Moorish Christian Kingdoms of Iberia (or: racism in medieval times)

I've been playing Crusader Kings, and I've found that when the AI Muslims don't conquer most of Europe, the Reconquista happens quite swiftly, with much of the peninsula being put under the rule of Arab Christians. That led me to think- were there any prominent Arab Christians in Spain and Portugal pre-1492? Was there an Arab Christian nobility? If so, why not?

After looking up "Moorish" and some other articles on Wikipedia, I decided that one of the things is that back in the Middle Ages (and thus prior to the expulsion of not only the Moors but non-Spaniard/Portuguese Catholics like the Marranos and Moriscos), it was kind of hard to define just what a "Moor" was, anyways. It wasn't exactly a defined race, and there were all kinds of different cultures running around cosmopolitan Andalusia and the parts around.

This also brought me think about racism- was there such a thing in the Middle Ages? I don't think it existed as we know it, other than the big exception for hatred of the Jewish people. From my generalized point of view, it appears that back in medieval times, people saw all other peoples as either 1) people that should be fought, conquered, or killed; 2) converted or killed; 3) have trade done with for a quick buck; and that's all I can think of. And since it was quite the cutthroat time, people in the next county over were just as able to do that as some folk with skin tanner than yours the next continent over, hell, more. So there wasn't time to think of non-whites as bad. Not to mention that "racism" probably was more of a hatred for people who spoke a different language than you or believed in God differently, not people who just looked different. I'm sure there was a general European idea of non-whites as either uncultured barbarians (why else would Prester John be white?), or as infidel hordes (like the Saracens next door), but would the Europeans instantly reject non-whites who converted to their religion and culture? I'm not so sure.
 
The Middle Ages lacked a concept of 'race', so anything we would call racism would really run by other parameters. However, there were considerable ethnic tensions in many parts, and fissures along religious, linguistic and political lines. To the point of rioting and lynching. The reason we know about the plight of the Jews is that they were the only minority that medieval Europe allowed to reside in its midst for any lengtzh of time. The others were expelled, assimilated or killed off.

Onme interesting thing is that while the reality of medieval societies was pretty multicultural, the ideal of society was monolithic - one language, one culture, one faith. That is why any lasting coexistence would be based on the concept (often enough the fiction) of two distinct peoples cohabiting on the same land. ON the upside, it prevented internal fissures. On the downside, it put smaller or weaker communities at risk in group.

AS to Moorish Christians, there were very few. North Africa held a small Christian remnant population (does to this day). But since Christianity had mostly been limited to urban areas, where conversion to Isla was fastest, we don't have the Egyptian phenomenon of a broadly Christian countryside. They also were not in any meaningful sense 'nobles'. Christians could become notables and senior civil servants, but the path to the highest ranks in the Muslim states of the day was a military career, and this they could rarely aspire to. The majorioty of Christians in Al-Andalus were assimilated natives who had adopted an Arabic rite and lifestyle, but retained what they considered Catholic Christianity. It is conceivable that they cpould briefly gain control of some territory but they would be quite awkwardly placed. The northern kingdoms did not trust the Mozarabs, and a Christian state could not hope for help from its Islamic neighbours, however much cultural affinity there was.
 
In 882 after the death of Abderraman II, one islamized hispano-gothic noblemen called Omar Ben Hafsun sublevated against Muhammad I. The war was so disastrous for the Emir that soon rebellion spread all around Al-Andalus where christians and islamized hispano-goths joined the sublevation that he was forced to take the decission of converting to christianism.

Whithout the support of the northern christian states, that mistrusted Omar, the rebellion was doomed, but what if the kings of Leon and Navarre help Omar? What if he is crowned Emir, a christian Emir? What if he takes under his protection Navarre and Leon as Emir of Hispania and the Iberian peninsula becomes culturally arabic (with some aljamic languages derived from latin but written in arabic) and christian?
 
Whithout the support of the northern christian states, that mistrusted Omar, the rebellion was doomed, but what if the kings of Leon and Navarre help Omar? What if he is crowned Emir, a christian Emir? What if he takes under his protection Navarre and Leon as Emir of Hispania and the Iberian peninsula becomes culturally arabic (with some aljamic languages derived from latin but written in arabic) and christian?

I like that idea. It's different.
 

ninebucks

Banned
IIRC, 'Moorish Christian' is a contradiction in terms.

There could have still been a Christian kingdom influenced by Arabesque culture in Spain. Of course, such a state did exist in Europe during this period, (Sicily), but, ultimately, it did not survive the competition from its more fundamentalist neighbours.

But, of course, political culture is quite malleable, so maybe an Arabesque Christian Spain could survive. But such a TL would butterfly away Catholicism as we know it.
 
850 Umar ibn Hafsun is born near Malaga. His family belongs to the group of the Muladies, or hispano-goth christians recently converted to Islam. By the end of the IX century muslims are barely the majority of the population in Al-Andalus and almost a 40% is still christian.
879 Accused of an homicide, he is forced to flee and to join a group of brigands.
883 After being deported to Africa he returns to the peninsula and joins a group of rebels settling in the ruined castle of Bobastro.
885 After several defeats, the Emir Muhammad I offers him to join the army of the emirate.
886 Umar ibn Hafsun converts to christianim and the sublevation reaches all of Al-Andalus while Almundir son of the emir Muhammad defeats the christians in the northern border.
Umar forces approach Cordoba and the emir in order to save his head, renounces to the crown and converts to christianism.
(here it differs from OTL)
887 Almundir heads south but a coalition of christians from Leon, Navarre and the mark of Spain follow him. Envoyees from the christian kings reach Umar who is offered help to defeat the muslims. The forces of Almundir are crushed near Toledo and the allied army march to Cordoba where the new Emir Abdala is deposed.
Umar is crowned as king of Al-andalus, although he prefers to keep the title of Emir in order not to alienate the big islamic population.
890 Soon Alphonso III king of Leon and most powerful of the northener king tries to be acknowledged as Rex Hispanorum. The King of Navarre, the Emir of al-Andalus and the Earls of the Mark of Spain build an army that defeats Alphonso who dies in battle.
892 Umar is crowned as Emir of Leon, Galicia and Asturias in the Cathedral of Leon. Many muladies return to christianism as Umar favours them offering administrative possitions in his kingdom/emirate.
905 Fearing that the king of Navarre may pose a direct threat to his crown, Umar requires the help of the basque and castilian lords and invades Navarre. The earls of the mark of Spain offer him help and accept him as King/Emir.
910 The Pope willing to have the support of the mightiest christian king of western Europe accepts the mudejar rites. The archbishop of Cordoba becomes the primade of Hispania over the bishop of Toledo.
918 Umar dies and his son Suleyman is crowned as Emir Hispaniorum. Suleyman marries the sister of the french king Charles III.
922 Suleyman sends an army that participates in the french civil war on the side of Charles III defeating the claimant Robert. Forces of the emirate are deployed in the main towns of France that becomes a puppet kingdom of Al-Andalus. Suleyman visits Rome where he meets the Pope and offers help to retake Sicily for the Papacy.
927 An andalusian fleet arrives to the coasts of Sicily where Suleyman leads a successful war against the Emir of Palermo. The island is now nominally under Papal sovereignty but it is a de facto property of the Emir of Al-Andalus.
Suleyman sends some masons and artists to help building a new papal palace in Rome. The new mudejar style will become very popular all around Europe.
931 While preparing for an expedition to capture the north of Africa, the normans attack the northern coasts of Spain and capture the town of Brigantium (no Santiago de Compostela in this TL) burning it to the ground. Suleyman is enraged and prepares to destroy the northener heathens.
932 Brigantium is recaptured and 2000 normans are sold as slaves in the markets of Cordoba. Some of them claim to be christians and ask for the Church protection, but they fail to prove any basics on christian theology and seem to know only a few basic concepts that could have been learnt from irish friars. Archbishop Ibrahim of Cordoba proposes to create madrasa-like institutions to allow the masses to deepen in christian doctrine. These christian madrasas could then be exported to the north of Europe.
The idea does not seem to please the Pope, but he does not dare to condemn it.
934 Suleyman enters France and requires Charles III help to destroy "that nest of pirates that Normandy is". Charles is frightened by the idea of enraging the normans but he cedes and gives some supplies and an small army. The new norman duke (his predecessor was captured in Brigantium and sold as slave) thinks that he is going to face the classical french army and he is caught out of balance by the waves of mounted archers and disciplined formations of spearmen, when his army is faltering a charge by french knights decides the day. Normandy ceases to exist as independent feud.
945 The first christian-madrasas outside al-Andalus are built in Paris, Arles and Orleans.
947 Suleyman invades the north of Africa, he receives the help of some tribes that have been partially islamized that convert to mudejar-christianism.
951 The Archbishop Musa of Cordoba is elected pope with the name of Isidorus I.
 
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