Gift Medieval Warfare Vol V.4 - Islamic Empire in Iberia

Medieval Warfare Vol V.4 - Islamic Empire in Iberia

The Caliphate of Cordoba

Topic: Galen Ford, Historical Introduction - The Caliphate of Cordoba
< br>After the dust settled on the blood-soaked fields of Tours, the Arab commanders led their forces back across the Pyrenees, perhaps content to remain the undisputed rulers of their newly conquered territories in the Iberian Peninsula. In the realm of Al-Andalus, an era of unique cultural infusion developed alongside constant conflict for dominance. Although tolerant and independent, Al-Andalus was far from harmonious, and the Umayyad provincial establishment was merely the beginning of struggles for political legitimacy, battles for military supremacy, and a tide of glory that would ultimately reach its peak in the victorious campaigns of a powerful general.

The Source: Murray Dahm, The Court Poets of Abd al-Rahman - The Best of Men

The importance of poets and poetry to medieval military history cannot be overstated. Although we often rely on other forms of writing and evidence, it is the poetry that was composed at the time and afterwards that can, with an exhaustive examination of the complexities of the various contexts, provide us with a very real picture of what historical figures or important cultures considered.

Topic: Mabel Villagra and Sidney Dean, The Man Who Would Be Emir - Umar ibn Hafsun

Early Arab Iberia was far from monolithic. Discontented lords and interest groups regularly emerged to challenge the central government of Cordoba. One of the most powerful rivals was 'Umar ibn Hafsun, who went from bandit leader to supreme head of a major insurgency, extending his control over a large part of southern Spain in the late 9th century.

Topic: Nicola Bergamo, The Rise of Al-Mansur bi-llah - The Battle of Torrevicente

The Battle of Torrevicente (981) was the final episode of a long fratricidal war. An army led by Abi 'Amir (938-1002) defeated the rebel forces commanded by Galib ibn Abd al-Rahman (d. 981). Following his victory, Abi 'Amir became Al-Mansur bi-llah (more commonly known as 'Almanzor'), Victorious by God, and as a direct consequence of his military success, the undisputed leader of Al-Andalus.

Topic: Carlos Domínguez, Almanzor Against the Christian Kingdoms - Leader of the Jihad

With the defeat of Galib at Torrevicente, Abi Amir Muhammad ibn Abdullah, now known as Almanzor (al-Mansur, the Victor), was the only strongman left in Cordoba. He quickly undertook a series of campaigns against the Christian kingdoms of the north, unprecedented in scope and degree of devastation.

Topic: Erich B. Anderson, Desert Nomads Arrive in Europe - The Rise of Berber Mercenaries

Despite the numerous conflicts that arose between the different ethnic groups that fought in the armies of Al-Andalus,
The Umayyad rulers managed to remain in power for almost three centuries until the end of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031. At first, the ferocity of the numerous Berber warriors combined with the elite Arab soldiers of the old Umayyad Caliphate created a lethal force unmatched in Western Europe. The later shift to a more organized professional army, composed mainly of mercenaries and slave soldiers from North Africa, was equally deadly, but the decline in native participation in the army had disastrous consequences.

The Castle: Dr. Konstantin Nossov, Bulwarks of a Militant Sect in Syria - Assassin Castles

The Nizari Ismaili sect, known today as the Assassins, emerged in Iran among Ismaili militants in the 11th century, when Syria was torn apart by fighting between the Fatimids, the Seljuk Turks, and the Byzantines. Taking advantage of the situation, the Assassins quickly extended their influence over Syria, acquired several castles there, and in the 12th and 13th centuries, kept the entire region in fear, playing complicated political games with the Crusaders, Seljuks, Fatimids, Ayyubids, and Mamluk sultans. A network of castles built by the Assassins in Iran and Syria allowed them to
Remain independent and maintain control over territories for the next two centuries.

Special: Philippo Donvito, The Euboeote War of Succession - Athens vs. Sparta

The Fourth Crusade is told quite frequently as a unique, almost extraordinary episode in the history of the Crusades. And yet, following the sack of Constantinople, the Franks invaded Greece and gave rise to several principalities, as had happened a century earlier in Syria and Palestine. In an irony of fate, the most notable of these newly born crusader states were the Frankish lordships of Athens and Sparta.

The Weapon: Scott Farrell, Bizarre 15th-Century Sword Designs - Mysterious Swords

From the chivalric culture of 15th-century Germany and Italy arises an intriguing collection of manuscripts documenting the equipment and techniques employed in hand-to-hand combat. In the pages of these books we find images of swords very different from those usually wielded by a medieval knight. Were these strange weapons intended as prototypes for special combat swords, or simply as conceptual curiosities imagined by masters who made a living teaching the art of defense to duelists, knights, and princes of the late Middle Ages?

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