History

This is a collection of articles on the history of Arabs and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula. The current language, customs and culture of today's Spain and Portugal is strongly influenced by eight centuries of Muslim rule (92 A.H/711 C.E. to 897 A.H/1492 C.E).These articles explore some aspects of this history and culture.

When I was researching the etymology of various place names in the Iberian penninsula, that have Arabic names, I came across the town of Almeida.

This town seems to derive its name from the Arabic word المائدة meaning "the dining table". In Muslim sources, it is said to have been a relic claimed by Iberian Christians to be the dining table of King Solomon.

In this article, I try to collect all historical references on this mysterious relic dining table.

Molokheya, also known as Jew's Mallow, is one of Egypt's national dishes, as well as other countries in the Middle East region.

Abu Muhammad Dia' al-Din Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Al-Baytar al-Maliqial-Andalusi أبو محمد ضياء الدين عبد الله بن أحمد بن البيطار المالقي الأندلسي. (b. 575 A.H./1179 C.E. d. 646 A.H./1248 C.E.). He was a famed physician, herbalist, pharmacist, and botanist.

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Walid ibn Khalaf al-Fihri al-Tartushi أبو بكر محمد بن الوليد بن خلف الفهري الطرطوشي (b. 451 A.H./1059 C.E. - d. 520 A.H/1127 C.E.) was a famous jurist originally from Tortosa طرطوشة, in Muslim Spain.

One of famous Andalusian figures in Muslim Spain is Abu al-Walid Sulaiman ibn Khalaf ibn Saad ibn Ayub al-Tujaibi al-Maliki al-Baji أبو الوليد سليمان بن خلف بن سعد بن أيوب التجيبي الأندلسي الباجي الفقيه المالكي (b. 403 A.H. - d. 474 A.H.). This is a collection of sources on him.

Peter Forsskål was a Swedish scientist who did a taxonomical classification of animals of the Red Sea region, and used the Arabic name as the species name.

Back in 1985, I visited St. Louis, Missouri. There was an annual fair by the name: VP Fair, or the 'Veiled Prophet Fair'. Although this is a fun fair with little historical roots, there is indeed history behind it, because the Veiled Prophet was a true historical figure.

Note: If you are looking for al-Muqanna al-Kindi the poet المقنع الكندي الشاعر please check our page on him.

Before the fall of Granada, the last Muslim emirate in Spain, the Mudejars المدجنين were Muslims living in Christian dominated areas, retaining some degree of religious freedom. In Castille, they had more freedom and autonomy than in Arragon.

They were however losing their language very fast, and hence most of them could not speak Arabic anymore, let alone read it.

There arose the need for the Mudejars to develop religious works in Castillian.

One such person from Segovia شقوبية was Ice de Gebir (الفقيه عيسى بن جابر الشاذلي الشقوبي), a Spanish Andalusian jurist, who wrote his works in Castillian. His name is spelled differently in different sources, for example: 'Isâ b. Jâbir is the closest to the Arabic that can be. Other spellings are Isa, Iça, Içe, Yça, Yza, and Ysa. His father's name can be spelled as Gebir, Jabir, or Yábir. The Gidelli seems to be the corruption of ash-Shadhili.

When reading history, it is interesting to know where exactly the places mentioned are today. If one is reading history in a language that no longer exists in the region studied, then the task is much harder.

One such case is the Arabic names for towns and cities in the Iberian peninsula, in what is now Spain and Portugal. For eight centuries, this area was under Arab rule, and known by the name al-Andalus الأندلس. Many chronicles and history books have been written by the Arab speaking inhabitants of Iberia.

In this article, I try to provide a list of Arabic and Spanish names of the towns and cities, so it is easy to cross reference those for anyone who is studying the region and its history.