The story of the Arabs in Spain

Spain's history presents us with a sad contrast. Twelve years ago, Tariq the Moor added the land of the Visigothic West to the long list of kingdoms conquered by the Muslims. For nearly eight centuries, under their Muhammadan rulers, Spain set an exemplary model for a civilized and enlightened state for all Europe. Its fertile provinces, which became doubly productive thanks to the skill of its inhabitants in industry and engineering, yielded a hundredfold. Countless cities arose in the rich valleys of Guadelquivir and Guadiana, whose names and titles still revive the memory of their fading glory. Art, literature, and sciences flourished, more so than anywhere else in Europe. Students flocked from France, Germany, and England to drink from the fountain of learning that flowed only in the Moroccan cities. Surgeons and doctors in Andalusia were at the forefront of science: women were encouraged to dedicate themselves to serious study, and the lady doctor was unknown among the people of Córdoba. Mastery of mathematics, astronomy, botany, history, philosophy, and jurisprudence was reserved for Spain and Spain alone. Practical work in the field was perfected, as were scientific methods of irrigation, fortification arts, shipbuilding, the finer and more detailed products from the loom, the hammer and chisel, the potter's wheel, and the construction shovel, all perfected by the Spanish Moors. In warfare, no less than in arts of peace, they remained long at the forefront. Their fleets challenged Mediterranean leadership alongside the Fatimids, while their armies carried fire and sword during Christian marches. A master of himself, a national hero, he fought long on the Moroccan side, and in everything except education, he was more than half Moorish. All that makes a kingdom great and prosperous, and all that tends toward refinement and civilization, exists in Muslim Spain.