-1. THE LAND: THE PEOPLE
-Location of the Peninsula: Between France and the North of Africa; between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
-Division of the territory: Geographical (different regions), climatic (different weather).
-Languages spoken: Castilian (common/ official language of Spain), Galician, Catalan, and Basque (Euskera).
-2. THE DARK BEGINNING
1. Iberians:
First tribe to name the Peninsula: Iberia
Hunters, warriors, living in small, independent fortified towns
2. Celts
Hunters, warriors
Came from the North of Europe
3. Phoenicians and Greeks
Traders: exchanging materials from the different regions of the Mediterranean
Brought coins, the alphabet, and education
4. Carthaginians
Came from the North of Africa
Warriors, used the Peninsula as a place to launch their attack on the Romans
Their most famous general was Hannibal
5. Romans
Came to Iberia to attack the Carthaginians
The first Roman general in the Peninsula was Scipio
Gave Iberia a new name: Hispania
They brought a common language to the Peninsula (Latin), as well as a central government, communication with other regions of the empire, architecture (bridges, theaters, temples, roads), laws, religion (they were the first Christians) and more
6. Visigoths
Germanic tribe that took over the Peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire
Came from Central Europe; had been in contact with the Romans (partially romanized)
Didn't create anything new, but used what the Romans had left behind
7. Muslims/Moors
Arrived in the Peninsula in 711
Came from the North of Africa, expanding the Islamic Empire, in a Holy War to convert everybody to Islam
-3. THE CROSS, THE CRESCENT AND THE STAR
Between 711 and 1492, there were three main cultures in the Peninsula: The Christians, in the North, trying to recover their territory; the Muslims in the South, creating a new empire; and the Jews, living on both sides of the conflict.
The Muslims defeated the Visigoths and invaded the Peninsula. The last Visigoths knights took refuge in the mountains in the North. Their leader, Pelayo first defeated the Moors in the battle of Covadonga, bringing together all Christians willing to fight and reconquest the Peninsula.
The Muslims called their new territory Al-Andalus. They built great mosques (Cordoba), palaces (the Alhambra in Granada), brought the knowledge, literature and sciences from the East (including Greek philosophy, that had been lost after the fall of the Romans). Moors brought new knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, art, and literature, among other things.
They were tolerant of the other religions, but made them pay special taxes. Jews were specially appreciated as ambassadors, economists, and tax collectors, as well as famous doctors, philosophers, and scientists.
The Moors soon adapted to the new territory, mixing with the natives, marrying Spanish women, adopting some of their traditions, but also introducing their own traditions and beliefs.
There were several different Islamic tribes invading the peninsula. After the first wave, there were the Almoravides (eleventh century) and the Almohades (twelfth century), who came to Al-Andalus to help in the fight against the Christians.
Literature: in the Islamic area, it was written in Arabic, and Hebrew.
The first example of literature written in a Romance language (those developed from Latin) is the Poem of the Cid (epic poem about the life and conquests of the Cid, a famous Castilian knight and leader) in 1140.
The Reconquest took nearly 800 years. During this time, the relations between both groups were various: fighting, trading, making alliances and exchanging ideas, depending on the period.
Muslims doctors and scientist were popular, not only in the Peninsula, but also in the rest of Europe.
-4. THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS: CROSS AND THE SWORD
The first Christina kingdom was situated in Asturias. As the Christians expanded south, their territory broke up in different smaller kingdoms (Galicia, Leon, Castile, Navarra, Aragon, Catalonia), which through alliances and conquest, would later unify in a single Christian territory under the ruling of Isabella and Ferdinand: Spain.
The Reconquest took nearly 8 centuries because the Christians dedicated as much time to fight the Moors as to fight each other.
Santiago de Compostela was the main religious center of pilgrimage in the peninsula during the Middle Ages. It bought not only pilgrims, but also new influences from Europe: ideas, trade, art, etc.
The most relevant king of the Reconquest was Alfonso X the Wise, known by his interest in all knowledge. His capital, Toledo, also called the city of the three cultures, was open to all religions and ideas. It had the first school of translation, and accepted the traditions and beliefs of all peoples, as well as the new ideas from other territories. King Alfonso X is also famous for publishing the first history of the Peninsula (the First General Chronicle), a compilation of the laws of the country (Siete Partidas), and writing religious books (the Songs to Our Lady the Virgin, in Galician-Portuguese).
-5. LIFE IN THE MEDIEVAL TOWNS
As the Christians moved south, they colonized the new territories. The laws in the peninsula allowed for the possibility of common people owning land. However, Muslims were not expelled from their lands, as long as they swore fealty to the Christians rulers.
At the beginning, the Christians had a tolerant approach to those they ruled. Muslims and Jews were allowed to keep on practicing their religions.
This tolerance was reflected in the open-minded religious classes, with a very popular approach to life. An example is he Book of Good Love, written by the Archpriest of Hita, in Castilian, describing love encounters between a priest and several women, as well as the traditions of the people and the time.
At the end of the Reconquest, however, this tolerance would disappear. With the creation on the Inquisition in the fifteenth century, the only accepted religion was Christianism, and after the last Islamic kingdom (Granada) was conquested, both Muslims and Jews were made leave.
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