The Roots of Andalusian Civilization and Experience of Living Together

Spain is a South-Western European country located primarily on the Iberian Peninsula. In this region, the first known settlers are the Iberian people. Spain, which came under Roman rule in the second century BC, was invaded by the Germanic peoples at the beginning of the fifth century AD. First the Vandals and then the Visigoths settled here and established their dominance. At the beginning of the eighth century, with the Islamic conquests, Arab and Berber peoples came and settled in this region.

While Eastern Rome resisted for a long time the military campaigns that started in the middle of the seventh century and ended with the victory of the Muslims, the Western Roman lands were conquered without much resistance in the first century of the Hijrah. Iberia, located at the south-west end of Europe, could not show a significant resistance against the Islamic soldiers coming through North Africa and in a short time, it came under complete Islamic domination. This region, which was named Al-Andalus after the conquest, became one of the most important centers of the Islamic world in the Middle Ages.

Islamic civilization set one of its best examples in Al-Andalus. Rome's Cordoba took the name Kurtuba with the conquest and was the source of the emergence of a new civilization. Kurtuba, which became one of the most important Islamic cities in a short time, competed with Baghdad and Cairo. With the coming together of the peoples of the Middle East, North Africa and South-West Europe in Kurtuba, the Andalusian society emerged, and Andalusian became a supra-identity in which Arab, Berber and Spanish identities melted. The culture and civilization environment created by this new society had a distinguished place both in the Islamic world and in Europe.

Al-Andalus, with its Islamic roots, was influenced by three main basins during the establishment period and experienced a new transformation and change with each basin. The influence of Damascus comes first among these major changes that follow each other chronologically. It seems to be a natural and inevitable process that Al-Andalus, which became a governorship affiliated to the Damascus Umayyad Caliphate since the conquest, was predominantly under the influence of Damascus in its first years. On the other hand, in this period, Al-Andalus was officially subordinate to Damascus, but de facto subordinate to the governorship of North Africa. For this reason, from the first years, North Africa and thirdly Egypt have always had an influence on Al-Andalus.

To understand the emergence of any civilization well and correctly, it is generally referred to the foundation period. In this study, it is aimed to deal with the establishment of the Andalusian civilization by going down to its roots. Among these roots, Hejaz, Egypt, and North Africa come first. Later, Iraq and especially Baghdad form the main roots of Andalusian civilization. On the other hand, Europe and the Mediterranean are among the roots of this new civilization. In particular, South-Western Europe and the Western Mediterranean are the main roots. The part up to this point constitutes the geographical roots of the Andalusian civilization. Parallel to these, there are also historical roots. The Umayyads in the east and the Roman and Visigoth dominations in the west constitute the most important roots of Al-Andalus. 

Looking at their political roots, Fatimids, Almoravids and Almohads, besides the Abbasids, each shaped or somehow influenced the political structure of Al-Andalus as Islamic states belonging to different geographies. On the other hand, Byzantium, France, Normandy, and the Spanish kingdoms in the North (Castil, Neon, Aragon, Navarra) have been on the main agenda of Andalusian political life for centuries. On the other hand, different ethnic elements take place in the formation of the new civilization, which creates ethnic roots. Al-Andalus consists mainly of Arabs, Berbers, Slavs, and Spaniards. These peoples formed a common culture, the Andalusian culture, together as Muslims, Christians, and Jews, without assimilation with their different religious identities and without experiencing any assimilation pressure.  

There are certain cities that have been the source of the formation of Andalusian culture and have been the main hearths of science and culture in Al-Andalus. Kayravan was the first stop of the Andalusians as one of the first Islamic cities established in North Africa. Later, Alexandria attracted the attention of Andalusians with its important scholars and madrasahs. Mecca and Medina were the main sources of science and culture in Al-Andalus. In the following years, the interaction of Al-Andalus with Baghdad and other Islamic cities gradually increased. 

Al-Andalus is one of the best examples of not only living together, but also creating a common culture and civilization together. The harmony and solidarity that the Arab peoples, the founding elements of Islamic civilization, and the newly converted Berber and Spanish peoples in the Iberian Peninsula showed during and after the conquest, went down in history as an experience unique to these lands. Contrary to the oppression and coercion that the Jewish community has been subjected to since the Roman period in Iberia, it is also one of the privileges of this civilization that it has become a part of Andalusian culture freely and wholeheartedly. Jewish scholars in Al-Andalus, speaking and writing in Arabic, became an integral part of this culture. Great philosophers such as Ibn Dawud and Maimonides, poets such as Ibn Ezra and Kasmune bint Ismail, and great statesmen such as Hasdai bin Shaprut were very influential in Al-Andalus. Christians, too, quickly adapted to the Andalusian culture and created a literature written in Spanish with the Arabic alphabet called Aljamiedo. The capital Kurtuba hosted Christian students from European cities -individually or in groups- and these students became the main representatives of Islamic culture and science in their own countries.