|
The Strait of Gibraltar separates the continents of Europe from Africa and the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. It was once known as "The Pillars of Hercules". It got its present name from the enthusiastic Muslim leader named Tarik who led the attack on the Visigoths of Spain in 711 CE. "Jabal (mount of) Tarik" or, as we say, Gibraltar. |
Photo of the Rock of Gibraltar which guards its harbor, courtesy of 1 Gibraltar Plaza.
Ibn Battuta had left Morocco in 1325 at the age of 21 and had returned about 45. But he was still interested in traveling and adventure. At the time of his return, al-Andalus (Andalusia or Muslim Spain) was threatened by several Christian rulers who were trying to conquer the land from the Muslims. Ibn Battuta heard reports about the army of Alfonso XI of Castile who might try an attack on Gibraltar soon. Gibraltar was the only port on the northern shore of the strait that was still in Muslim hands. If Alfonso was successful, the Muslim cities in Andalusia would be in great danger of invasion.
Ibn Battuta heard about a Moroccan army of volunteers who would defend Gibraltar. He had taken up arms a couple of times in his career, and he felt strongly about this jihad (holy war) against the Christian invaders. So he set off by boat with a small group of passionate warriors to Gibraltar in April, 1350. By this time the immediate danger had passed since the Black Death had taken King Alfonso and so many of the soldiers on both sides. (The Strait of Gibraltar would remain under Muslim control for another 112 years!) But he decided to continue on as a tourist, not as a soldier.
Now across the strait, he and his party met up with twelve other travelers. He wanted to join them, but he held back with his original group. The twelve travelers went on ahead. Later, Ibn Battuta learned that the twelve had been attacked: one of them murdered, one escaped, and the others taken prisoner to be held for ransom. He thanked God for delivering him from these pirates! Ibn Battuta spent the night in a castle and the next day an officer escorted the travelers safely on to Málaga.
Málaga had a magnificent mosque with a courtyard of "Valencia" orange trees, named after a neighboring city's sweet oranges. Here he met the qadi and preacher who were trying to raise money for the ransom of the unfortunate men that Ibn Battuta had almost joined.
From Málaga he continued into the mountains, passed through Alhama (a town famous for its hot springs), and on to Granada.
Granada was a city of about 50,000. In earlier centuries Granada was a shining star of Andalusia, but the expansion of the Christian armies would eventually force the Muslims out. Ibn Battuta saw Granada in the reign of Yusuf I (1333-54), a successful sultan who was beautifying the courtyards of the Alhambra, "the red fort". From the outside the Alhambra looks like a forbidding castle fortress, but inside it is a palace decorated with beautiful fountains, exquisitely decorated halls and courts, and delicate designs using Arabic calligraphy and colored tiles.
|
"The peculiar charm of this old dreamy place is its power of calling up vague reveries and picturings of the past, and thus clothing naked realities with the illusions of the memory and the imagination," wrote Washington Irving, an America writer after his visit in the 19th century. |
...
Photos of the Alhambra and Generalife courtesy of Go Spain!
Ibn Battuta may not have met the sultan himself because of the ruler's illness, but the sultan's mother sent him a purse of gold coins. He spent time resting in Sufi lodges and visiting the Muslim leaders. In the home of one jurist he met a 28-year-old named Ibn Juzayy. He was a writer of poetry, history, and law. The young man was fascinated with Ibn Battuta's stories of his travels and began to write down the names of some of the famous people that were named. The meeting was short, but in two and a half years, Ibn Juzayy would be writing down in proper form a complete record of Ibn Battuta's travels.
At the end of 1350 Ibn Battuta returned to Morocco. He had traveled throughout much of the Islamic World, but he had never seen much of his homeland, Morocco. So for the next several months he was a traveler again. He went down the Atlantic coast to Asilah, visited Salé, and then rode south across the coastal plains to Marrakech, a capital of the earlier sultans. He was saddened by that once great city. The Black Death and the movement of people to the new capital, Fez, had left it empty with many fine buildings becoming dilapidated - even worse than Baghdad after the Mongol Invasion.
Ibn Battuta visited Marrakech in 1350, a time when the Black Plague had claimed much of the city's population. The traditional Middle Eastern city is walled with gates. Above you see that the walls of Marrakech are fortress-like, often 20 to 30 feet thick and 30 to 40 feet high. This Gate of Guinea was built by order of Sultan Yaacoub el Mansour in 1185. [Photograph courtesy of Professor James Miller, GeoImages, UCB]
When Ibn Battuta returned to Fez the second time, it was in the fall of 1351. Morocco was at peace. The sultan was planning the construction of a great college. It would be a good time to settle down, to study or to become a judge or a teacher. But there was an important Muslim king he had not yet met: Mansa Sulayman, Emperor of Mali. He planned his next trip southward across the Sahara Desert to his capital which was 1,500 miles away.
How did Spain become part of Dar al-Islam?
The Berber Muslims of North Africa first moved into Spain in 711 C.E. General Tarik invaded and rapidly conquered the Visogoths who had taken over from the Romans. Within seven years the peninsula had been conquered. The Muslim army continued on until they had reached Poitiers in France. In 733 the Christian army stopped the Muslims from going further into Europe.
One of its greatest Muslim leaders was Abd al Rahman, who had escaped from a "deadly dinner" hosted by the Abbasids in Baghdad. The Abbasid general had invited 80 Umayyad leaders (the ruling family) to dinner. While the guests were eating, the general ordered them all killed. Only one of the Umayyads escaped from the Abbasids. He jumped out of a window, swam across the Euphrates River, and fled in disguise. He made his way out of Mesopotamia and went across North Africa and finally to al-Andalus (Spain). Once there, Abd al Rahman united the warring Muslim groups and established a new Umayyad government. Back in Baghdad the Abbasids took control from the Umayyads and moved the capital of the Muslim World from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad.
Al-Andalus (Andalusia, or Muslim Spain) became one of the great centers of civilization of the Middle Ages reaching its peak of glory in the 10th century. It is known for its art, poetry, architecture, science and learning. (This was at a time when much of Europe was in a "Dark Age". It was largely through al-Andalus that the knowledge held by the Muslims would be passed on to Europe - and start the European "Renaissance" or rebirth.)
Al-Andalus remained at least partially under Muslim control until 1492 when Granada was conquered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. (Yes, the same rulers who gave Christopher Columbus three ships to do more exploring!)
By the time Ibn Battuta visited Andalusia, the Muslim civilization in Spain was threatened and would soon decline. He saw Andalusia in its golden sunset years before the Christian forces took over.
|
To continue with Ibn Battuta on his
journey across the desert to Mali, [press
here].
To return to the previous section [press
here]
Links - Learn More About It!
See the Alhambra (palace and castle) in Granada, Spain which was the Muslim "Andalusia". This is an incredible palace with fountains, gardens, and beautiful designs in tile, cement and carved marble. A tour of the Alhambra is offered and see more of the Alhambra and its buildings.
In Spanish there are some tours "Ruta de Ibn Battuta - El Legado Andalusí" retracing Ibn Battuta's route, and views of La Alhambra as well.
See a description of other Andalusian palaces in "Wonders of Az-Zahra and other Andalusian Palaces"
Read more about the "Islamic Conquest of Spain" by the Egyptian historian Ibn Abd-el-Hakem (who died 870 or 871 CE). This historical text is difficult to read, but shows that the Muslims scared the vine keepers (grape farmers) of Spain into believing that they ate human flesh! It also tells of a captain who found pearls and gold hidden in a table - and almost kept them for himself until the Sultan found out!
Learn more about the glorious civilization that developed in Andalusia : Córdoba, a city of lights; Granada (Treaty of Granada, 1492 and After the Treaty); Science in Andalusia
Weather
