MEDITERRANEAN

IN THE MEDIEVAL AND

RENAISSANCE WORLD
Medieval
• The medieval as an historical term refers to the
Middle Ages.
• It is a period of European history covering almost
a millennium from the 5th century through to
the 16th century.
• It starts with the fall of the Western Roman
Empire, and ends with Italian Renaissance and
the Reformation.
• This period is associated with European overseas
expansion.
•
Renaissance
• It means re-birth.
• It was a cultural movement that spanned from
the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in
Florence later spreading to the rest of Europe.
•
From 5th to 16th Centuries
• General characteristics of this period
• Political fragmentation
• Social differentiation
• Heterogenity
• Ideological conflict
• Crusades
•
Crusades
• The Crusades were a series of religiously military
campaigns organized by Latin Christian Europe,
particularly the Franks of France and the Holy
Roman Empire.
• The main reason was the expansion of Islam in the
11th century.
• The Crusades originally had the goal of recapturing
Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
• The specific crusades to restore Christian control of
the Holy Land were fought over a period of nearly
200 years, between 1095 and 1291.
Enemies:
• The Crusades were fought mainly against
Muslims.
• But there were also campaigns against pagan
Slavs, pagan Balts, Jews, Russian and Greek
Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars,
Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians, and
political enemies of the popes.
The spread of Islam
• Islam underwent a rapid expansion in the Middle
East, Africa, Central Asia and northern China.
• Alexandria which was the most important city of
Hellenistic period became the Islamic city
before 650.
• From 8the to 10th century, Muslim Spain was
ruled by Umayyad dynesty.
Map of Islam during the Ummayads (661–750)
The New Centers after Islam


• Umayyad Spain, Baghdad, Damascus were the

centers of learning and culture in medieval
• period
• Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) is also a highly
advanced region in art, education, science,
agriculture, engineering.
A serious argument
Many specialists
on medieval
period argued
that “by early 9th
century, Islamic
world is more
advanced than
Northern
Europe.”
Decline in Mediterranean World
• On the other hand, many European historians like
Henri Pirenne argued that economic unity of
Mediterranean was destroyed by Muslim
conquests in the region.
Pirenne asserted that

• until the Muslim rule, there was a unity in Ancient

world.
• Muslims closed the Mediterranean sea to European
trade.
• Mediterranean reached its lowest point of decline
during the 9th century.
•
New approach: Hodges and Whitehouse
argue that
• Decline in Mediterranean trade began as early as in
5the century, namely before the Islamic expansion.
• Mediterranean did not switch from a Roman Lake
into a Muslim Lake.
• In spite of ideological confrontations, trade
continued between European and Muslim world to
large extent.
• The trade between Western Europe and Muslim
World was controlled mainly by Jewish merchants.
• Besides that, there was a division in European world
before the Islamic expansion. For example, it had
already become divided between Rome and
Constantinople.
Medieval Mediterranean City
• Because of different religions, especially Islam
and Christianity, there was no homogeneous
Mediterranian City.
• After the Islam, geography as a parameter in the
organization of urban life remained in the
second degree.
• There were cities under the Islamic and Christian
rules.
• But there were also hybrid cities dominated and
ruled by different populations or religions.
Al-Andalus (711–1492)
• In 711, the Islamic Empire entered Spain, a land
already rich in Christian Roman, Visigothic and
Jewish cultures.
• By 732, the Islamic Empire united most of the
peninsula, calling it Al-Andalus.
 15

The Golden Age

In Islamic Spain
 17

Stability in Muslim Spain

• Stability in Muslim Spain
came with the
establishment of the
Andalusian Umayyad
dynasty (lasted from
756 ce – 1031 ce).
• Thanks to the strong
foundation set by Abd
al-Rahman I, various
Muslim groups who had
conquered Spain were
able to pull together and
rule Spain starting with
a strong foundation.
 18

A Golden Age of Religious and Cultural

Tolerance
•
• There was interfaith
harmony between
Muslims, Christians,
and Jews.
• Jews and Christians held
offices alongside one-
another and
collaborated ideas in
science, art, etc…
 19

• Ex. Hasdai Ibn

Shaprut (915- 990):
A Jewish scholar
who was appointed
physician by
Umayyad Caliph
Abd al-RahmanIII.
He also played a
significant role in all
affairs of state.
 20

Life For non-Muslims in Islamic Spain

• Jews and Christians retained freedoms
under Muslim rule.
• Freedoms under Muslim Rule:
§ They were not forced to live in
ghettos or other special
locations
§ They were not slaves
§ They were not prevented from
following their faith
§ They were not forced to convert
under Muslim rule
§ They were not banned from any
way of earning a living
§ They worked in the civil service of
Islamic rulers with prestigious
positions
§ They were also able to contribute
to society.
 21

Cultural Interaction
• Islamic Spain’s population shared distinct cultures of
Christians, Jews, and Muslims but they regarded
themselves as Andalusi.


• With cultural influences, the cuisine changed along with

cooking and eating habits.


• Many Christians in Spain got information about the

Muslim culture and Religion.
▫ Ex. Many non-Muslim Spain inhabitants learned
Arabic.
▫ Some Christian women started wearing the veil
(“Hijab”).
▫ Even some took Arabic names.
 22

Women in Muslim Spain

• The Muslim and non-Muslim
women of Islamic Spain – like
their counterparts in many pre-
modern Muslim societies – were
active participants in political
and cultural affairs (helped
shape cosmopolitan civilizations
associated with the Muslims).
• Women of the royal household
along with other courtly women,
played prominent roles within
the Andalusi culture.

 23

• Women were active patrons and sponsors of public

works.
• Women in ruling (Berber) households commanded
many leadership roles.
• The Umayyad chancery (a kind of court) employed
70 women copyists and Qur’an calligraphers.
• The taifa king of Granada, Abdullah Ibn Buluggin,
wrote about the role of women in his memoirs
“The Tibyan”. He noted that:
▫ mothers and other women of the ruling household
participated in a shura council that made
collective political and military decisions that the
ruler would enact.

 24

Areas of Progress in Al-Andalus

• Healthcare:
▫ *Medicine (surgery)
 Multi-religious & Multi-ethnic effort
Knowledge of medicine concentrated in
Muslim libraries:
Knowledge of diseases and diagnoses,
the ways of curing them with
medicines, surgery, and other
treatments, along with advice on
staying healthy.

 25

• In Andalusia, the poor were treated for free, the

hospitals were open to all, supported by the
government and private charities.
• Andalusian doctors made contributions to medical
ethics and hygiene.
• Ibn Hazm wrote about the qualities a physician
should have:
▫ Kindness
▫ understanding,
▫ Friendliness
▫ Dignity
▫ The ability to accept criticism
 26
• Sciences & Mathematics
▫ Chemistry
 (Ibn Hayyan)

▫ Physics & Optics

▫ Mathematics*
▫ (Al-Khawarizmi)
 The best known
contribution by early
Muslim
mathematicians was
the concept of
 Zero, and its notation.

The first windmills were built in the Islamic world and
introduced to Europe through Spain.
The interior of the Cathedral of Cordoba, formerly the Mosque of Cordoba, built by the
Umayyads on the site of the Saint Vincent Visigothic Christian basilica and rededicated as
a Christian cathedral in the 13th century. The mosque is one of the finest examples of
Arab-Islamic architecture in the Umayyad style.
 29
•
Geography & Astronomy:

▫ Andalusi society
made great efforts
to establish
accurate calendars
for celebration of
religious holidays,
plowing, planting,
and harvesting.
▫ *Muslim scientists
were curious to
know more about
the space bodies
that fill the sky at
night, and to
understand their
relationship to the
sun, the moon, and
the earth.

 30
•
Music & Art:

▫ Musical traditions and

expressions have been
adapted to Islamic
ideals, incorporating
spiritual ideas and
celebrating Islamic
themes.
▫ Performance art and
musical theory came
together in the royal
courts of Al-Andalus
(e.g. Al Kindi; AlFarabi;
Ziryab).
▫ Artistic influenced ranged
in the form of:
Paintings
Glassware
Textiles
carvings