Spanish historian delivers lecture on the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba

KARACHI: Spanish scholars in the last 30 years have focused on politics, society, and culture of the Umayyad dynasty, especially the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, of the 10th century. Cordoba, once the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus, stands as a testament to the intellectual and cultural achievements of medieval Islamic Spain.

Abd al-Rahman-I founded an independent Umayyad state named Cordoba in 756, and in 929 Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself its caliph.

Delivering a lecture on ‘The Umayyad Caliphate That Was Cordoba’ at Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi this week, Spain’s leading historian on Al-Andalus in the Middle Ages Dr Eduardo Manzano Moreno said, “In the last 30 years, there has been a golden age for the study of Al-Andalus…We have made phenomenal advances on the knowledge and the historical knowledge on how this Al-Andalus worked”.

Moreno is among Spain’s leading historians of the medieval period, with a particular focus on Al-Andalus. He earned his Doctorate in Medieval History from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Complutense University of Madrid) and a Master of Arts in Near Eastern Studies from the University of London (SOAS). His scholarship bridges Iberian, Islamic and Mediterranean histories, offering nuanced perspectives on the cultural and political dynamics of the Middle Ages.

Cordoba shows the ancient walls of the city that reportedly had around 400 mosques in the 10th century.

“I haven’t been able to check this number, but I have been able to document 100 mosques in Cordoba,” Moreno said, adding that among them, the Great Mosque [of Cordoba], covering 20,000 square meters could accommodate about 10,000 people praying at the same time, demonstrating the scale of urban religious life.

“The Great mosque was also the subject of a famous poem by Pakistani poet Muhammad Iqbal.”

The Arabisation and Islamisation of the region were profound as well as nuanced.

“The impact of the Arabisation and Islamisation processes in Al-Andalus were extremely strong,” the historian noted.

Language and culture, however, became key markers of identity. “The Arabisation basically was the adoption of the language, of the Arab language in Al-Andalus,” and the process of the Arabisation had also got into not only among Muslims but also among Christians, Dr Moreno maintained.

“For everyone who can write a letter in Latin to a friend, there are thousands who can express themselves in Arabic with elegance and write better poems in this language than the Arabs themselves.

“And not only the Christians were Arabised, also the Jews in Al-Andalus were Arabised.”

Knowledge and intellectual life were central to the Umayyad vision.

“Now in this society, which was Arabised, which was Islamised, and which had changed dramatically, the role of knowledge is very important,” he said.

The historian maintained that scholars left detailed records through “a very peculiar literary genre, called biographical dictionaries” that allow historians to trace the contributions of the learned elite.

“Just more than 11,000 people managed to create the culture of Al-Andalus.” The caliphs encouraged the collection and production of knowledge from across the Islamic world. “The Andalusians were extremely keen on the idea of bringing back knowledge to Al-Andalus,” leading to a rich literary output. “The result of this… was a phenomenal amount of literature on legal matters, on Islamic theology and so on and so forth.”

Libraries and learning institutions reflected this dedication to culture. “The library of al-Hakam II in Cordoba… had 4,000 manuscripts,” showcasing not only Islamic scholarship but also classical heritage. “This was placed… for ornamental purposes but also in order to claim the pre-Islamic past of the Iberian Peninsula,” Moreno said.

Cordoba’s urban development exemplified this cultural ambition. “All political programmes were reflected in the big construction of the city of Madinat al-Zahra,” located about eight kilometres from the main city of Cordoba, and functioned as the ceremonial and administrative heart of the caliphate. Archaeological work reveals the sophistication of its layout. “The city reached its splendor under the caliphate of al-Hakam II,” the Spanish historian said.

While much of Madinat al-Zahra was later destroyed, remnants testify to the scale and ambition of Umayyad urban planning. “Madinat al-Zahra is destroyed during the civil war that led to the expulsion of the Umayyad from Cordoba in 1031.”

The Umayyad sought to integrate diverse elements from the region, creating a unique cultural synthesis. “There was also a very conscious attempt to try to integrate other elements that were around in Al-Andalus and that time, different strings, different heritages, different elements that were put together under the unique blend of Umayyad,” he said.

The lecture series held at Mohatta Palace featured talks by Dr Salima Ikram – an Egyptologist, Dr Eduardo Manzano Moreno – an Al-Andalus expert, and Dr Robin Lane Fox - a historian, each offering unique perspectives rooted in decades of scholarship and research. The lectures explored themes of civilisation, empire, memory and the interpretation of the past, subjects that resonate strongly within the cultural and historical landscape of Sindh and South Asia.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026