Peaceful Coexistence?
Jews, Christians & Muslims
in Medieval Spain
Heather Miller Rubens, Ph.D.
The Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies
February 2012
Learning Objectives
By the end of this 4 week course you will:
!  
1) Be generally familiar with the history of interfaith relations between Jews,
Christians and Muslims in Medieval Spain (711-1614 CE)
!   Gain knowledge of the broad timeline, with a deeper understanding of a
few key events/people from this time period
!   Examine primary sources (in translation) that engage the topic of interfaith
relations directly, as well as primary sources that demonstrate other kinds of
interfaith contact during this rich historical period
!  
2) Be familiar with the wide variety of historical narratives that have been told
about interfaith relations in Medieval Spain in the 20th century
!  
Coexistence?
!  
Conflict?
The ‘Big’ Questions
!   In contemporary efforts to engage in interfaith dialogue
should we look for historical examples? Are positive
examples necessary for us to begin this important work?
!   In contemporary efforts to understand interfaith conflict
& violence should we look for historical examples? Do
historical examples of interfaith violence help or hurt our
understanding of religious pluralism today?
!   What role should historical inquiry play in shaping how we
engage contemporary questions?
Class Structure
!   Session I (Feb. 1 & Feb. 6): Introduction
!   Overview of the history of conquest/reconquest
!   Overview of the 20th century historiography
!   Session II (Feb. 8 & Feb. 13): Muslim Perspective
!   Relations with Christians
!   Relations with Jews
!   Contemporary lessons?
!   Session III (Feb. 15 & Feb. 20): Christian Perspective
!   Relations with Muslims
!   Relations with Jews
!   Contemporary lessons?
!   Session IV (Feb. 22 & Feb. 27): Jewish Perspective
!   Relations with Muslims
!   Relations with Christians
!   Contemporary lessons?
Conquest & Reconquest (711-1492)
A Timeline of the Loss & Gain of Land and Power
• 711: Muslim armies arrive in the Iberian Peninsula
• 801: Christians (Carolingians) take Barcelona
• 929: Muslims (Umayyads) establish a caliphate in al-Andalus
• 1085/1086: Christians capture Toledo. Muslim rulers in al-Andalus
seek assistance from their co-religionists (Almoravids) in North
Africa & the Almoravids take power
• 1147: Almohads (Muslims) from North Africa arrive in al-Andalus
• 1228: Almohads leave al-Andalus
• 1236: Christians capture Cordoba
• 1238: Christians capture Valencia
• 1248: Christians capture Seville
• 1492: Granada surrenders to the Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand &
Isabella)
Reading Sheet: The Conquest
A Muslim-Christian Treaty: The Treaty of Tudmir (713)
!   How does this text characterize the Muslim conquest? Was it a
quick and violent military campaign? Or a more gradual
acquisition of power?
!   How are the surrendering Christians to be treated? What
promises are made to them regarding:
!  
!  
!  
safety?
property?
religion?
!   What do the Christians have to agree to in order to secure
protection?
!   What does this text suggest about 8th century Muslim-Christian
relations?
Reading Sheet: The Conquest
Christian Resistance in the North: Chronicle of Alfonso III
(718)
!   How does this text characterize the Muslim conquest?
!   How does this text characterize the Christian response?
!   How does Pelayo understand God’s role in the conquest?
!   For Pelayo, why did God allow the Muslims to win?
!   For Pelayo, will God help the Christians win back Spain?
!   What does this text suggest about 8th century Muslim-
Christian relations?
Reading Sheet: The Reconquest
A Charter from the Kingdom of Valencia (1242)
!   How does this text characterize the Christian conquest? Was it a
quick and violent military campaign? Or a more gradual
acquisition of power?
!   How are the surrendering Muslims to be treated? What promises
are made to them regarding:
!  
!  
!  
safety?
property?
religion?
!   What does this text suggest about 13th century Muslim-Christian
relations?
Reading Sheet: The Reconquest
Morisco Appeal to the Ottoman Sultan (1502)
!   How does this text characterize the Christian reconquest?
!   How does this text characterize the Muslim response?
!   Under what conditions did they surrender?
!   Under what conditions did they convert?
!   What do they hope will happen in the future?
!   What does this text suggest about 16th century Muslim-
Christian relations?
A Timeline of 20th Century Histories
!   1945: Yitzak Baer writes A History of the Jews in Christian Spain
!   1948: Ameríco Castro writes The Structure of Spanish History
!   1956: Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz writes Spain: A Historical Enigma
!   1960: Eliyahu Ashtor publishes The Jews of Moslem Spain
!   1993: Samuel Huntington publishes “The Clash of Civilizations?” in
Foreign Affairs
!   1996: David Nirenberg publishes Communities of Violence
!   2002: María Rosa Menocal publishes The Ornament of the World