In the Christian part of the Iberian Peninsula, the 11th century saw the rise of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, the birth of Portugal, the dominance of the county of Barcelona over the other Catalan counties, the adventures of El Cid, and the opening of the Way of St. James. In the Muslim zone, […]
Al-Andalus
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Battle of Lucena, in which the Nasrid Sultan Boabdil was captured for the first time
Among the many curious pieces that can be seen on a visit to the Spanish Army Museum, which is located in the Alcázar of Toledo, is Boabdil’s sword. It is a jineta weapon (with a straight blade, double-edged, and rounded hilt, typical of the Nasrids and introduced into Al-Andalus by the Zenata Berbers) that was […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
Pact of Theodemir, the Treaty by which a Visigothic Governor Saved his Cities and Inhabitants during the Muslim Conquest of Al-Andalus
The swift conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Umayyad Caliphate, taking advantage of the Visigothic kingdom’s succession civil war, cannot be explained so much by the strength of those troops, which were few in number, but by the implementation of a strategy of pacts that followed the initial resistance—especially in the south—after the Battle […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
Abbas Ibn Firnas, the Andalusi Sage who Invented a Parachute and Wings for Flying
When did Man achieve flight for the first time? The question can be nuanced because one would need to specify if it refers to free flight or powered flight; it’s curious that in both cases, the answer is a pair of brothers, the Montgolfier or the Wright brothers, respectively. But to get to them, a […]
