{"id":27006,"date":"2023-07-02T09:32:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T07:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/?p=27006"},"modified":"2023-07-02T09:32:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T07:32:13","slug":"rebels-of-the-alpujarras-a-house-in-granada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/rebels-of-the-alpujarras-a-house-in-granada\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebels of the Alpujarras: a House in Granada"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Alhambra in Granada is among the greatest architectural treasures of the Arab-Muslim world, along with the Taj Mahal, Istanbul’s Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan, not to mention the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. And just across from the Alhambra in Granada’s old Arab quarter, the Albaic\u00edn, is a carmen<\/em> that has stood the test of time and remains a magical, mythical place.<\/h5>\n

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Doreen Metzner<\/h4>\n

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The memory of Spain\u2019s medieval Moorish past still grips the imagination of today\u2019s Arab-Muslim world. The nearly eight centuries of al-\u00c1ndalus, comprising the Emirate and then the Caliphate of C\u00f3rdoba and the tiny, fractured kingdoms (taifas) that emerged from the dissolution of the Caliphate, are nostalgically perceived as the \u201cGolden Age\u201d of Arab-Muslim history. This sentiment can be appreciated in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia<\/em>, directed by David Lean, in which Prince Faisal muses aloud to T.E. Lawrence, \u201c\u2026 do you know, in the Arab city of C\u00f3rdoba, there were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was still a village\u2026 nine centuries ago?\u2026 I long for the vanished gardens of C\u00f3rdoba.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faisal\u2019s evocation of medieval Cordoba falls short of its full splendor. Mar\u00eda Rosa Menocal in Ornament of the World<\/em> and Carmen Pereira-Muro in Culturas de Espa\u00f1a<\/em> remind us that, not only was there public lighting in the (paved) streets, but the city contained more than 200,000 houses, 50 hospitals, 900 public baths, 600 mosques and the Grand Mosque was a never-before-seen wonder. Trading in the far East, the Moors imported cumin, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, mint and basil, citric fruits, artichokes, carrots, eggplants, pumpkin, spinach, leeks, and celery to enhance the cuisine of the peninsula. Their architectural legacy is unparalleled, and they were masters in working leather, fine textiles, wood, metal, jewelry, and plaster. Their achievements in astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, agriculture, and engineering paved the way for the emergence of a modern Europe. They collaborated intellectually and artistically with the Christians and the Jews. So great were their achievements that the 10th<\/sup> century Saxon writer\/historian and secular canoness Hrosvitha of Gandersheim described al-\u00c1ndalus as the \u201cornament of the world\u201d in her writings. Its richness was in stark contrast with the material poverty of the Christian kingdoms located to its north.<\/p>\n

All things must pass, though, and al-\u00c1ndalus was no exception. In January 1492, Boabdil, the last Nasrid sultan of Granada, handed the keys of the kingdom to the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. Thus collapsed the last of the Islamic taifas. Then, barely three months after promising Boabdil that they would respect the practicing Muslims who remained in the defunct Nasrid kingdom and that religious freedom would be guaranteed to all, Ferdinand and Isabella signed the Edict of Expulsion of the Spanish Jews and then, in 1502, all Muslims still living in Castilla were forced by law to convert to Catholicism or be expelled from the country. \u00a0Those who converted to Catholicism took Christian names and surnames and were baptized. They became practicing Catholics, at least officially. Nevertheless, they retained their cultural identity, many speaking Arabic, all dressing in Arab traditional garb and kept their musical and culinary traditions alive. These \u201cconverts\u201d were called the Moriscos. They were not long for life in Catholic Spain, though.<\/p>\n

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The Moriscos and the Rebellion of the Alpujarras<\/strong><\/p>\n

On December 24, 1568, in the depth of the night, the eleven Morisco noblemen who comprised the Muslim half of the Government of Granada, walked in silence along the narrow and winding cobblestone streets of the Albaic\u00edn (Arab quarter) of Granada, toward the home of Fernando de Cordoba y Valor, also a member of the government. Cordoba y Valor was the most respected of the leaders of their community. As recounted in El misterio del Carmen<\/em>, by Carlos Ballesta, the mood of each of the noblemen was sullen but purposeful. One by one, they entered the home of Cordoba y Valor and were guided upstairs to a narrow room on the second floor. Upon entering, all looked up, their eyes drawn to the coffered ceiling. It was a spectacular ornamented masterpiece, made of interlocking wood panels inlaid at varying depths and painted in bright tones of yellow, green, red, and white, assembled in geometric patterns.<\/p>\n

Once gathered in the presence of their host and standing beneath the gorgeous ceiling, the noblemen made their intention clear. One by one, they placed their swords at the feet of Fernando de Cordoba y Valor and pledged allegiance to him as leader of the impending uprising against King Phillip II: the Rebellion of the Alpujarras. It was to begin that very night. One by one, each of them abandoned the Catholic faith, cast off their Christian names and surnames and took on Arab-Muslim names. Fernando de Cordoba y Valor took the name Mohammed Ibn Umayya, in direct reference to his \u00a0ancestral connection to the Ummayad leadership of the Caliphate of C\u00f3rdoba. He became popularly known as Aben Humeya.<\/p>\n

Some 76 years had passed since the fall of Nasrid Granada and 66 years since the beginning of the forced conversions. Three generations of Moriscos had suffered discrimination and vexations of all kinds, like the expropriation of their lands, the resettlement of Christians on Muslim lands, the levying of exorbitant taxes, impediments to their very prosperous silk trade on the Mediterranean. They suffered the rejection of the Christian population at large and were subjected to interrogation at the hands of the Holy Inquisition. Enough was enough. Following the ceremony, that very night, Fernando de Cordoba y Valor, now called Aben Humeya, took off on horseback with his family and headed for the Alpujarra Mountains to launch what became a bloody three-year civil war between Christians and Moriscos.<\/p>\n

Just one year later, and as that civil war raged on, Aben Humeya was murdered by Aben Aboo, a rival from the ranks of his own camp. Over the following two years, the Moriscos were overwhelmed by the Christian armies, led by Juan de Austria, half-brother of Phillip II. Defeat was inevitable and, like the Moors before them, they were crushed. Then, in 1609, under the reign of Phillip III, 300,000 Moriscos were definitively expelled from Spain and sent into an eternal north African exile.<\/p>\n