A Vanished World Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain

by Lowney, Chris

• ISBN13: 9780195311914
• ISBN10: 0195311914
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In a world torn by religious antagonism, lessons can be learned from medieval Spanish villages where Muslims, Christians, and Jews rubbed shoulders on a daily basis--sharing irrigation canals, bathhouses, municipal ovens, and marketplaces. Medieval Spaniards introduced Europeans to papermanufacture, Hindu-Arabic numerals, philosophical classics, algebra, citrus fruits, cotton, and new medical techniques. Her mystics penned classics of Kabbalah and Sufism. More astonishing than Spain's wide-ranging accomplishments, however, was the simple fact that until the destruction of thelast Muslim Kingdom by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492, Spain's Muslims, Christians, and Jews often managed to bestow tolerance and freedom of worship on the minorities in their midst. A Vanished World chronicles this panoramic sweep of human history and achievement, encompassing both the agony of Jihad, Crusades, and Inquisition, and the glory of a multi-religious, multi-cultural civilization that forever changed the West. Lowney shows how these three controversialreligious groups once lived and worked together in Spain, creating commerce, culture, art, and architecture. He reveals how these three faith groups eventually veered into a thicket of resentment and violence, and shows how our current policies and approaches might lead us down the same path. Rising above politics, propaganda, and name-calling, A Vanished World provides a hopeful meditation on how relations among these three faith groups have gone wrong and some ideas on how to make their interactions right.

Author Biography

Chris Lowney served as a Jesuit seminarian for seven years, and later served JP Morgan & Co. as a Managing Director on three continents. A Vanished World follows his acclaimed, award winning first book, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World. Lowney has raised money for charity by trekking the 500-mile medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela that figures prominently in A Vanished World.

Table of Contents

PREFACE	1	(4)
INTRODUCTION	5	(124)
1. Spain Before Islam	15	(14)
2. The Moors Conquer Spain	29	(14)
"Our God and Your God Is One"
3. Santiago Discovered in the Field of Stars	43	(12)
4. Martyr-Activists	55	(16)
Determined to Die in a City "Piled Full of Riches"
5. The Pope Who Learned Math from Muslim Spain	71	(8)
6. Europe's Busiest Highway	79	(14)
7. A Jewish General in a Muslim Kingdom	93	(10)
"I Am the David of My Age"
8. The Frontier	103	(16)
Jihad, Crusades, Cowboys, and Sheep
9. Charlemagne	119	(10)
"God, How Wearisome My Life Is"
10. El Cid	129	(14)
"Born in a Fortunate Hour"
11. The Second Moses and Medieval Medicine	143	(14)
12. Rethinking Religion	157	(8)
"To Long with an Exceeding Longing"
13. A Muslim Commentator Enlightens Christendom	165	(12)
"You who Have Eyes to See, Reflect!"
14. Sufism	177	(6)
"My Heart Has Become Capable of Every Form"
15. The Kabbalah	183	(8)
An Instrument for Peace in the World"
16. Fernando III	191	(8)
"Who Broke and Destroyed All His Enemies"
17. A Common Life Shared Among Three Faiths	199	(10)
"Damnable Mixing"
18. Alfonso the Learned King	209	(18)
19. The End of Spanish Judaism	227	(20)
"The Razor That Rips the Membrane of My Aching Heart"
20. Columbus, a New World, and the End of History	247	(16)
A Deed Forbidden by Every Faith"
EPILOGUE	263	(6)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	269	(2)
NOTES	271	(28)
SUGGESTED READING	299	(8)
CREDITS	307	(2)
INDEX	309