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Educated Wandering Jews, 800–1250

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein

in The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492

This chapter shows that once the Jews became literate, urban, and engaged in skilled occupations, they began migrating within the vast territory under Muslim rule—stretching from the Iberian ... More

This chapter shows that once the Jews became literate, urban, and engaged in skilled occupations, they began migrating within the vast territory under Muslim rule—stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to India during the eighth through the twelfth centuries, and from the Byzantine Empire to western Europe via Italy and within western Europe in the ninth through the thirteenth centuries. In early medieval Europe, the revival of trade concomitant with the Commercial Revolution and the growth of an urban and commercial economy paralleled the vast urbanization and the growth of trade that had occurred in the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates four to five centuries earlier. The Jewish diaspora during the early Middle Ages was mainly the outcome of literate Jewish craftsmen, shopkeepers, traders, scholars, teachers, physicians, and moneylenders migrating in search of business opportunities to reap returns on their investment in literacy and education.Less

70 CE–1492: How Many Jews Were There, and Where and how did they Live?

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein

in The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492

This chapter describes how many Jews there were, where they lived, and how they earned their living from the time of the destruction of the Second Temple to the mass expulsion of the Jews from the ... More

This chapter describes how many Jews there were, where they lived, and how they earned their living from the time of the destruction of the Second Temple to the mass expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula. During the six centuries between the time of Jesus and the time of Muhammad, the number of Jews declined precipitously. Throughout these six centuries, most Jews earned their living from agriculture, as farmers, sharecroppers, fixed-rent tenants, or wage laborers. During the first century, the largest Jewish community dwelled in the Land of Israel. By the mid-twelfth century, Jews could be found in almost all locations from Tudela in Spain to Mangalore in India. By then, their transition into urban skilled occupations was complete. Their specialization into these occupations remains their distinctive feature until today.Less

Neighbours but diverse: social change in north-west Iberia during the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic (5500—4000 cal bc)

Pablo Arias

in Going Over: The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in North-West Europe

This chapter presents the available information on the late Mesolithic and the early Neolithic in north-west Iberia, and discusses its significance when attempting to understand the processes of ... More

This chapter presents the available information on the late Mesolithic and the early Neolithic in north-west Iberia, and discusses its significance when attempting to understand the processes of transition from foraging to peasant societies. The north-west of the Iberian Peninsula provides, in a restricted area, a huge variety of Neolithization processes, probably interrelated, on an unequal background of Mesolithic populations, with great contrast between densely populated areas, such as the Cantabrian coast or the Upper Ebro, and others with lower densities. It is precisely in one of these densely populated areas that the first contacts appear to have happened. The evidence from Mendandia suggests that, about 5500 cal bc, not much later than the time when the first Neolithic groups were established on the Mediterranean coast, the first pottery could have reached the Upper Ebro. The earliest pots were probably no more than attractive prestige goods, which reached this area through exchange networks whose existence is proved by the presence of Mediterranean shells in the local Mesolithic.Less

The Visigoths: History of a Conquered People

Daniel G. König

in Arabic-Islamic Views of the Latin West: Tracing the Emergence of Medieval Europe

Chapter 5 analyses how Arabic-Islamic scholars approached the history of the Visigoths. Before the Muslim invasion, the Arabic-Islamic world had little knowledge of the Iberian Peninsula and its ... More

Chapter 5 analyses how Arabic-Islamic scholars approached the history of the Visigoths. Before the Muslim invasion, the Arabic-Islamic world had little knowledge of the Iberian Peninsula and its Visigothic ruling elite. Consequently, the earliest depictions of the Visigoths were written from the conquerors’ perspective. Because early Andalusian scholars mainly looked to the Middle East for orientation, Visigothic history only began to arouse their curiosity after a regional identity had emerged in Muslim al-Andalus. Thanks to the disclosure of important Latin sources, Andalusian scholarship of the ninth and tenth centuries acquired a thorough overview of Visigothic history that was assimilated by Middle Eastern scholars in the following centuries. In the Muslim West, however, Visigothic history lost appeal in the face of the expanding Iberian Christians’ claim to the Visigothic heritage. Thus, a heritage gained was largely lost as a consequence of geopolitical changes in the Western Mediterranean.Less

Greeks and the Iberian Peninsula: Forms of Exchange and Settlements

Pierre Rouillard

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

Within the Mediterranean region, the Iberian Peninsula is the only place where Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks interacted during the same time period and participated equally in the ... More

Within the Mediterranean region, the Iberian Peninsula is the only place where Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks interacted during the same time period and participated equally in the Mediterranean network of exchanges. It is also the only territory where groups of both Semitic and Greek origin lived side by side for five centuries without the geographical boundaries that existed in Sicily. Trading centers on the Iberian Peninsula share two basic traits: they are small and do not occupy much land, and they are without an extensive hinterland or chora. This chapter makes the case for the Greek contribution to the colonial situation and challenges a number of prior assumptions on the basis of recent archaeological excavations. In particular, it presses the case for “colonization without colonies,” arguing that the number of alien colonists in Iberia, Greek or Phoenician, was very small and confined to rather modest settlements of a distinctive type that it calls “Hispanic emporia.”Less

Tarshish and Tartessos Revisited: Textual Problems and Historical Implications

Carolina López-Ruiz

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

Within the framework of a new discussion of Phoenician and Greek colonization in the Iberian Peninsula, the question of the possible identification of the protohistoric culture of Tartessos in the ... More

Within the framework of a new discussion of Phoenician and Greek colonization in the Iberian Peninsula, the question of the possible identification of the protohistoric culture of Tartessos in the mentions of a legendary Tarshish in the Hebrew Bible is quite relevant. The correlation between the Tartessos of the Iberian Peninsula, mentioned by Greek authors, and the Tarshish of the Hebrew Bible was first suggested in a late lexicon. The dual enigma of the identification of Tarshish and Tartessos has since sparked the enthusiasm of both biblical scholars and archaeologists of the Iberian Peninsula's protohistory. Should the identification be proven correct, the culture of Tartessos would leave the shadowy land of semi-mythical imagination where Herodotus and others had placed it and would gain a more prominent position in Mediterranean history. The appearance of Tartessos in the Hebrew Bible would both provide a written proof of the important connection of Tartessos with the Levant and reinforce the theory of an early date for the first arrival of the Phoenicians in the West.Less

Colonial Relations and Social Change in Iberia (Seventh to Third Centuries BC)

Joan Sanmartí

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

The word “Iberia” and the ethnonym “Iberes” were used by the ancient Greeks to designate a relatively vast region on the Mediterranean edge of the Iberian Peninsula that extended to the north of ... More

The word “Iberia” and the ethnonym “Iberes” were used by the ancient Greeks to designate a relatively vast region on the Mediterranean edge of the Iberian Peninsula that extended to the north of Cartagena to the Pyrenees, or even farther. In the second century BC, the term acquired a more general signification and tended to name the whole peninsula. This chapter offers a brief account of the colonial relations that developed in Iberia from the seventh century BC, when Phoenician traders coming from the Straits of Gibraltar area visited its shores for the first time, until the last years of the third century BC, when, as a result of the Second Punic War, the whole area came under the rule of the Roman Republic. It examines the role of colonial trade in the transformation of indigenous Iberian societies in different regions during the period. It emphasizes especially the complex, contingent, and regionally variable relations that developed among Phoenicians, Greeks, and indigenous peoples.Less

The Twelve Years’ Truce, 1609–1621

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

It may appear strange, even bizarre, at first glance to date a fundamental reshaping of the structure of the Dutch trading system, the onset of Phase Two (which corresponds to the duration of the ... More

It may appear strange, even bizarre, at first glance to date a fundamental reshaping of the structure of the Dutch trading system, the onset of Phase Two (which corresponds to the duration of the Twelve Years' Truce), to a single year, even such a politically resonant year as that in which the Truce was signed, but there is an abundance of hard evidence to justify doing so. In 1609, the Spanish embargoes against the Dutch Republic were lifted. Dutch shipping costs for all European destinations fell dramatically. The Dutch resumed their former massive traffic with the Iberian Peninsula. The obstacles to a flourishing Dutch commerce with the Mediterranean were removed. The onset of the Twelve Years' Truce should have had immense implications for the whole of the world economy.Less

The Iberian Peninsula: Land of Astral Magic

Michael A. Ryan

in A Kingdom of Stargazers: Astrology and Authority in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon

This chapter considers a larger medieval perception of the Iberian Peninsula: that to other medieval Europeans, Spain was a shadowy land of magic. A supposedly nefarious region no good Christian ... More

This chapter considers a larger medieval perception of the Iberian Peninsula: that to other medieval Europeans, Spain was a shadowy land of magic. A supposedly nefarious region no good Christian should visit, lest they be tempted in acquiring secret knowledge aided by demonic agency, the Iberian Peninsula represented, in some medieval writers' understanding, a domain of occult and dark knowledge. The presence there of Jewish and Muslim communities, whose knowledge, culture, languages, and religious practices seemed to some Christians alien, at best, and abhorrent, at worst, contributed to this understanding of Iberia. Another reason why some medieval people may have perceived Spain as a land of prognosticators might be a theory ascribed to the ancient astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus. Better known as Ptolemy, his Tetrabiblos systematized various ancient astrological theories that incorporated Babylonian, Egyptian, and Indian knowledge. Because of his sidereal works, medieval scholars considered Ptolemy one of the foremost ancient authorities in astronomy and astrology, and used his authoritative writings to legitimize their own contemporary views of astrology and astronomy.Less

The Beginnings of Crypto-Islam in the Iberian Peninsula

in Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614

The first Muslims arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in 711; the mass expulsion of all Muslims was decreed and carried out in the period 1609–14, nine centuries later. In this great final displacement ... More

The first Muslims arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in 711; the mass expulsion of all Muslims was decreed and carried out in the period 1609–14, nine centuries later. In this great final displacement of a population some 300,000 people were forced to leave their homes and were deported from Spain: some of them went out by road over the Pyrenees, but most left by sea. The diaspora left them scattered from the Atlantic seaboard of Morocco in the west to Ottoman Turkey in the east (and possibly beyond). This chapter covers this final century of Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula and attempts to trace what happened from the time the first of Spain's Muslims were forcibly converted to Christianity up to the end, several generations later, when in a final cataclysm almost all of the descendants of these converts were expelled from their homeland.Less

Colonial Contacts and Protohistoric Indigenous Urbanism on the Mediterranean Coast of the Iberian Peninsula

Maria Carme Belarte

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

At the end of the eighth century BC, the indigenous populations of the Iberian Peninsula began a period characterized by contacts with other peoples of the Mediterranean. These colonial contacts took ... More

At the end of the eighth century BC, the indigenous populations of the Iberian Peninsula began a period characterized by contacts with other peoples of the Mediterranean. These colonial contacts took a variety of forms, from simple commercial activity initiated by traders (without the foundation of settlements) to the establishment of new colonial settlements with a largely foreign population—as in the case of the Phoenician settlements of the south and southeast of the Peninsula or that of Sa Caleta on the Island of Ibiza. In regard to urbanism and architecture, it is generally accepted that the presence of these settlements resulted in indigenous peoples' adoption of some new elements, such as a rectangular floor plan and buildings with a complex ground plan. This chapter analyzes the current state of research concerning the first urbanism on the Mediterranean peninsular coast, placing emphasis on the significance of the potential role played by the colonial factor—in particular, Phoenician commerce. The discussion is centered on southern Catalonia, but selected sites of the littoral are also examined.Less

Botanical and Archaeological Dimensions of the Colonial Encounter

Ramon Buxó

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

The evolution of Iberian society cannot be understood without an emphasis on the encounter with colonial cultures, Phoenician and Greek, that established colonies along the Mediterranean zone of the ... More

The evolution of Iberian society cannot be understood without an emphasis on the encounter with colonial cultures, Phoenician and Greek, that established colonies along the Mediterranean zone of the Iberian Peninsula. Their presence and their actions were transformative, definitively affecting the structure of indigenous communities of the region. Not least among these changes to consider is the evolution of the production of vegetal resources during the Iron Age in the region, which appears to have progressed from an economy of cereal products to an expansion of vineyards and later of olive trees. The production of wine seems to be one of the distinguishing elements of Phoenician colonization. This chapter presents recent evidence documenting long-term changes in the agrarian base of indigenous societies before and after the arrival of Phoenician and Greek colonists. In particular, it examines important new data concerning the development of indigenous wine and olive oil production and discusses the relationship of these practices to traditional grain-based agriculture. It also explores the impact of colonization on the traditional cultivation of cereals and legumes.Less

Lumbermen and Shipwrights: Phoenicians on the Mediterranean Coast of Southern Spain

Brigitte Treumann

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

This chapter examines the evidence and nature of interaction between indigenous peoples and Phoenicians and Greeks who colonized the Iberian Peninsula during the first millennium BC. It discusses the ... More

This chapter examines the evidence and nature of interaction between indigenous peoples and Phoenicians and Greeks who colonized the Iberian Peninsula during the first millennium BC. It discusses the trans-Mediterranean demand for wood and makes the case for the importance of timber in explaining Phoenicians' interest in the Andalusian coast of Iberia, thereby challenging the traditional emphasis on metal resources as the defining vector in Phoenician colonial ventures in Iberia. It suggests that the ever-growing demand for wood and its eminently transportable byproducts was a prime mover in the establishment and existence of the west Phoenician communities on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, where the immediate hinterland offered many woody species but no precious metals to speak of. Further, the chapter argues that these settlements with their specialized industrial activities and output (shipwrighting prominent among them) may have had strong economic (and perhaps administrative) ties with the great western colonial hub of Gadir for local and long-distance trade networks, transport, and distribution.Less

The Collapse of the Spanish Monarchy

in “We Are Now the True Spaniards”: Sovereignty, Revolution, Independence, and the Emergence of the Federal Republic of Mexico, 1808-1824

This chapter places the 1808 French invasion of Spain within the broader context of the eighteenth-century international conflicts among European powers and the major transformation of the Atlantic ... More

This chapter places the 1808 French invasion of Spain within the broader context of the eighteenth-century international conflicts among European powers and the major transformation of the Atlantic World in the second half of the century. It examines the impact of the political crisis caused by the French invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1808 and the destruction of the Spanish Monarchy. It also analyzes the similar responses of Spain and New Spain to the crisis; the attempts of novohispanos to establish an autonomous government in the name of the king; and the golpe de estado (overthrow of the government) by a few European Spaniards to prevent the formation of a congress of cities in that kingdom.Less

Phoenician Colonization on the Atlantic Coast of the Iberian Peninsula

Ana Margarida Arruda

in Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations

Although a Near Eastern presence had been documented for the “Far West”—namely Portuguese territory—since the nineteenth century, study of the arrival of Eastern Mediterranean populations on the ... More

Although a Near Eastern presence had been documented for the “Far West”—namely Portuguese territory—since the nineteenth century, study of the arrival of Eastern Mediterranean populations on the European Atlantic coast expanded considerably in the last twenty years of the twentieth century. In effect, the discovery and excavation of archaeological sites of mostly Mediterranean material culture has almost tripled since the 1980s. Today, the amount of archaeological data concerning the presence of Phoenicians in Portuguese territory is extensive and varying in nature, and we possess finds and architecture that can be analyzed in the context of an Orientalizing Iron Age. This chapter investigates the Phoenician colonization on the Atlantic Coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It analyzes ceramics and their stratigraphic sequences, domestic and funerary architecture, radiocarbon dates, and even the geography of the sites to understand the motives behind Phoenician voyages to Portugal, their chronology, and not only how settlement took place but how means of contact were established between the indigenous peoples and foreign groups of colonists.Less

Introduction

Sarah Stroumsa

in Andalus and Sefarad: On Philosophy and Its History in Islamic Spain

This introductory chapter provides a background of al-Andalus. Within the Islamic world, “al-Andalus” (Islamic Spain) constituted a distinct cultural unit with its own unique characteristics. The ... More

This introductory chapter provides a background of al-Andalus. Within the Islamic world, “al-Andalus” (Islamic Spain) constituted a distinct cultural unit with its own unique characteristics. The borders of this territory changed over time, following the advance of the Christian conquests. Toward the end of the second/eighth century, al-Andalus covered most of the peninsula (today's Spain as well as Portugal), while in the eighth/fifteenth century, the shrunken Emirate of Granada alone, at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, remained in Muslim hands. This book's period of interest extends mainly from the tenth to the sixth/twelfth century, when Jews living under Islam in the Iberian Peninsula played a significant cultural role, and when philosophy flourished in al-Andalus. The philosophy and theology that were produced in this cultural unit developed as a continuation of speculative thought in the Islamic East and remained in constant dialogue with it. Yet the philosophical and theological works of Andalusian authors are not servile replicas of Maghreban or Eastern sources. They have a distinctive character that, while showing their different sources, displays their originality and their Andalusian provenance.Less

Conclusion

Sarah Stroumsa

in Andalus and Sefarad: On Philosophy and Its History in Islamic Spain

This concluding chapter explains that the twelfth century represented the high watermark of philosophy in al-Andalus. Although the thirteenth century saw some remarkable manifestations of Neoplatonic ... More

This concluding chapter explains that the twelfth century represented the high watermark of philosophy in al-Andalus. Although the thirteenth century saw some remarkable manifestations of Neoplatonic mystical philosophy, the Aristotelian school had no significant succession after Averroes within the borders of al-Andalus. However, the legacy of Arabic Andalusian philosophy, both Muslim and Jewish, continued to thrive in the Iberian Peninsula. The chapter then looks at the transmission of Arabic philosophy from al-Andalus to Christian Spain. After the Christian conquest of Toledo in 1085, Christian Spain witnessed a growing interest in philosophy and science. This interest was expressed in a large-scale effort to translate philosophical texts from Arabic. A significant part of the task of transmitting Arabic philosophy to the Christians fell to the Jews, many of whom found refuge from Almoravid and Almohad persecution in Christian territory, and some of whom had converted to Christianity. Even more important is their role in preserving the Arabic texts themselves, as well as the scholarly tradition attached to them.Less