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 * In the dark medieval times there shone a beacon of intellectual and cultural advancements. The Muslims of Al-andalus conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula and were very successful in there cultural and academic ways. They related to our successful society in surprising ways. Even as they failed and declined they still stood above the rest of Europe. There is much we can learn from the fall of Al-andalus. ||


 * There successes were numerous but and there is much they can teach us. There culture was amazing and they were envied for it. They had great culture because of tolerance “With the relative tolerance of al-Andalus and the decline of the previous centre of Jewish thought in Babylonia, al-Andalus became the centre of Jewish intellectual endeavors” (Wikipedia, Al-andalus). In the medieval times tolerance was almost unheard of but in Al-andalus people of all ethnicities and religions mingled to make it far superior. They had amazing success mathematically and scientifically such as making a diagram of the solar system that did not circle the earth, many large medical discoveries, and loads of inventions. They were so succesful in this area wa becuase they offered handsome bribes to scholars to come to Al-andalus "To this end, therefore, he actively recruited scholars by offering handsome inducements to overcome their initial reluctance to live in what many from the lands in the East considered the provinces. As a result, many scholars, poets, philosophers, historians and musicians migrated to al-Andalus, and established the basis of the intellectual tradition and educational system which made Spain so outstanding for the next 400 years." (Science: Islamic Legacy). If other countries were willing to spend more money on for intellectuals they could greatly increase their countries scientific and mathematical success. ||


 * However, Al-andalus has some surprising relations to our society. Their dynasties were ruled by someone in complete control but unlike another European country at the time the people of Al-andalus had little trouble in adding or removing a dynasty. The Taifas all wanted another ruler and asked for the Almoravids so they came “the Taifa kings requested help from the Almoravids” (Wikipedia, Al-andalus). They also got rid of the Almohad dynasty after they lost a great battle “The Almohads continued to rule Al Andalus for another decade, but with much reduced power and prestige” (Wikipedia, Al-andalus). How the dynasties could be removed from or placed into power is surprisingly similar to our democracy. Our democracy is a very successful form of government so a partial reason for the success of Al-andalus is their government is similar to ours and therefore better than the other monarchies of Europe. ||


 * By examining the factors that led to the decline of Al-andalus we can avoid those shortcomings. Al-andalus was a militaristic and fought with all the Christian countries to the north. Most of the time all the Christian countries were fighting among themselves but occasionally they allied due to the heavy threat from Al-andalus. In 1212, the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, all Christian countries on the Iberian Peninsula worked together to defeat the Muslim forces. If Al-andalus was not so militaristic it would not have been a threat and Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Leon would not have allied. By being so militaristic they brought about there own end. For a country to succeed today it should not be very militaristic and aggressive because the surrounding countries might ally and make war on it. A country is greater than the sum of the parts, and political separation causes weakens it greatly. When Al-andalus broke up into it’s Taifas it lost a lot of political power and “were generally too weak to defend themselves against repeated raids and demands for tribute from the Christian states to the north” (Wikipedia, Al-andalus). The political separation of Al-andalus happened more than once and every time it was bad. If Quebec separated from Canada then Canada could lose a lot of influence and political power. ||


 * Al-andalus was an amazing country that was far superior to the rest of the medieval ages, and we can use their success, their similarities, and their failures to learn and better our own society. ||