THE MIDDLE AGES
SCIENCE 6ºE.P C.E.I.P. MANUEL LAZA PALACIOS. RINCÓN DE LA VICTORIA (MÁLAGA)
THE MIDDLE AGES
The invasion of Germanic tribes
In 409 A. D. the Vandals and other Germanic tribes invaded Hispania. Later, the Visigoths established a kingdom on the Iberian peninsula.
The Visigoths
They crossed the Pyrenees into Hispania, and settled in the centre of the peninsula. Toledo became their capital. Later, they conquered the territories occupied by other Germanic tribes, such as the Suevs. They changed their language, religion and laws to unify their new kingdom. They adopted the Hispano-Roman culture and converted to Christianity. They based their laws on Roman law. They lived in villages. They built small churches. They used the land for agriculture, livestock farming and pastures. They were expert metalworkers.
The Visigothic kingdom ended after the Muslim invasion in 711 A.D.
AL ANDALUS
Muslims from northern Africa invaded Visigothic Spain in 711 A.D.
In seven years, they occupied most of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Hispania was called Al Andalus, and its capital was Cordoba.
The caliph was the maximum political and religious authority in Al Andalus. Their religion was Islam. They worked as merchants and craftsmen. They built cities protected by walls, on hills. They built palaces such as The Alhambra Palace in Granada. Mosques, such as the Great Mosque of Cordoba, to practice their religion. Al Andalus society was formed by Muslims, Christians and Jews. It had great scientists, such as doctors, mathematicians and geographers. They had new crops, for example, rice; instruments, like the compass; and irrigation systems.
The Christian reconquest.
Around the year 1000, Al Andalus weakened. Finally, it broke up into independent kingdoms called taifas. Meanwhile, the Christian kingdoms expanded, their populations grew, and their cities became prosperous. The long period of expansion of the Christian kingdoms started only 11 years after the Muslim invasion. It is called the Reconquest. The Reconquest was completed in 1492 when the Catholic Monarchs conquered Granada.
The Christian kingdoms.
Around 1230 , the Christian territory was divided into several large kingdoms:
The Kingdom of Navarra included Navarra and part of La Rioja. The Crown of Aragon included the Kingdom of Aragon , the Catalonian Counties, Valencia y Majorca.
The Crown of Castile included the kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Leon . Later, it included part of Andalusia. Portugal was an independent kingdom. In 1479 , the Catholic Monarchs , Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married and united the Crowns of Castile and Aragon. The kingdom of Granada was the last Muslim kingdom on the peninsula. Its territory included Granada, Malaga y Almeria. It was finally conquered by the Catholic Monarchs.