LD FEB UI WORKING PAPER NO. 02/JUNE 2019 CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN AL – ANDALUS by Nio Tjong K. F. 1 CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN AL – ANDALUS by Nio Tjong K. F. LD FEB UI WORKING PAPER NO. 02/JUNE 2019 The view expressed in the Working Paper are those of the author and do not represent the official views of the Lembaga Demografi This publication is available on Lembaga Demografi website (www.ldfebui.org) 2 LD FEB UI WORKING PAPER Chief Editor : Turro Selrits Wongkaren Editor : Endang Antarwati, Nur Hadi Wiyono ©2019, June Lembaga Demografi Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Indonesia (LD FEB UI) Nathanael Iskandar Building, 2nd & 3rd Floor Universitas Indonesia Campuss Depok, 16424 West Java, Indonesia Ph. (+62) 21 787 2911 / Fax. (+62) 21 787 2909 email: [email protected] www.ldfebui.org 3 CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 5 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5 2. Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 9 2.1. Historical Background and It’s Transcendences..................................................9 2.2. Socioeconomic Aspect in Al – Andalus..............................................................10 2.3. The Cross Cultural (Mosque- Cathedral of Cordoba).........................................12 2.4. Cultural Diversity................................................................................................ 13 2.5 Commerce, Trade and Finance...........................................................................18 2.6. Social Hierarchy Al-Andalus...............................................................................21 2.7. Other Social Aspects and Fiscal System............................................................23 3. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 27 Annex .............................................................................................................................. 28 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 30 4 CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN AL – ANDALUS Nio Tjong K. F. MIE1 Abstract This paper provides a review of Islamic aspects of the socioeconomic milieu the Al -Andalus, in order to explain how the cultural and religious diversity contributed to the rise of the Islamic economics of the period to its golden age; and how the interaction of various socioeconomic factors – political, ethical, institutional, and demographic – shaped the development and ultimately the decline of the eminent civilization. As Chapra coined: “[…] efficient institutions will survive over time and that inefficient institutions be weeded out.” Counting on Scholars’ and historians’ literature reviews, relevant historical DATAS, descriptive analysis of Ibn Khaldun giving a tacit testimony on how cultural, religious diversity and how rules and tolerance could affect the up down of economy and civilization. Whereas vivid testimonies depicted the triumphs and failure of Islamic economics in Europe, specifically in Al-Andalus period. Bespeaking how the ethnics, cultural and religious diversity and how fiscal system and the ruling performance determined the prosperity and the down fall of a civilization. Therefore, this paper aimed to transmit the values of diversity in a society, encouraging the flexible concept of diversity in social coexistence, implied. Keywords: cultural and socioeconomic diversity, coexistence (Convivencia), Al -Andalus, 1. Introduction The decline and fall of an empire and of a civilization has always been the polemic headshake as well as exquisite source of historians’ narrative work. For instance, the fall of Roman Kingdom–the collapse of Roman Power brought down on the neck of classical civilization, transformed the ancient world to the medieval, the rise of Islam in a new age, whereas humans’ evolution traced on till our age of 21st century, many are valuable to be recalled. For instance, in Europe, the breakup of feudal structure, the strengthening of city-states in Italy, moreover; the emergence of national monarchies in Spain, France and England, as well as such cultural and scientific developments, as the rise of secular education culminated in the birth of 1 Researcher at STEI Tazkia University, Sentul, Bogor. Indonesia. [email protected] 5 a self-consciously new age with a new spirit that looked all the way back to classical learning for inspiration and known as the renaissance; were the transcendental humans’ history and evolution that was born of the medieval. Here, our brushstroke touches the Islamic Spain of Al-Andalus, where values of the precedent civilizations were preserved. As most historian agreed, Al-Andalus belongs to the Middle Ages, more specifically during the 7th-14th centuries A.D. Owing to the fall of the Roman Empire, long-distance trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea shrank; Arab’s take-over originated a new chapter of trade in the Mediterranean countries. Spain and Northern Africa took part in the outbreak and flourished up to the Northern part of Europe. Many of the transcendental effects remain. Arabs had conquered the Near Asia and expanding into Europe before the last Umayyad came to conquer Iberian Peninsula and built up their caliphate in Andalusia. Whether Al Andalus was the last Arabian conquest in the West, whether the Al Andalus of 7th- 10th century depicted the Golden Age of Muslim Spain, many are scholars and historians that have devoted their research to give tacit testimonies. There was a time when Jews, Muslims and Christians coexisted in a relatively peaceful, respectful and harmonious coexistence namely convivencia. Although to comprehend the complexity of multi-ethnic-religious- cultural coexistence in a society might not be in any term a controversial to admit conflicts were part of their coexistence within a tolerable dimension and intermission albeit the border wars between Muslims and Christians. The legendary heroic history of the Medieval Spain - El Mio Cid, Rodrigo, Díaz de Vivar (1043- 1099) may perfectly blueprint such a strange, mythical and complex phenomenon. When ‘lust for power’ of a king prevailed life and loyalty; when ally or enemy was a mere term of ‘wartime luck cast’. Figure 1. Islamic Expansion to the Africa and Europe Source: Worldatlas.com 6 Timeline of the Conquest and Reconquest 711 - The Moors conquer the Iberian Peninsula. 718 - The Reconquista begins with the victory of King Pelayo at the Battle of Covadonga. 721 - The Moors turned back from France after being defeated at the Battle of Toulouse. 791 - King Alfonso II becomes King of Asturias, who would firmly establish the kingdom in northern Iberia. 930 - 950 - The King of Leon defeated the Moors in several battles. 950 - The Duchy of Castile was established as an independent Christian state. 1085 - Christian warriors were captured in Toledo. 1086 - The Almoravids arrive from North Africa to help the Moors in pushing back the Christians. 1094 - El Cid takes control of Valencia. 1143 - The Kingdom of Portugal is established. 1236 - By this date half of Iberia had been retaken by Christian forces. 1309 - Fernando IV took Gibraltar. 1468 - Ferdinand and Isabella united Castile and Aragon into a single united Spain. 1492 - The Reconquista was complete with the fall of Muslim empire in Granada. Figure 2. Genealogical Picture of The Abbasíes, Alíes and Omeyas Source: csic.es 7 (In the 7th century A.D), due to the Abbasside’s revolution, a new Umayyad dynasty emerged which put an end to Muslim conquest in the Near East but began the Muslim Conquest in Iberia Spain. First, being the dependent Caliphate under Bagdad and Damascus’ dominant, soon became independent kingdom in Cordoba, Al Andalus, under the reign of Rahman I, II, and III which lasted till the 10th century. Aftermath, the kingdom of Taifas (1031-1095) depicted the new fragmentation of al Andalus’s fate with weakened Muslim power that propitiated the Christian conquest of Toledo under the King Alfonso VI of Castile. Soon the Empire of Almohade reinforced Muslim domain with the help of Yusuf ibn Tasufin ibn Talakakin from Magrebi empire. Successively between 1090-1046 the Almorávides and Almohades (Berber nomadic groups from North Africa) arrived in the Iberian Peninsula, increasing the number of soldiers in their armies and revitalizing the practice of Islam. Whereas, the fragmentation of Muslim empires and the continuous conflicts enabled the Catholic Kings to definitely reconquer Al Andalus after a long run of Christian Reconquest (718-1492). The 1st reconquista began in 718 when King Pelayo of the Visigoths defeated the Muslim army in Alcama at the Battle of Covadonga, which was recorded as the first significant victory of the Christians over the Moors. Finally, after centuries of wars, the nation of Spain was united upon the marital union of the King Ferdinand of Aragon and the Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1469. Their marriage had effectively turned the fate of Granada back into the Christians’ hands ever since, it was in 1492 when the Christian Reconquista ended; giving birth to a new Catholic Spain. The history of Conquest and Reconquest in Spain during the 7th – 15th century marked