spain in the middle ages

1. SPAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES

2. Timeline
ANCIENT HISTORY MIDDLE AGES
507 AL- ANDALUS 1492
ROMANS VISIGOTHS CHRISTIAN KINGDOM
476 507 711 1492

3. What were the Middle Ages?
• The Middle Ages began in 476 A.D. when the Roman Empire
ended. At the beginning, there were many wars in Western
Europe. Christianity became important in all aspects of life.
• During the Middle Ages, Spain didn’t exist! There were
Christian kingdoms in the north. In the south, there was a
Muslim state called al-Andalus.

4. Who were the Visigoths?
The Visigoths were an important Germanic tribe. They came to Roman
Hispania in the 5th century A.D. In 507 A.D. the Visigoths established a
new kingdom with its capital city in Toledo. It was called the Kingdom of
Toledo.

5. THE LIVE IN VISIGOTHIC KINGDOM
Government Religion
The Visigoths
Culture The economy
king
Council of
Toledo
Latin Catholicism farmers

6. THE LIVE IN VISIGOTHIC KINGDOM
• The king made the laws and he had meetings with
nobles and bishops ( Council of Toledo)
• They learned to speak Latin. St Isidoro of Sevilla
wrote the encyclopedia.
• In 589, King Recaredo converted to Catholicism
• They were farmers so they moved to the countryside
• ART: The treasure of Guarrazal and the Church of San
Juan de Baños
Who were the Muslims?

7. Who were the Muslims?
• In 711 A.C. Muslim came from North Africa to the
Iberian Peninsula. In the battle of Guadalete they
conquered the Visigothic Kingdom.
• Islam is a religion that began on the Arabian
Peninsula in the 7th century A.D. The followers of
Islam are called Muslims.they follow the teaching of
the prophet Mohammed. His God is Allah and their
sacred book is the Koran.
• In the Middle Ages, there was a great Islamic
civilisation with its own laws, customs and art.
Muslim empires were called caliphates and they
were ruled by caliphs.

8. How was al-Andalus governed?
ALHAMBRA THE GREAT MOSQUE
From 711 to 929 A.D. al-Andalus was an emirate. In 929 A.D. Abderraman III
declared that Al- Andalus was an independent caliphate called the Córdoba
Caliphate. Later on it was divided into small taifa kingdoms.

9. WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN AL-ANDALUS?
Life in al-Andalus was peaceful, but there were many
battles at the borders with the Christian kingdoms in the
north.
They were many merchants who traded products such as
gold, silk, leather and pottery in the souk. Farmers were
experts in irrigated farming.
They pray in the mosque and they spoke Arabic language.
Cities were ruled by a governor. He lived in the alcazaba.
Some people in al-Andalus were Christian or Jewish. The
Muslims didn’t consider non-Muslims to be equals, but
they gave them some basic rights

10. What was life like in the Christian kingdoms?
In the Christian kingdoms of the north, most people lived in the
countryside, in small towns and villages. In 722, the Battle of Covadonga
took place between Christians and Muslims. A Visigoth noble, Don Pelayo,
was the leader and he defeated the Muslims in the battle. Then, he
established the Kingdom of Asturias and the the kingdom of León, Castilla,
Navarra and Aragón.

11. Life
• Society was divided into three groups: the clergy,
nobles and peasants
• The King ruled the country but each area was
ruled by a lord.
• They spoke Latin and Galician, Spanish,
Portuguese and Catalan began to develop
• The Christians built many religious buildings such
as churches and monasteries. ( Burgos Cathedral
or San Martín de Fromista Church)

12. What was the Reconquista?
Between the 8th and the 15th centuries, the Christian kingdoms
expanded to the south. They conquered lands from al-Andalus. This
process is called the Reconquista. The Reconquista ended in 1492
when the Christians conquered Granada.