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Video:
THE MIDDLE AGES

In 711 A.D., Muslim armies came from

North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula.
They conquered the Visigothic Kingdom
of Toledo. It became a new Muslim
territory called AL ANDALUS.

From 711 A.D., Al Andalus was an

emirate. It was part of the caliphate
and its capital was Crdoba. It was
governed by an emir. In 929 A.D., an
emir called Abderramn III declared
that Al- Andalus was an independent
caliphate.
He
established
the
Crdoba Caliphate. Later on, AlAndalus was divided into small taifa
kingdoms.
Al- Andalus became a centre of art and
learning. They also built beautiful
buildings, such as the Alhambra in
Granada, the Great Mosque in Crdoba
and the Alcazaba in Almera.

Make a poster about a building from Al Andalus.

INSTRUCTIONS
a) Find pictures of the building.
b) Find out when it was built and what it was used for. Include this
information on your poster.
c) Include a map of Spain that shows the location of the building.

GAME IN PAIRS
a) Take turns to name a city in Spain.
b) Say if your partners city was ever in Al-Andalus.
c) Use the map to check your answers.

Life in Al Andalus was peaceful, but

there were many battles at the borders
with the Christian kingdoms in the north.

Some people in Al Andalus were

Christian or Jewish. The Muslims didnt
consider non-Muslims to be equals, but
they gave them some basic rights:

Christians and Jews could:

o Live where they wanted to.
o Practise their religion.
o Do any job, but they couldnt
have authority over a Muslim.
o Be part of society and culture.
Christians and Jews had to:
o Pay special taxes.
o Were a special badge.
o Obey Muslims laws.
o They couldnt carry weapons.

WRITE A BIOGRAPHY: ABDERRAMN III

a) Draw a timeline of the persons life.
b) Find a picture of the historical figure.
c) Write out the information you found
Abderramn III.

about

In Al Andalus there were many

merchants. They traded products such
as gold, silk, leather goods and pottery.
They bought and sold things in the souk.

Farmers in Al Andalus raised goats and

sheep. There were also experts in
irrigated farming.

People speak Arabic. Many place

names in the South of Spain come from
Arabic, for example, Guadalquivir and
Almera.

Cities were ruled by a governor. He lived

in the alcazaba. This was a fortress.

Many people were Muslims. The mosque

was an important building in the city.

Complete the sentences.

Muslims
traded
in
the
___________________.
They
bought
and
sold
_________and__________.
The important buildings in a Muslim city were the___________and the_____________.
Non- Muslims could____________________________and ___________________________.
NonMuslims
couldnt_____________________________.
They
also
had
to
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.

When the Muslims created Al-Andalus,

many Christians moved to the
mountains in the north. In 722 A.D. the
Battle of Covadonga took place
between the Christians and the
Muslims. A Visigoth noble called Don
Pelayo was the leader of the Christians.
He defeated the Muslims in the battle.

After that, Don Pelayo established the

Kingdom of Asturias. Later on this
became the Kingdom of Len. There
were other Christian kingdoms too, such
as the Kingdom of Castilla, Navarra and
Aragn.

Society was divided into three groups:

clergy, nobles and peasants. People
were Christians. Priests and monks were
important members of society.

Most people were peasants. They

worked on the land, growing crops and
raising animals.
The king ruled the country, but the
countryside was divided into small areas.
Each area was ruled by a noble who
was called the lord.
Each kingdom had its own language, but
all the languages were similar to Latin.