Information about Moors

During the medieval period, Moor became a common term to refer to the Muslims of Islamic Spain and North Africa, who were of Arab or Berber descent. The name remains associated with the Muslims of Spain even today, despite being archaic and inaccurate, as it lumps Muslim and non-Muslim Arabs, Berbers and other Africans together, sometimes even with Iberian Muslims. In Spanish, the continued use of the cognate, moro, is considered by many to be racist; in English, the term has only historical contexts, with no proper present-day referent.

History Of the Moors

Although the Moors came to be by definition Muslim, the name Moor pre-dates Islam. Perhaps it derives from the small Numidian Kingdom of Maure of the third century BC in what is now Morocco.^[1] Yet the origins of the word Moor remain unclear (see the Etymology section below).^[2] The name came to be applied to people of the entire region. "They were called Maurisi by the Greeks," wrote Strabo, "and Mauri by the Romans."^[3] During that age, the Maure or Moors were trading partners of Carthage, the independent city state founded by Phoenicians. During the second Punic war between Carthage and Rome, two Moorish Numidian kings took different sides, Syphax with Carthage, Masinissa with the Romans, decisively so at Zama. Thereafter, the Moors entered into treaties with Rome. Under King Jugurtha collateral violence against merchants brought war. Juba, a later king, was a friend of Rome. Eventually, the region was incorporated into the Roman Empire as the provinces of Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesarensis; the area around Carthage already being the province of Africa. Roman rule was beneficial and effective enough so that these provinces became fully integrated into the empire. During the Christian era, two prominent African churchmen were Tertullian and St. Augustine. After the fall of Rome, the Germanic kingdom of the Vandals ruled much of the area; a century later they were displaced by Byzantine incursions. Neither Vandal nor Byzantine exercised an effective rule, the interior being under Moorish Berber control.^[4] The Berbers resisted for over 50 years Arab armies from the east. Especially memorable was that led by Kahina the Berber prophetess of the Awras, during 690-701. Yet by the 92nd lunar year after the Hijra, the Arab Muslims had prevailed across North Africa.^[5] The words Islam and Muslims appeared only after Muhammad became a prophet around 600AD)

In 711 AD, the now Islamic Moors conquered Visigothics, mainly Christian Hispania. Under their leader, an African Berber general named Tariq ibn-Ziyad, they brought most of the Iberian Peninsula under Islamic rule in an eight-year campaign. They moved northeast across the Pyrenees Mountains but were defeated by the Frank, Charles Martel, at the Battle of Poitier in 732 AD. The Moorish state fell into civil conflict in the 750s. The Moors ruled in the Iberian peninsula, except for areas in the northwest (such as Asturias, where they were defeated at the battle of Covadonga) and the largely Basque regions in the Pyrenees, and in North Africa for several decades. Though the number of "Moors" remained small many native inhabitants converted to Islam. According to Ronald Segal, author of Islam's Black Slaves^[6], some 5.6 million of Iberia's 7 million inhabitants were Muslim by 1200 AD, virtually all of them native inhabitants. The persecution and forced conversion to Catholicism of the Muslim population during the time of the Catholic reconquista in the second part of the 15th century, causing a mass exodus are considered the main reasons why their number shrank to one-third by 1600.

As a sign of decline, the country had broken up into a number of mostly Islamic fiefdoms, which were partly consolidated under the Caliphate of Cordoba.

A Christian enclave from the Muslim conquest in Asturias, a small Visigothic northwestern Spanish kingdom, initiated conflicts in earnest between Christian and Muslim in the 10th century AD. Christian states based in the north and west slowly extended their power over the rest of Iberia. The Navarre, Galicia, León, Portugal, Aragón, Catalonia or Marca Hispanica, and Castile in fits and starts began a process of expansion and internal consolidation during the next several centuries under the flag of Reconquista.

In 1212, a coalition of Christian kings under the leadership of Alfonso VIII of Castile drove the Muslims from Central Iberia. However, the Moorish Kingdom of Granada continued for three more centuries in the southern Iberian peninsula. This kingdom is known in modern time for magnificent architectural works such as the Alhambra palace. On January 2, 1492, the leader of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada surrendered to armies of a recently united Christian Spain (after the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile). The remaining Muslims and Jews were forced to leave Spain, forced to convert to Roman Catholic Christianity or be murdered for not doing so.. In 1480, Isabella and Ferdinand instituted the Inquisition in Spain, as one of many changes to the role of the church instituted by the monarchs. The Inquisition was aimed mostly at Jews and Muslims who had overtly converted to Christianity but were thought to be practicing their faiths secretly -- known respectively as marranos and moriscos -- as well as at heretics who rejected Roman Catholic orthodoxy, including alumbras who practiced a kind of mysticism or spiritualism. They were an important portion of the peasants in some territories, like Aragon, Valencia or Andalusia, until their systematic expulsion in the years from 1609 to 1614. Henri Lapeyre has estimated that this affected 300,000 out of a total of 8 million inhabitants of the peninsula at the time.^[7]

In the meantime, the tide of Islam had rolled not just westward to Iberia, but also eastward, through India, the Malayan peninsula, and Indonesia up to Mindanao-—one of the major islands of an archipelago which the Spaniards had reached during their voyages westward from the New World. By 1521, the ships of Magellan and other Spanish expeditioners had themselves reached that island archipelago, which they named Las Islas de Filipinas, after Philip II of Spain. In Mindanao, the Spaniards also named these kris-bearing people as Moros or 'Moors'. Today in the Philippines, this ethnic group of people in Mindanao who are generally Muslims are called 'Moros'. This identification of Islamic people as Moros persists in the modern Spanish language spoken in Spain; and as Mouros in the modern Portuguese language. See Reconquista, and Maure.

According to historian Richard A. Fletcher^[8], 'the number of Arabs who settled in Spain was very small. "Moorish" Spain does at least have the merit of reminding us that the bulk of the invaders and settlers were Moors, i.e Berbers from nothwest Africa.' ^[9] says that the Berbers were about 400,000 and the Arabs about 40,000 in Spain.

Religious relations

The initial rule of the Moors in the Iberian peninsula under this Caliphate of Cordoba is generally regarded as tolerant in its acceptance of Christians, Muslims and Jews living in the same territories, though in various periods Jews were expelled and Christians relegated to a kind of second class status. The Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and the Islamic territory in Iberia came to be ruled by North African Moors of the Almoravid Dynasty. This second stage started an era of Moorish rulers guided by a version of Islam that left behind the tolerant practices of the past.

Architecture

Moorish Iberia excelled in city planning; the sophistication of their cities was astonishing. According to one historian, Cordova "had 471 mosques and 300 public baths … the number of houses of the great and noble were 63,000 and 200,077 of the common people. There were … upwards of 80,000 shops. Water from the mountain was distributed through every corner and quarter of the city by means of leaden pipes into basins of different shapes, made of the purest gold, the finest silver, or plated brass as well into vast lakes, curious tanks, amazing reservoirs and fountains of Grecian marble." The houses of Cordova were air conditioned in the summer by "ingeniously arranged draughts of fresh air drawn from the garden over beds of flowers, chosen for their perfume, warmed in winter by hot air conveyed through pipes bedded in the walls." This list of impressive works includes lamp posts that lit their streets at night to grand palaces, such as the one called Azzahra with its 15,000 doors.^[10] During the height of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the city of Córdoba proper was one of the major capitals in Europe and one of the most cosmopolitan cities of its time.

Etymology of the name

Moor comes from the Greek word mauros (Greek orthography μαύρος, plural μαύροι), meaning "black" or "very dark", which in Latin became mauro (plural mauri). In the Romance languages (such as Spanish, French, and Italian) of Medieval Europe, the root appeared with such forms as moro, moir, and mor. Derivatives of the root are found in today's versions of the languages. Through nominalization, the root has always referred to various things conveniently identified by their dark color, for example, blackberries, black olives, very dark grapes, dark-haired people, or dark-skinned people; but the senses referring to dark-skinned people today generally hover close to (or, more often, clearly cross over) the line of offensiveness.

The Moors, during the Middle Ages and as late as the 17th century, were described as being black, dark-skinned, or swarthy in complexion. Modern texts, such as Webster's New World Dictionary, groups all Moors together under the terms Arab and Berber, which has caused individuals to omit the association with Africans that are racially considered "black". Considering that Berbers were a mixture of various shades of diverse nomadic groups comprising East Africans, North Africans, West Africans, and Sub-Saharan Africans, the claims of racial heritage being of one specific group are at best dubious. Today, it is the lighter inhabitants of Morocco and Mauretania who are called Moors.

In Spanish usage, moro ("Moor") came to have an even broader usage, to mean "Muslims" in general (just as rumi, "from the Eastern Roman Empire", came to mean "Christian" or "European" in many Arabic dialects); thus the moros of Mindanao in the Philippines, and the moriscos of Granada. Moro is also used to describe all things dark, as in "Moor", "moreno", etc.; and it has led to many European surnames such as Moore, Mauro, De Mauro, and so on. The Milanese Duke Ludovico Il Moro was so-called because of his dark complexion.

Human population genetics

Dr. Shomarka Keita, a biological anthropologist from Howard University, has suggested that populations in Carthage circa 200 BC and northern Algeria 1500 BC were very diverse. As a group, they plotted closest to the populations of Northern Egypt and intermediate to Northern Europeans and tropical Africans. Keita stated “The data supported the comments from ancient authors observed by classicists: everything from “fair-skinned blonds to peoples who were dark skinned 'Ethiopian' or part Ethiopian in appearance.” Modern evidence showed a similar diversity among present North Africans, suggesting that migrations did not affect this area. Moreover, this “diversity” of phenotypes and peoples was probably due to in situ differentiation, not foreign influxes. Of course foreign influxes certainly had an impact: Phoenician, Greek, Roman Vandal and Arab migration had some impact from 900 BC to 730 AD. But they did not replace the indigenous Berber population.

Haplotype V is a trait found among more than 2/3 of the modern Berbers in North Africa and is indigenous to this area. This trait is also found in high frequencies in Andalusia (as much as 40%).^[11] Moreover, about 7% of the population of Spain, including 14% of Andalusians, have been found to have this haplotype (69% of the Berbers in Morocco do-see Lucotte and Mercier on these genetic studies).

Other Moors in history

• Macrinus, 164-218, a Moorish officer, prefect of the Praetorian Guard under Caracalla. He became the first Roman emperor who was not a senator in 217-18.
• Estevanico, also referred to as "Stephen the Moor", explorer of what is now the southwest of the United States in the service of Spain.
• Gildo was a Moorish chieftain who instigated a rebellion against the Roman Empire in 398.
• Lusius Quietus was a Roman general, governor of Iudaea in 117. Originally a Moorish prince, his military ability won him the favor of Trajan, who even designated him as his successor. During the emperor's Parthian campaign, the numerous Jewish inhabitants of Babylonia revolted and were relentlessly suppressed by Quietus, who was rewarded by being appointed governor of Judea. Restlessness in Palestine caused Trajan to send his favorite, as a legate of consular rank, to Judea, where he continued his sanguinary course.
• Saint Benedict the Moor (1526–1589) Benedict was born of African parents who were slaves on an estate near Messina, Sicily. Though of the lowest social rank, they are typically perceived as noble in heart and mind. As a baby, Benedict was freed by his master and, as a young boy, he showed such a devout and gentle disposition that he was called the "Holy Moor". While working in the fields one day, some neighbors taunted him on account of his race and parentage. His meek demeanor greatly impressed a Franciscan hermit who was passing by and who uttered the prophetic words: "You ridicule a poor Negro now; before long you will hear great things of him." Wishing to join these hermits, Benedict sold his meager belongings and gave the proceeds to the poor and then entered the community. After the death of the superior, Benedict was chosen his successor, though greatly against his will. When Pope Pius IV ordered all hermits to disband or join some Order, Benedict became a Friar Minor of the Observance at Palermo, and was made a cook. He was happy in this work since it enabled him to perform many little acts of kindness toward the others. His brethren were greatly edified by the saintly cook, especially when they saw angels at times helping him in his work. The Chapter of 1578 made him guardian, or superior, of the friary, though he protested that he was not a priest and, in fact, could neither read nor write. He was a model superior, however, and won the esteem and obedience as well as the love of his subjects. As superior, he gave free rein to his love for the poor, and no matter how openhanded ȳhe was, the food never seemed to give out. After serving as superior, he was made novice master, and to this difficult post he brought gifts that were evidently infused: he was able to instruct with an amazing knowledge of theology and to read the hearts of others. At his request, he was relieved of his office and again made cook, but he was no longer an obscure Brother, for thousands flocked to the friary, seeking cures or alms or counsel and help. He died after a brief illness, having foretold the hour of his death. His veneration has spread throughout the world, and African-American Catholics of North America have chosen him their patron. ^[12]
• St. Maurice, the Knight of the Holy Lance, is regarded as the greatest patron saint of the Holy Roman Empire. Rumored to be a Roman commander of Egyptian descent, Maurice is said to have gained sainthood after refusing to have his legion massacre a Christian uprising. Honored as early as 460, St. Maurice has had numerous artworks and structures—even a castle—dedicated to him. The existence of nearly three hundred major images of St. Maurice have been catalogued, and even today his veneration is seen within numerous cathedrals in eastern Germany. He is also the Patron Saint of the United States infantry, with the highest honor given to a member of the Association of the United States Infantry being the "Order of Saint Maurice."
• Alessandro de' Medici (July 22, 1510 – January 6, 1537) called "il Moro" ("the Moor") by his contemporaries was the Duke of Penne and also Duke of Florence (from 1532) and ruler of Florence from 1530 until 1537). Though illegitimate, he was the last of the "senior" branch of the Medici to rule Florence and the first to be hereditary duke. Historians (such as Christopher Hibbert) believe he had been born to a black serving-woman in the Medici household, identified in documents as Simonetta da Collavechio. The nickname is said to derive from his features (Hibbert 1999: 236). Contemporary depict his full lips and coppery skin - he still has descendants (via his own illegitimate children) among many European royal and noble families.
• Othello the Venetian general from Shakespeare's Othello is also a Moor, as well as Aaron the Moor from Titus Andronicus, and a servant of the Morrocan Prince from The Merchant of Venice.
• The famous "The Bubble Boy" episode of the TV show "Seinfeld" made reference to the Moors, when a fictional Trivial Pursuit game misprinted the answer as 'Moops.'
• Azeem - Moorish companion to Robin of Locksley in "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" starring Kevin Cosner. Azeem played by Morgan Freeman is saved by Locksley (Cosner) while imprisoned in a Jerusalem jail during the Third Crusade (1189-1192). Azeem swears to repay his life debt to Locksley, which leads him back to Locksley's home in Nottingham England. Azeem eventually does save Locksley's life during the climax of the film.

Present-day Moors

Beside its usage in historical context Moor and Moorish (Italian and Spanish: moro, French: maure, Portuguese: mouro / moiro) is used to designate an ethnic group speaking the Hassaniya Arabic dialect, inhabiting Islamic Republic of Mauritania and parts of Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Niger and Mali.

In modern, colloquial Spanish the sometimes pejorative term "Moro" refers to any person who practices Islam, especially those born in the Maghreb or those born in Spain of Moroccan or Algerian heritage. Similarly, in modern, colloquial Portuguese the term "Mouro" is used as a derogatory term by citizens of Northern Portugal to refer to the inhabitants of the southern areas of the country, although "Mouro" is also an enchanted people and "Moura" also means stone in Northern Portugal.

This usage has also been maintained in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, where the local Muslim population in the Southern islands are called (and call themselves) "Moros" (see Muslim Filipino), a term introduced by the Spanish colonizers.

The Muslims in Sri Lanka trace their ancestry to the Arabic Moors that invaded North Africa in 640 AD, although their name originated with the Portuguese who were in Sri Lanka for a time. The majority of the moors can be found in the Central Hills (Akurana, Kandy, Gampola), eastern Sri Lanka and the capital city of Colombo. Many urban centers and educational institutions have been founded in Sri Lanka by the Moors including Azhar College, Akurana; Zahira College, Colombo, etc..

See also

• Al-Andalus
• Almohad dynasty (1145–1269)
• Almoravid dynasty (1061–1147)
• Arab diaspora
• Barbary pirates
• Berber people: Origin
• Berber people: Libyans & Numidians
• Caliph of Córdoba (929–1031)
• Char Bouba war
• Moorish Revival
• Nasrid dynasty (1232–1492)
• Morisco
• Sahrawi
• Slavery in Modern Africa
• Moorish Science Temple of America
• Moorish architecture
• History of Portugal
• History of Spain
• Ricote (Don Quixote)

References

Bibliography

This section's bibliographical information is not fully provided. If you know these sources and can provide full information, you can help Wikipedia by completing it.

• Jan Carew, Rape of Paradise
• David Brion Davis, "Slavery: Black, White, Muslim, Christian"
• Herodotus, The Histories
• Shomark O.Y. Keita, "Genetic Haplotyes in North Africa"
• Shomark O.Y. Keita, "Craniometric Data from North Africa
• Shomark O.Y. Keita, "Further Craniometric Data from North Africa"
• Shomark O.Y. Keita, "Bernal vs. Snowden"
• Bernard Lewis, "The Middle East"
• Bernard Lewis, "The Muslim Discovery of Europe"
• Bernard Lewis, "Race and Slavery in Islam"
• Stanley Lane-Poole, Turkey (1888)
• Stanley Lane-Poole, The Barbary Corsairs (1890)
• Stanley Lane-Poole, The History of the Moors in Spain
• J.A. Rogers, Nature Knows no Color Line
• Ronald Segal, "Islam's Black Slaves"
• Ivan Van Sertima, The Golden Age of the Moor
• Frank Snowdon, "Before Color Prejudice"
• Frank Snowdon, "Blacks in Antiquity"
• David M. Goldenberg, "The Curse of Ham"
• Lucotte and Mercier, various genetic studies

External links

• Pbs.org