Why did Muslims lose in Spain and Portugal

Hi! Welcome to Al Muqaddimah, my name is Syawish. For almost 800 years, the Iberian Peninsula

existed as a pocket of Islamic Civilization, away from the Middle East, in Europe. Islamic

Civilization thrived there and connected the Islamic World to Europe, opening the way for

the exchange of ideas. It created not just one but two golden ages, the Golden of the Caliphate of

Cordoba and the Golden Age of the Sephardic Jews. It was an abode of tolerance and collaboration.

Slowly but steadily, the Muslim polities were pushed off the Iberian peninsula and sent

packing to North Africa. After this, the Muslim population was told to convert, leave or die.

This fascinating story is too often told from a religious point of view, the clash of two great

religions, the victory of Christianity over Islam. However, the story is more complicated than that.

Muslims often allied with Christians against other Muslims and Christians often allied with Muslims

against other Christians. While religion certainly played a part, this conflict should be seen as a

conflict between ambitious people coveting more and more power by any means necessary.

Another simplistic view of the collapse of Muslim Iberia is that the Muslims were too decedent,

bogged down by harems full of women and chalices full of wine. But again,

the story is much more complicated than that. So,

let’s take a look at some of the reason behind the fall of Muslim Iberia.

## Sponsorship

Okay, so, I know that a lot of you, like myself, play Crusader Kings III. So, I’m very happy

to announce that I’ve partnered with Paradox Interactive, the people behind Crusader Kings

and Europa Universalis, to tell you that a new flavor pack is coming on the 31st of this month,

May. It’s called Fate of Iberia and it deals with the struggle in Iberia that happened between the

Islamic Emirates and the Christian Kingdoms. As the people at Paradox Interactive always do,

they have treated the subject with incredible historical accuracy and nuance which,

I think is, usually lacking from most discussions regarding the Reconquista.

So, if you wanna learn more about the interactions between the Islamic Emirates

and the Christian Kingdoms in Iberia, you should check out Fate of Iberia.

Click the link in the description or in the pinned comment to check out Fate of Iberia.

## The Problems for the Umayyads

Let’s start, like Fate of Iberia does, in 867. At the time, we saw, what I think was,

sort of a trailer for the ultimate fate of Islamic Empires in Iberia. Since 852, Emir

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman had been ruling the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba. Ever since starting

his reign, Muhammad had had to put out fires left, right and centre. There were many reasons, most of

which stayed relevant from then on to 1492. At the time, the biggest problem was the discontent among

the Muwallad. Muwallad were Muslims of Iberian or mixed Iberian and Arab or North African descent.

Between 800CE and 950CE, a large number of Iberian locals converted to Islam. Despite popular belief,

Muslim Empires didn’t really want non-Muslims to convert because they extracted extra taxes

from non-Muslims so, when they converted to Islam, the state revenue took a hit. In addition to that,

the Muwallad began resenting the ruling Arab elites. During Muhammad’s reign,

there were various rebellions from them as well as other groups. Taking advantage of the instability,