiya and Maghrib. His successes in these lands They would prepare the ground for him to be the one to set his eyes and, also his troops, over Gothic Spania. It was Musa ben Nusayr. Musa, with the help of one of his sons, took possession of Tangier, and demanded that the subjugated tribes hostage to educate them in the new faith, which in turn, became propagandists of Islam, leaving in the conquered Morocco Arab lieutenants, including General Tariq ben Ziyad, he turned to Ifriqiya. But it seems that the Ceuta square remained in the hands of a Christian, the so-called Count Don Julián, who would have a determining role in this entire story. We could consider it as a precursor of that al-Andalus that was about to be born.

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @adowbaldwin @profoundme444 @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont

Part Twenty-One

Summary: Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to irritate him every other century.

Also on Ao3

Baldwin glanced quickly around the room and felt his heart sink into his boots. When the small child had approached him at the harbour as the ship finished docking that morning, clutching a neatly-folded invitation to the alcázar in the heart of Qādis, a part of him had still been clinging to the hope that Hugh- and Fernando, and Matthew- would be waiting there for him.

Godfrey gently nudged him to the side so he could get in as well; Phillipe was in front of them both, and already inclining his head towards an impassive Merula. Her husband and wife were lounging on a pile of pillows behind her, and Martin was sitting beside them, drinking from a glass goblet.

'A gift for you' Phillipe removed two illuminated manuscripts from beneath his cloak and handed them to Merula. She took it with a graceful nod, and handed one to her husband, and the other to her wife, to examine.

'Archimedes' On Floating Bodies' Philippe smiled as Shadrach made an appreciative noise.

'You know my husband's work'

'And the good it does the city' Philippe reached into his cloak again and removed a carved wooden box. He opened it.

'Spices, from your home'

'Jerusalem is far from here, I thank you for your thoughtfulness' Merula passed the spices to an excited Ishtar, who began carefully examining each vial and pouch while Martin leaned over her shoulder.

'My brother is here to drink wine and look pretty. You are here to negotiate with me.'

'Of course' Philippe sat down where Merula gestured for him to do so, his sons following suit.

'I understand you have been following behind Martin for some time.'

They had found Godfrey in an inn outside of Lyon. He had been clear on his brother's movements up to a few days before, and when Philippe pressed him for their final destination he just gave a baffled shake of his head.

Magic was clearly involved.

Philippe was incensed by this point. He ordered them to turn the horses round, and they were going back to Beaune to have a talk with Martin when suddenly an out-of-breath milliner- one of Philippe's spies- approached and told them that Martin had left home weeks ago and was headed for Qādis to visit his sister.

‘We pressed on to the port at Marseille, and now we are here’ Philippe finished. ‘We thought-’

Merula was already shaking her head.

‘My brother had been planning this visit for some time. I am afraid his leaving right after your seeing him was a complete accident.’

Baldwin winced. He could feel the last thread of Philippe's patience snapping.

You mean our brothers are not in the city?' Godfrey flinched at a sudden thought.

'They may not even be in this country?!'

Baldwin let his weariness seep into his expression. His shoulders slumped, and he gazed across at Martin.

'Where is my brother?'

'...Córdoba'

'Thank you'

________________________________________________________________

In exchange for not beating the ever-loving hell out of her brother, Merula forced Martin to pay all expenses for their voyage to Córdoba, as well as accompanying them to help keep a lookout for any trouble.

They weren't expecting any trouble, but it paid to be cautious. After the Muslims marched across the Strait of Gibraltar, the Ummayyad Caliphate rose from the ashes of the Visigothic Kingdom. Under emir Abd al-Rahmān III, then his son Al-Hakam II, Córdoba had become a hub of scholarly pursuit, and international trade.

Although the majority of the population followed Sunni Islam, there was still a significant minority of Christians and Jews in the country. They were treated well, despite legally being second-class citizens, and could even obtain positions of power within the aristocracy, and even the royal court, if they were lucky enough.

Baldwin's respect for Martin grew a little as they headed north. He was by far the best rider out of his brothers, but Martin had been mucking around on horseback longer than he had and his skill was obvious. He was also better at setting snares, having a near-instinctive sense of where to set them to catch rabbits.

At night he and Godfrey debated the sciences; Martin's understanding was a little better than Baldwin's, but neither of them had the technical grasp that Godfrey had. Even Philippe sometimes had trouble keeping up with his son's enthusiastic explanations of the discoveries that were currently circulating the scientific community.

'I should introduce you to Miriam when we reach Ḥimṣ al-Andalus' Martin said, stoking the campfire. They were set up a few metres from the road, hidden by a thicket, watching stars blink in the inky black night sky.

'I believe that you two would get along quite well'

'Mmm?' Godfrey took a swig from his wineskin.

'An alchemist and a philosopher. Zosimos mentioned her in his works, but I believe he misnamed her "Mary"'

Baldwin reared back in disgust as Godfrey spraid wine across his brother's tunic.

'Look out!'

'So-wheeze-sorry' Godfrey choked out an apology around a hacking cough as the rest of the wine slid down the wrong way.

When he could breathe properly again, he turned to Martin.

'Mary the Jewess?! She is one of us??!'

Martin nodded. Next to them, muttering darkly to himself under his breath, Baldwin peeled off his sodden tunic, crumpled it up, and started mopping the wine off his chest.

'She has a laboratory close to the industrial district'

'I shall have to leave this to soak overnight' Baldwin interjected, waving his wet shirt at his brother, 'And I have none spare!'

Martin rolled his eyes and threw his own dry, second tunic at Baldwin's head.

Author’s Notes

Alcázar - a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries.

Qādis - Cádiz, Spain. It is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited city in Europe.

Archimedes' On Floating Bodies is the first known work on hydrostatics, a branch of fluid mechanics that focusses on the conditions at which fluids are at rest, as opposed to when they are in motion. Written circa 250BC, it survives partially in Greek, and partially in a Medieval Latin translation of the original Greek text.

The Ummayyad Caliphate was one of four major caliphates founded after the death of Muhammed. It was one of the largest empires in history, in terms of land area, and was estimated to contain about 30% of the world’s population during its peak.

Let me be clear, Jews and Christians were treated relatively well at the time this chapter is set. Clashes between Christian, Jewish and Islamic forces happened infrequently over the course of the Ummayyad Caliphate, with religious tolerance rising and falling depending on the current ruler.

Ḥimṣ al-Andalus - Seville

I don't know which member/s of the fandom put forward the idea that Miriam is Mary the Jewess, but I have taken on board that headcanon so thank you!

Zosimos of Panopolis wrote the oldest known books on alchemy, which he called "Cheirokmeta," using the Greek word for "things made by hand." Translations of partial fragmented bits of his works survive today, and he is the primary source for information on Mary the Jewess.

Mary, or Maria, the Jewess, also Mary the Prophetess or Maria the Copt, is considered to be the first true alchemist of the Western world. She is credited with inventing the tribikos, the kerotakis, and the bain-marie, although this is highly debated.

Oh, Martin noticed. 😆

[mehmetfath]

Al Hakam II: Masa Emas Kesusastraan Arab di Spanyol

Namanya Al Hakam. Ia adalah anak dari Abdurrahman III An Nashir Lidinillah. Ia adalah amir kesembilan sekaligus khalifah kedua dari Cordoba. Ia memerintah selama 15 tahun dalam hitungan masehi.

Masa pemerintahannya cukup terpandang dan gemilang, karena ia berhasil melakukan apa yang tidak dilakukan para amir ataupun khalifah sebelumnya, yaitu menghidupkan kesusastraan Arab di tanah Spanyol. Ia adalah seorang pemimpin yang sangat kutu buku, mencintai ilmu dan para ahlinya, mencari sendiri buku-buku yang sulit untuk ditemukan, bahkan ia meminta manuskrip langsung dari para penulis buku terkenal dan mau membayar mereka dengan bayaran yang mahal.

Disebutkan dalam kitab "Durus At Tarikh Al Islami" karya Muhyiddin Al Khayyath, bahwa kala itu, Abul Faraj sedang menyusun kitab Al Aghani, kitab yang berisi syair dan nyanyian. Al Hakam mengirim utusan untuk kemudian membeli naskah pertamanya seharga 1000 dinar.

Ia juga memprakarsai pembangunan Perpustakaan Cordoba dan mempekerjakan sejumlah orang untuk merawatnya. Ia melindungi lembaga-lembaga kesusastraan dan memberi hadiah kepada para sastrawan dan sarjana.

Ia juga berhasil membangun relasi yang baik dengan kerajaan Asturia--Leon dan Navarre. Bahkan Raja Sancho dari Leon pergi mengobati obesitasnya ke Cordoba selama dua tahun, dan selama di sana ia aman dan dilayani dengan baik.

Ia juga berhasil menghalau Daulah Fathimiyah yang ingin merebut Afrika Barat. Setelah perang selama empat tahun, daerah tersebut kembali ke pangkuan Bani Umayyah.

Al Hakam II wafat di usia 61 tahun ketika Navarre mulai menantang Khilafah Cordoba dan menyerang beberapa daerah kekuasaan mereka. Anaknya yang bernama Hisyam II naik sebagai khalifah di usia yang masih sangat belia, 10 tahun. Sedangkan Al Mughirah ibn Abdirrahman, saudara Al Hakam, menjadi pemangku kuasa.

(Sumber: Artikel Republika: Hakam II; Siyar A’lam An Nubala’; Wikipedia: Hakam II of Cordoba)

[lacamaradelarte-blog]

🏺Bote de al-Mughira

🙎🏽‍♂️Se le atribuye al Maestro Halaf.

📆año 968 d.C.

🎨Califal cordobés.

🔨Marfil de elefante y metal para los cierres y bisagras.

📍 Museo del Louvre

Tras la muerte del primer califa cordobés, Abd al-Rahman III, en el año 961 en Madinat al-Zahra, le sucede su hijo al-Hakan II (aunque también lo podemos encontrar como Alhakén, Alhaquén o al-Hakam), segundo califa omeya de Córdoba.

Al-Hakan II mandó a fabricar este bote (o píxide) a la tiraz cordobesa residente en Madinat al-Zahra. Una tiraz era el lugar donde se trabajaba con materiales de lujo, como podría ser el marfil de elefante.

El califa cordobés se lo regaló a su hermano pequeño al-Mughira, que parece ser iba a ser su sucesor, aunque el califa siempre quiso que fuera su hijo Hisham. Finalmente, al-Mughira fue asesinado antes de poder reclamar su derecho dinástico por una conjura palaciega, alzándose como califa Hisham II, prácticamente un niño, tras la muerte de su padre al-Hakan II. El reinado de Hisham II se caracterizará por ser un títere en manos de su madre Subh y Almanzor.

El bote fue realizado en el tiraz de Madinat al-Zahra mediante la técnica de la talla y el trépano.

PARA SABER MÁS VISITA NUESTRA WEB

[lostprofile]

GREAT MOSQUE OF CORDOBA

The Great Mosque of Cordoba was begun by Abd al-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus, in AD 786. Prior to its construction, the Muslim conquerors of Cordoba had appropriated half of a Visigothic church for use as a mosque, leaving the local Christians in possession of the other half. The rapid growth of the Muslim community and the emir’s desire to assert his power and prestige through architectural patronage, however, quickly rendered that arrangement unsuitable. The church was therefore razed and a grand new mosque was built.

The mosque of Cordoba was modeled on the Great Mosque of Damascus, which had been built by the Umayyad caliphs in the 7th century. Through the replication of the patronage of his Syrian ancestors, Abd al-Rahman underscored to legitimacy of the new Umayyad regime in Spain.

A congregational mosque had to be large enough to accommodate the entire Muslim male population of the city for the obligatory recitation of Friday prayers (women were allowed, but not required to attend, Friday prayers). This weekly function took place in a large hypostyle prayer hall. During the rest of the week, the hall was used by smaller groups for prayers, as a schoolroom for the instruction of children, for lectures and sermons, and for the hearing of legal cases.

To meet these varied social and religious requirements, the architecture of the prayer hall usually consisted of large open space, free of fixed furnishings, covered by a timber roof supported by columns. The closely-placed columns of the hypostyle hall of the Great Mosque of Cordoba were spoliated from local Roman monuments. The innovative double arcade, which may have been based on multi-tiered Roman aqueducts, compensated for the relative shortness of the columns to raise the ceiling higher. The modularity of these architectural elements allowed for the easy and harmonious expansions of the hall, necessitated by population growth, in the 9th and 10th centuries. After the final, lateral expansion underaken by Al-Mansur, the hall comprised over 850 columns. The forest of columns of the hall was continued in by rows of orange and palm trees in the spacious courtyard. In the early 11th century, the Great Mosque of Cordoba covered 8,600 sq. meters.

In the 10th century, Abd al-Rahman III declared a new caliphate of Al-Andalus. To mark this occasion, he ordered the rebuilding and expansion of the mihrab—the niche indicating the qibla, or direction of Mecca—and masqura—the space in the hall immediately adjacent to the mirhab reserved for the ruler—and the construction of the mosque’s first minaret. The current mihrab and masqura were built by Al-Hakam II. Framed by a Moorish horse-shoe arch, the Cordoban mirhab is the largest in Spain. The decoration includes carved stucco, gilding, mosaic, and marble revetment. Koranic verses in kufic script appear on either side of the arch. The masqura is differentiated from the rest of the hall by interwoven multifoil arches with intricately-patterned voussoirs and by a series of ribbed domes. The mosaics of the domes were laid by Byzantine artisans sent to Cordoba by the emperor along with a gift of 1,600 kg of gold tesserae. The 47-meter minaret, from which the call to prayer was announced, was a symbol of the caliph’s power.

After the Christian reconquest of Cordoba , the mosque was coverted into a cathedral, with minimal changes made to the building fabric. The building was maintained by Muslim masons. In the early 16th century however, in an effort to impose the typology of a Christian basilica on to the mosque, a vaulted nave and transept of double the height were inserted into the center of the hall. Unlike earlier Christian alterations, which were carried out in the Mudéjar style, this obtrusive structure was executed in clashing late Gothic/early Renaissance styles. Approval for this project had been obtained from Emperor Charles V. The completed results, however, dismayed him, prompting his statement to the cathedral administration: “You have destroyed something unique to build something commonplace.” The baroque vaults of the transept and nave were completed in the 17th century.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba remains the cathedral of Cordoba to this day.