Download - AL- ÁNDALUS AND CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS.pdf
Activities, videos, online games and more info:
http://lectonautasdellaimun.wordpress.com/science-5o/
In 711 A.D., Muslim armies came from
North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula.
They conquered the Visigothic Kingdom
of Toledo. It became a new Muslim
territory called AL – ANDALUS.
Video:
THE MIDDLE AGES
From 711 A.D., Al – Andalus was an
emirate. It was part of the caliphate
and its capital was Córdoba. It was
governed by an emir. In 929 A.D., an
emir called Abderramán III declared
that Al- Andalus was an independent
caliphate. He established the
Córdoba Caliphate. Later on, Al-
Andalus was divided into small taifa
kingdoms.
Al- Andalus became a centre of art and
learning. They also built beautiful
buildings, such as the Alhambra in
Granada, the Great Mosque in Córdoba
and the Alcazaba in Almería.
Make a poster about a building from Al – Andalus.
INSTRUCTIONS
a) Find pictures of the building.
b) Find out when it was built and what it was used for. Include this
information on your poster. c) Include a map of Spain that shows the location of the building.
Life in Al – Andalus was peaceful, but
there were many battles at the borders
with the Christian kingdoms in the north.
GAME IN PAIRS
a) Take turns to name a city in Spain.
b) Say if your partner’s city was ever in Al-Andalus. c) Use the map to check your answers.
Some people in Al – Andalus were
Christian or Jewish. The Muslims didn’t
consider non-Muslims to be equals, but
they gave them some basic rights:
Christians and Jews could:
o Live where they wanted to.
o Practise their religion.
o Do any job, but they couldn’t
have authority over a Muslim.
o Be part of society and culture.
Christians and Jews had to:
o Pay special taxes.
o Were a special badge.
o Obey Muslims laws.
o They couldn’t carry weapons.
WRITE A BIOGRAPHY: ABDERRAMÁN III
a) Draw a timeline of the person’s life.
b) Find a picture of the historical figure.
c) Write out the information you found about
Abderramán III.
In Al – Andalus there were many
merchants. They traded products such
as gold, silk, leather goods and pottery.
They bought and sold things in the souk.
Farmers in Al – Andalus raised goats and
sheep. There were also experts in
irrigated farming.
People speak Arabic. Many place
names in the South of Spain come from
Arabic, for example, “Guadalquivir” and
“Almería”.
Cities were ruled by a governor. He lived
in the alcazaba. This was a fortress.
Many people were Muslims. The mosque
was an important building in the city.
Muslims traded in the ___________________. They bought and sold
_________and__________.
The important buildings in a Muslim city were the___________and the_____________.
Non- Muslims could____________________________and ___________________________.
Non- Muslims couldn’t_____________________________. They also had to
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
Complete the sentences.
When the Muslims created Al-Andalus,
many Christians moved to the
mountains in the north. In 722 A.D. the
Battle of Covadonga took place
between the Christians and the
Muslims. A Visigoth noble called Don
Pelayo was the leader of the Christians.
He defeated the Muslims in the battle.
After that, Don Pelayo established the
Kingdom of Asturias. Later on this
became the Kingdom of León. There
were other Christian kingdoms too, such
as the Kingdom of Castilla, Navarra and
Aragón.
Society was divided into three groups:
clergy, nobles and peasants. People
were Christians. Priests and monks were
important members of society.
Most people were peasants. They
worked on the land, growing crops and
raising animals.
The king ruled the country, but the
countryside was divided into small areas.
Each area was ruled by a noble who
was called the lord.
Each kingdom had its own language, but
all the languages were similar to Latin.