Moors

Moors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal ) and the Maghreb , whose culture is often called "Moorish".

A self-depiction by the Muslims in Iberia. Taken from the " Tale of Bayad and Riyad " Santiago Matamoros (" Saint James the Moor-slayer"). A beheaded Moor, as imagined by the 15th century Flemish-Spanish painter Juan de Flandes , is lying on the ground. The Almoravides dynasty, c. 1100 CE. At the dynasty's greatest expanse of control a succession of Moroccan-based states strongly affected culture from modern Senegal to the Iberian Peninsula . The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim) people of Berber , Black African and Arab descent from Northern Africa, some of whom came to conquer and occupy the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. The North Africans termed it Al Andalus , comprising most of what is now Spain and Portugal. Moors are not distinct or self-defined people, but the appellation was applied by medieval and early modern Europeans primarily to Berbers , but also Arabs , and Muslim Iberians and West Africans from Mali and Niger who had been absorbed into the Almoravid dynasty . As early as 1911, mainstream scholars observed that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value." In the Spanish language , the term for Moors is moro ; in Portuguese the word is mouro . There seems to have been some confusion about the relationship of the word moro / mouro to the word moreno (which means brown), both from Greek maúros , i.e. black. However, the two words have different etymological roots. The Andalusian Moors of the late Medieval era inhabited the Iberian Peninsula after the Moorish conquests of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates, and the final Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Moors' rule stretched at times as far as modern-day Mauritania , West African countries, and the Senegal River . Earlier, the Classical Romans interacted (and later conquered) parts of Mauretania , a state which covered northern portions of modern Morocco and much of north western and central Algeria during the classical period. The people of the region were noted in Classical literature as the Mauri . The term Mauri , or variations thereof, was later used by European traders and explorers of the 16th to 18th centuries to designate ethnic Berber and Arab groups speaking the Hassaniya Arabic dialect. Today such groups inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria , western Sahara , Morocco , Niger and Mali and to those in India. and Sri Lanka. Mauri was the genesis of the name of the ancient kingdom of Mauretania, which gave its name to the modern Islamic Republic of Mauritania . In the Philippines , some residents use a variation of the term to designate some Muslim populations, the Moros . Speakers of European languages have historically designated a number of ethnic groups "Moors". In modern Iberia, the term continues to be associated with those of Moroccan ethnicity living in Europe. Some consider it pejorative and racist. Moor is sometimes used in a wider context to describe any person from North Africa. Andalusi Arabic sources, as opposed to later Mudéjar and Morisco sources in Aljamiado and medieval Spanish texts, neither refer to individuals as Moors nor recognize any such group, community or culture.

Medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta Castillian ambassadors attempting to convince Moorish Almohad king Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada to join their alliance (contemporary depiction from the Cantigas de Santa María ) Christian and Moor playing chess, from The Book of Games of Alfonso X , c. 1285 The Moors were the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb , the Iberian Peninsula , Sicily , and Malta during the Middle Ages . The Moors initially were the indigenous Maghrebine Berbers . The name was later also applied to Arabs . Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value." Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs , North African Berbers, and Muslim Europeans. The term has also been used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors " and "Indian Moors" in South Asia and Sri Lanka , and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In the Philippines, the longstanding Muslim community, which predates the arrival of the Spanish, now self-identifies as the " Moro people ", an exonym introduced by Spanish colonizers due to their Muslim faith. In 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from northern Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in Classical Arabic as al-Andalus , which at its peak included most of Septimania and modern-day Spain and Portugal . In 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily , developing it as a port . They eventually went on to consolidate the rest of the island . Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries-long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe , which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista . In 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera , which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, although a Muslim minority persisted until their expulsion in 1609. The Arabs called the latter Muwalladun or Muladi . Quote: "Andalusi Arabic sources, as opposed to later Mudéjar and Morisco sources in Aljamiado and medieval Spanish texts, neither refer to individuals as Moors nor recognize any such group, community or culture." Chisholm, Hugh , ed. Moorings: Portuguese Expansion and the Writing of Africa . U of Minnesota Press. p. xvi, 18. In one sense the word 'Moor' means Mohammedan Berbers and Arabs of North-western Africa, with some Syrians, who conquered most of Spain in the 8th century and dominated the country for hundreds of years. : Cite journal requires |journal= ( help ) Pieris, P.E. Ceylon and the Hollanders 1658-1796 . In the year 827, Mazara was occupied by the Arabs, who made the city an important commercial harbour. That period was probably the most prosperous in the history of Mazara. The Mirror of Spain, 1500-1700: The Formation of a Myth .

Medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta This article is about a historical term for various groups of Muslims. Castillian ambassadors attempting to convince Moorish Almohad king Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada to join their alliance (contemporary depiction from the Cantigas de Santa María ) Christian and Moor playing chess, from The Book of Games of Alfonso X , c. 1285 The term Moor is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim populations of the Maghreb , al-Andalus ( Iberian Peninsula ), Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages . Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defined people. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that the term had "no real ethnological value." Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs , Berbers , and Muslim Europeans . The term has also been used in Europe in a broader sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in al-Andalus or North Africa. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors " and " Indian Moors " in South Asia and Sri Lanka , and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In the Philippines, the longstanding Muslim community, which predates the arrival of the Spanish, now self-identifies as the " Moro people ", an exonym introduced by Spanish colonizers due to their Muslim faith. In 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from northern Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Iberian Peninsula then came to be known in Classical Arabic as al-Andalus, which at its peak included most of Septimania and modern-day Spain and Portugal . In 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily , developing it as a port. They eventually went on to consolidate the rest of the island . Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries-long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe , which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista . In 1224, the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera , which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Spain, although a Muslim minority persisted until their expulsion in 1609. Quote: "Andalusi Arabic sources, as opposed to later Mudéjar and Morisco sources in Aljamiado and medieval Spanish texts, neither refer to individuals as Moors nor recognize any such group, community or culture." Chisholm, Hugh , ed. Moorings: Portuguese Expansion and the Writing of Africa . U of Minnesota Press. p. xvi, 18. In one sense the word 'Moor' means Mohammedan Berbers and Arabs of North-western Africa, with some Syrians, who conquered most of Spain in the 8th century and dominated the country for hundreds of years. Ceylon and the Hollanders 1658–1796 . In the year 827, Mazara was occupied by the Arabs, who made the city an important commercial harbour. That period was probably the most prosperous in the history of Mazara. The Mirror of Spain, 1500–1700: The Formation of a Myth .

Historical term used for various Muslim peoples This article is about a historical term for various groups of Muslims. Christian and Moor playing chess, from The Book of Games of Alfonso X , c. 1285 The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb ) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus ) during the Middle Ages . Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defined people. Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs , Berbers , and Muslim Europeans . The term has been used in a broader sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in al-Andalus or North Africa. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that the term had "no real ethnological value." The word has racial connotations and it has fallen out of fashion among scholars since the mid-20th century. The word is also used when denoting various other specific ethnic groups in western Africa and some parts of Asia. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors " and " Indian Moors " in South Asia and Sri Lanka , now official ethnic designations on the island nation, and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In the Philippines, the longstanding Muslim community, which predates the arrival of the Spanish, now self-identifies as the " Moro people ", an exonym introduced by Spanish colonizers due to their Muslim faith. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World . In Corfis, Ivy (ed.). In Corfis, Ivy (ed.). Andalusi Arabic sources, as opposed to later Mudéjar and Morisco sources in Aljamiado and medieval Spanish texts, neither refer to individuals as Moors nor recognize any such group, community or culture. Moorings: Portuguese Expansion and the Writing of Africa . U of Minnesota Press. p. xvi, 18. In one sense the word 'Moor' means Mohammedan Berbers and Arabs of North-western Africa, with some Syrians, who conquered most of Spain in the 8th century and dominated the country for hundreds of years. In Flood, Finbarr Barry; Necipoğlu, Gülru (eds.). A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture . Some terms such as "Saracenic," "Mohammedan," and "Moorish" are no longer fashionable. Ceylon and the Hollanders 1658–1796 .