This video is an excerpt
from the classic "El Cid", depicting the Islamic
conquest of Spain in the 1st milennium CE, and the revolt
by Spaniards against the Mujahidin under El Cid.
For a brief historical walkthrough,
prior to the 7th century, the Iberian tribes of Portugal and
Spain had been ruled by German kings whom annexed the region
from the collapsing Roman Empire. The German authority in
Spain is today described as self-interested, self-aggregating,
and corrupt in relation to the ethnic Iberian populations.
Many claim that the Germanic government actually invited the
Mujahidin to pacify the Iberian rebels, whilst others say
that the natives asked the Muslims to destroy the cruel and
foreign government in Spain, though there is no evidence for
either claim. In the 6th century CE, the Prophet Muhammad
was born in Makkah (Mecca), modern Saudi Arabia. Within only
100 years, the blade of Islam would transform the previously
squabbling and backward Arab tribes into among the greatest
powers in history, creating a massive theocratic Islamic state
stretching from Spain to western Pakistan in less than 200
years. The spread of Islam has historically been performed
mostly by military conquest, today described as Jihad. In
the 8th century, the Mujahidin (Islamic fighters) turned their
eyes to the infidels of Spain. Quickly, and with little difficulty,
the Muslims destroyed all local authority, obliterated the
Germanic rule in Iberia, and pushed all the way to western
France. France, at the time ruled by the massive German Empire
of the Franks under Karl Martel (Karl the Hammer), repelled
the Islamic invasion from Central Europe forever. The Islamic
state gradually declined to include only southern Spain. The
remainder of Spain was broken into a series of Christian states
such as Leon, Navarre, and later Portugal. It is indisputable
that the Muslims' conquest of Spain assumed the role of Jihad
and Islamic conquest. However, it is also true that Islamic
rule in Spain was unusual among Muslim states for its tolerance.
Though churches were burnt en masse, preaching was often punishable
by death, and conversion from Islam to Christendom required
execution, the religious institutions survived. This was out
of pragmatism rather than modern ideas of equality and tolerance.
It can be said that if it were not for the Muslim conquest,
Iberian kingdoms would never have collectively united behind
a common identity, ethnicity, and culture to form the new
nation of Spain after expelling their occupying Muslims by
1492. The blade of Islam ruled most of Spain from the 8th
century until the 13th, after which the native Christians
began to unite and expel the invaders from Europe forever
under Ferdinand and Isabella.
You can view our exclusive
map showing the history of Islamic conquest in Europe here.
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is the owner
and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working
for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic
and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures,
ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical
evolution in relation to and against each other.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
The film "El Cid",
directed by Anthony Mann, with the copyright expired due to
age.
Copyright 2008, European Heritage
Library®. www.euroheritage.net.
All Rights Reserved. The European Heritage Library is a non-profit academic
organization owned by Chairman James
Mayfield.
No email addresses or personal information is redistributed. No articles
or content on this site may be redistributed without approval or a full
citation and credit to the EHL as the original source.
