The Classical Principle Weekly
October 11, 2022
Convivencia (part 1) We need it again. Now!
The world today is once again mired in hate, mistrust, and war. Can the problem ever be solved?
What would you say then to the idea that for three centuries, over a thousand years ago in southern Spain, that problem was resolved? What would you say to the fact that in a peace known as “Convivencia”(living together), Jews, Muslims and Christians all prospered under Muslim rule? What would you say to the reality of the Classical Principle in “Convivencia”—where advanced education, rising standard of living, and classical beauty, came together hand-in-hand to uplift everyone?
Why have most of us never heard of it?
ANDALUCIA
In 711 A.D. (an easy date to remember), Moorish (Morrocan) Muslims, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar into southern Spain. They found that Europe was still reeling from the collapse of the Roman Empire, and barbarian tribes from Visigoths to Vikings ruled. In Spain, it was a tribe known as the Vandals. The Moors named it Al-Andalus (Land of the Vandals), hence out modern name Andalucia. Under Muslim rule, Andalucia became an inspiration to the world.
CORDOBA
Many cities prospered, but under the rule of the Ummayad dynasty, Cordoba became known as “The ornament of the world.” Abd ar Rahman I, the first Ummayad ruler of the area, founded an Emirate in 756, and began building the great Mezquita (Mosque) of Cordoba in 785. It grew for two centuries and became a centre of learning and teaching for all of Europe. (See photo 1-3)
Cordoba had running water, paved streets with lights, sanitation, poetry, philosophy and science. It had a library with possibly as many as 400,000 volumes, and could support a population of 400,000 (compared to Rome with 35,000, and Paris with 20,000).
Many cities in Andalucia had libraries and universities. Students flocked there from all over Europe, and Christians converted to Islam in droves.
Spain and Portugal were known to Jews as Sepharad. The Sephardic Jews fared much better under Muslim rule than they had under Christian. There were more Jews in Spain than the rest of Europe put together. This author took a stroll through the narrow streets of the Jewish quarters in Cordoba. There I found a small but delightful Sephardic Museum, and a square dedicated to the great 12th century Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, with a beautiful statue of him. (See photo 4-5)
The effect of Convivencia was still strong enough at the time, that Maimonides wrote his famous” Guide for the Perplexed” in Arabic, but with the Hebrew alphabet.
The Moors brought music with them, the most famous instrument being the Oud, from whence comes our instrument the Lute. The Lute and the Guitar differ from the Oud though, in that the Oud is unfretted, and sounded with a plectrum, or pick. (See photo 6)
Our modern notion of polyphonic classical music was still a long way from seeing the light of day, yet one might expect high standards from such a culture. Their music was not written down, yet many traditions have survived, so that in listening to certain modern performances, we can gain some idea of the old.
Taksim Oud is improvised, and demonstrates great virtuosity. Listen to an Egyptian master.
This might remind you of Flamenco. I often wondered how Flamenco guitarists became such virtuosos. It comes from a long tradition.
Flamenco is some kind of hybrid between Gypsy, Jewish and Arab music. Although Flamenco is a combination of dance, singing and guitar, I will limit myself to guitar here. The Flamenco guitar is fretted and played with the fingers, not a pick. Listen to a Flamenco master play an “Arab Dance.”
Visual art consisted of calligraphy and geometric patterns. (See photos 7-8)
Cordoban poetry is famed, though next to impossible to translate. The beauty of both the writing, and the spoken voice is part of it.
Here is a short verse:
One must be serious sometimes,
and at other times lighthearted,
Like the wood from which comes
Both the singer’s lute
And the warrior’s bow
Scientific studies followed the lead of Baghdad. They studied optics, both Greek and Indian mathematicians, and invented Algebra, decimal place values, and developed our modern Arabic numeral system (based on 1-10) out of the Indian numeral system. They also adopted the dust-board from India, where calculations could be written in chalk, then erased as the process continued.
Omar Khayyam advanced Algebra. (See photo 9)
How did a people living in the deserts of the Middle East come up with such knowledge?
THE SILK ROAD
The people of the Middle East had many caravans along the Silk Road which connected them to the high civilization of China, including the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), a high point of Chinese civilization. Another great civilization, India, was on the Silk Route. Compare the architecture. (See photos 10-12)
What happened to all this? The answer may not be what you think!