History Summarized: Medieval Spain & Al-Andalus

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Medieval Spanish history gets the short end of the stick - brushed over for Baghdad in Muslim histories and little-understood before peak Reconquista in Christian histories. But a little digging reveals an absolutely stunning society that bridges worlds and shatters some of history's biggest lingering misconceptions.
Further reading: The Ornament of the World by Maria Menocal
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"Silver Flame", "The Sky of Our Ancestors", "Sancho Panza gets a Latte" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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[@TangmoMopet]

Roman empire: *fallen* Every country: It's free real estate.

[@Ichsukatanuka]

The world: British empire: It's free real estate

[@rsync9490]

@@Ichsukatanuka you mean: The world: ....... Western Europe: It's free real estate

[@weazel6584]

Germanic Tribes: It's free real estate.

[@kokuinomusume]

The video simplifies it a bit. Hispania was invaded by the Vandals, Suebi and Alans before the Visigoths were strong enough to rule over most of the Iberian peninsula that wasn't still ruled by the Byzantines. It was a complicated period.

[@Dracopol]

(Africans:) European Community Social Welfare: It's free money!

[@manuelcorderoiniesta5463]

Judaism, christianism, Islam Long ago the three religions lived in harmony, but everything changed when the Almoravid Empire attacked...

[@ilo3456]

But let's not mention the Massacres against Jew or Christians by the Muslim population or the far higher faith taxes non-Muslims had to deal with. Because that is not nearly as nice.

[@Teh_Hats]

Massacres against Jews and Christians were actually not common, except under the Almohads. Islam generally does not expect religious minorities to convert or die.

[@temptemp4174]

CPU Purple Heart/Neptune the tax was 1 gold coin per year. 1 copper coin = 15 minutes of labor. 14 copper coins = 1 silver coin, 7 silver coins = 1 gold coin. Meanwhile Muslims had to pay 2.5% of their total wealth as taxes per year.

[@manuelcorderoiniesta5463]

@@dermannindermenge2541 De verdad, el video es veraz en sus fuentes y correcto en su posicionamiento. Yo mismo, como andaluz, le doy el visto bueno. Recomiendo leer a historiadores no posicionados politicamente con el centralismo castellano o con el nacional catolicismo, que fue el principal instigador de los mitos y prejuicios islamofobos desarrollados cómo propaganda durante el franquismo.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

@@ilo3456 If you are talking about the Jiza tax then you are misinformed. Islamic law requires Muslims give a portion of their earnings (2.5%) to help the poor and community. This is known as Zakat and all Muslims have to pay unless they are too poor to pay it. The money received from this benefited everyone in the community including Christians and Jews. However, Zakat is an Islamic requirement and Muslims are not allowed to force people of other religions to practice Islamic requirements. That is why the Jiza tax exists. It's a way for people of other religions to pay taxes that benefit everyone without forcing them to fulfill Islamic requirements. It should also be noted that many minority Christians sects and Jews preferred living in Muslim territories over Christian Europe. For all this talk of "higher faith taxes" and "massacres," Jews and minority Christians kept coming to Muslim territories because the fact is they preferred living there over Christian Europe. The fact is, if the massacres and higher taxes really were so brutal these religious minorities would no keep immigrating to Muslims lands.

[@guayitoC]

“I am firmly convinced that Spain is the strongest country of the world. Century after century trying to destroy herself and still no success.” -Otto Von Bismark

[@lokalcrow1470]

Well.... yeah, that's the most accurate thing I've read in some time.

[@miguelromero3713]

This is so true I'm not even mad, I'm impressed...

[@zverispetras]

Miguel Romero same here, I would include Portugal on the equation

[@CollinMcLean]

Spain, The Western Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, China, the UK...

[@ottovonbismarck9501]

I approve

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

*Islam in your Medieval Western Europe?* It's more likely then you think.

[@HunterStiles651]

Hello there. It's unusual to see you this far down.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

@Unapologetic Infidel. I never said Islam in Medieval Western Europe was a bad thing. But based on your username I'm assuming you think it is. It's disappointing that you feel to need to antagonize people of a different faith from yours. I really don't know much about you, but I feel that you hold a great deal of hate towards an entire religion, members of which you have probably never met in real life.

[@yeiatl8546]

GENERAL KENOBI! You are a bold one.

[@youtubevoice1050]

Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's not say that nothing positive came out of it, but the way they got there wasn't pretty, as so often in history.

[@DawgDanger]

@@Obi-Wan_Kenobi I read this in Obi wan's voice and I'm pleased.

[@camerongrow6426]

If there's one thing I've learned from these videos its that history may be filled with monsters, heroes, and heroes who become monsters. But there's always those who just decide not to F%&k everything up and just build something cool.

[@martialme84]

Wow! That´s so beautiful. And so well put. I´m actually kinda getting the feelz from reading this. I´m more hopeful right now than i usually am about humanity.

[@abeingofpureenergy]

This. This pretty much sums up history. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here right now.

[@dickvanhorneater405]

one two tell me what happened and there was no such thing as Spain after Rome fell Germanic tribes conquered and just killed a lot of people Muslims came Spain became one of the richest places on earth open to religion unlike the neighbors everything good till the crusaders from France convince the people of norther Spain to rebel when Christian got back power they kicked the Muslims and the Jews out and the inquisition

[@johnnotrealname8168]

That sounds great to be honest (except the inflations and the subjugation of the Indians, Bishop De Las Casas(spelling check please) for the win).

[@josedubois2295]

Except for the fact that many of the buildings supposedly built by the Islamic Invaders in Spain were just converted buildings from the previous visigothic period. Similar to how Hagia Sophia was converted from an Orthodox Church to the mosque it is today.

[@EmperorTigerstar]

Cordoba: The reason why ojala is a common word in Spanish.

[@ignacio1171]

And also the reason why nearly a third of Spanish words come from Arabic

[@takshashila2995]

Map your face:Every Year

[@mario7049]

@@ignacio1171 That's insanely stupid, who told you that?

[@JuanRamos-yw6me]

@@ignacio1171 They only make up 12% of our vocabulary my friend

[@davitxenko]

@@ignacio1171 you are so wrong dude, Castilian or Spanish has 88.000 words more or less of which 4.000 are of Arabic origin. 73% of them have their origin in Latin and the rest in different languages: Celtic, Basque, Arabic, Gothic ...

[@PeroesoesotraHistoria]

Cool video. The medieval history of my country, Spain, is very complicated but also very interesting.

[@kaliyuga1476]

Pero bueno illo que haces tú aquí

[@nothingtoospiffy7913]

God save the queen!

[@Felipe2005Stewart]

Pero qué haces aquí hombre!

[@marcostenorio496]

Jajajajajja miralo Al nota buscando ideas grandeee

[@walidsaad2793]

its not medieval

[@raydawg2115]

Respect for shedding light on this. As a Muslim, this warms my heart to see knowledge about this time brought to the world. Thank you 🙏🏽

[@JustinY.]

Nobody expects the Squarespace Spnsorship!

[@jag3596]

3/10 God fucking dammit. That typo just ruins it. It was even a decent comment too. A Monty Python reference that's ACTUALLY somewhat appropriate (since the video's about Spain) and combining it with a joke about Squarespace. Although it definitely reveals how little you actually watched the video, it was better than knowing you just read the title.

[@gabe8981]

ITS JUSTIN FUCKING Y

[@Mo_Kit4869]

Ok

[@zaptosx4475]

Hello dad why aren’t you home yet. Are you still buying the groceries

[@ragefury1817]

*False Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition*

[@MeatGuyJ]

"Catholics had no problem celebrating mass in Arabic." We still don't. There are 23 different traditions within the Church that say mass in languages as ancient as Aramaic, Greek and Ge'ez.

[@haitamc5611]

You're forgetting, this was the 9th century. Until the protestant reformation in the 16th century the bible was never translated. Everything was in Latin.

[@annoneemoose]

@@haitamc5611 No, that was only in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is made up of around 26 different sui juris churches each with their own rites and many with specific liturgical languages such as Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, and a few others I'm not remembering. The Latin Rite is just the biggest of all the other Rites.

[@gregorflopinski9016]

Geeez, that’s inclusive

[@spartanalex9006]

@@haitamc5611 Then there's the fact that Catholic churches in the US weren't even allowed to have mass in English till after World War II.

[@simont.4633]

@@haitamc5611 The bible was translated though it just wasn't used in mass and normal people weren't allowed to translate and spread it, but this also has to be seen from a religious point of view: the catholic church was afraid that the common people would interpret the text wrongly which would lead to them, not believing the right things and not going to heaven. This wasn't just some powerplay, they believed that only the catholic clergy could interpret the bible the right way, you can think of that what tou want but they truely believed that they were helping the people.

[@sergiobosque7416]

Spaniard here. You got some things wrong. For one, Abd-al-Rahman, who we call Abderramán, did not create al-andalus, it was a province of islam before he arrived, long before. Second, the mosque of Córdoba was turned into a cathedral by king Saint Fernando III when he reconquered the city and kinda liked the architecture too much to demolish it. It was never both kinds of temple.

[@kitthornton2336]

Thank you, Senor Bosque. I have been in that beautiful place, and I hated to see its history misrepresented. Fernando III deserves much credit for not destroying the Mesquita, but it was never what this video represents it to be.

[@gazelle0898]

Incorrect, it was suposed to be a mezquite but the archited designed a hybrid

[@arolemaprarath6615]

@@kitthornton2336 similar to hagia Sophia. It was not demolished but rather converted into a Mosque which still function as of today

[@jordanianchristian8387]

The Abbasids weren’t Persians. They had support from the Persians, and practiced some Persian traditions and architectural styles, but they were Arab in origin.

[@popoussa6847]

Why the fuck are you lying ?

[@abderrahmaneelmahmi7749]

@@popoussa6847 the abbasids where literally the descendants of Abbas bin Abdel-Muttalib, the prophet’s uncle. So there were definitely Arab

[@popoussa6847]

@@abderrahmaneelmahmi7749 true, i don't know why i thought they weren't

[@mrpeanut6267]

@@abderrahmaneelmahmi7749 i got cringe when he said that

[@John_Weiss]

Sooo… basically the Persians were doing their usual trick of turning their foreign conquerors Persian?

[@XanderVJ]

Spanish here. After Red's take on "Don Quixote", it's fun to see Blue's take on Medieval Spain (although there are other periods in Spanish history it would be cool to see you talk about). Although, as other people have already pointed out, you over-idealized the tolerance of Muslim Spain. Christians and Jews had to pay an extra tax to practice their faith, otherwise they had to either convert, go to exile or die. Sure, that was far, FAR better than what was happening in other territories at the time, both Muslim and Christian, but the way you explain it, you make it sound like the three religions were considered almost equals, when it was not that in the slightest. Other than that, I think it's a pretty well put together video. In Spain we hold our Muslim heritage in a pretty high regard, and monuments like the Alhambra and the Mosque of Córdoba (and yes, nowadays it's considered a mosque, not a cathedral) are considered national treasures. And there are TONS of words in Spanish that come from Arabic, particularly those that start with "al-". For example, "Algodón" ("Cotton"), "Aldea" ("Village"), "Alcalde" ("Mayor") or "Almohada" ("Pillow"). Some of them even became part of English through Spanish influence, like "Alcohol", "Algebra" or "Algorithm" ("Algoritmo" in Spanish). Anyway, as I've told you on Twitter... PLEASE, MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT EL CID! He's one of the most interesting topics you can have about Spain. He's both a historical AND a mythological figure. In the sense that he was a real person who really lived, but his deeds made people to make up tons of legends about him. Now, that makes it a little difficult to separate fiction from reality, which makes people to either over-idealize him or over-demonize him, but he's a fascinating subject nonetheless. He was admired by both Christians AND Muslims alike. As a matter of fact, "El Cid" was a nickname that the Muslims themselves gave to him, which means "The Lord" (His real name was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar). If you do, don't forget to look for an epic poem called "El cantar del Mío Cid" (I think it's known in English as "The Poem of My Cid", although "Cantar" means "Song" in this context). That was a poem that bards sang about him, and although it's not historically accurate, it was the main reason why he became a mythological figure, and where most of the myths about him come from. We all study that poem in Spanish Literature class in school, too. (I'd LOVE to see Red talking about it!)

[@elpocakoca120]

Jews and Christians weren't the only ones paying taxes, Muslims were as well. Jews and Christians were only paying more since they weren't obligated to participate in military activities.

[@ilo3456]

@@elpocakoca120 I am pretty sure that there was a reason why they weren't obligated to, otherwise it would most likely would have meant Christian and Jewish revolts. But yeah Christians and Jew paid significantly more taxes just for being of a different religion.

[@hglundahl]

@@elpocakoca120 _"Jews and Christians weren't the only ones paying taxes, Muslims were as well."_ Whether Muslim zakat was paid as tax or as alms, I don't know. The tolerance tax definitely was paid as tax, not to say tribute.

[@TheRachaelLefler]

Yes I also am voting that they make a video about El Cid.

[@Dracopol]

Where might I buy some Al Gore Rhythms?

[@nedisahonkey]

Good Moor-Ning everyone! Please kill me.

[@Evilgood1]

In 17 minutes, you have gained 22 likes. The world approves

[@justas423]

Not if I kill myself first

[@Pvsn08]

Please, tell us moor jokes, they’re hilarious

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

No, you will have to live on to make more bad puns and suffer endless torture for our entertainment.

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

out :P

[@hotwheels2621]

12:21 "But if YOU want to reconquer Iberia, - ...wait, no..." subbed

[@carmacksanderson3937]

"Our story begins in the same place that all my nightmares do--with the fall of Rome." I feel you, man. So much.

[@joannassienkiewicz1997]

Yeah, Spain was one of the most interesting poltical creations of the middle ages. With many cultures and religions all living on the land, it seems nuts, that a few hundred years later it would be one of the most exclusively Catholic countries in Europe. The history of Spain is fascinating, and I'm so glad you made a video about it. Thanks, Blue!

[@ilo3456]

I mean it is easier to rule an only Christian Kingdom than a mulitcultural one, as multicultural nations tend to fall apart over tiem as the careful balances of power tend to shatter over time leading to internal strife, unrest and simply internal conflicts between different ethnic and religious groups. That is why Multiculturalism deosn't really work that well in the long term, the reason why most multicultural and multiethnic states in Africa descend into civil wars and genocide.

[@Imman1s]

@@ilo3456 Actually, that was not the case at all. The problem with spain is that they got a fanatic royal family that used the inquisition to wipe out other religions and more to the point, confiscate all the wealth of the "heretics". Paired it with unlimited funds from raping the new world and you end over time with a christian theocracy made of corrupt incompetents unable to keep up scientifically, technologically and to some extent culturally with the rest of the world. Not to mention how they managed to squander all that easy wealth they plundered without too much to show for the country and their citizens. Literally it was the same phenomenon that wiped out the golden age of Islam and ended the policies of tolerance and enlightenment and made them fall in a dark age they have yet to recover. Also, keeping the balance of power in a multicultural society is reasonably easy: just treat everyone equally under the rule of law, don't allow personal beliefs to interfere with public affairs and be intolerant towards intolerance. Nations that follow those rules tend to last a really long time whether under a monolithic culture or as a multicultural society. Also, Africa is a different story. Their problem is not multiculturalism but tribalism and old hatreds. As a rule of thumb, they are indifferent towards tribes or countries hundreds of miles away from them with a radically different culture, but they won't stop until the tribe next door that has almost identical culture completely wiped out because some sh*t that happened generations ago.

[@rm-1575]

Multi culturlism (misspelled I know) is mostly a problem because most states justify themselves by being a space for an ethnic group or religion sonic a central idea such as freedom or democracy is taken away a state has no moral reason to exist

[@alfgui3295]

@@Imman1s Spain's 16th century is known as the "siglo de oro" or "the golden century" when Spain became the first global superpower leading Europe and the world culturally and technologically, but for you somehow it was "a christian theocracy made of corrupt incompetents unable to keep up scientifically, technologically and to some extent culturally with the rest of the world"? Explain yourself please.

[@Imman1s]

@@alfgui3295 Easy peasy, lets check some of the most important architectonic works of Spain: -Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Galicia (814-1109) -Alhambra, Granada (886-1391) -Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (1882-) -City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (1996-2005) -Roman Aqueduct, Segovia (81-112) -Cathedral-Mosque of Córdoba (600-1236+) -Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, Seville (1172-1517) -Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid (1557-1888) -Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (1991-1997) From those, only one the Cathedral of Seville and El Escorial are relevant to the XVI century, one is a religious building, the other is the king residence. Kind of what you expect from a government headed by religious zealots with unlimited funds. The Spanish golden century was mostly a renaissance in literature after the standardization of Spanish in 1492. And indeed, Spain became a superpower by siphoning unlimited resources from the new world and wasted it all trying to keep that status. My point is simply that they have relatively little to show for it. Comparatively speaking, the Spain of the time of al-Andalus had a larger cultural and scientific influence at a fraction of the wealth.

[@jzc5555]

I'm Mexican and got a DNA test, I'm gonna show this to my sisters because they where so confused we had ashkenazi Jew and Arab in our genetic history. Edit: Thanks for the likes and comments. Y'all gave me some stuff to read up about.

[@Evilgood1]

Juan Cebreros ¿Y alemán también? Los Visigodos fueron alemanes.

[@huriale1617]

Arab or berber (north african)?

[@ilo3456]

@@huriale1617 Most likely Arab and not berber. A lot of people in Mexico and Spain have Arabic ancestors.

[@jinjunliu2401]

@@ilo3456 and they are all Turkic 👀

[@huriale1617]

@@ilo3456 More berbers than arabs in general, i think. Berbers and Spain have shared more time together than with the arabs.

[@toasterstrooder8628]

"I don't think anybody loved history as much as the Normans. Wherever they go, they're just so dang happy to be there. It's adorable." I mean, if you're going to conquer several countries, you should at least take some interest in the culture and history of the places your conquering. What's the point of doing a thing if you don't actually care? I love discussions of obscure facets of history like this one because it shows just how grand world history really is compared to what we usually sort of think. Great video!

[@dynamicworlds1]

Usually power and riches. Most times when a place is conquered, assimilation happens the other way around and the locals are lucky to be able to keep their culture (which is good for the conqueror too, as it makes them less rebellious). It's not common that the conqueror assimilates into the conquered culture, and even rarer that a habbit is made of it.

[@kittz4life]

OH MY GOD I OPENED MY MODERN WORLD HISTORY ASSIGNMENT AND ALMOST SCREAMED WHEN I RECOGNISED YOUR VOICE Sorry for text screaming, but still! I knew my new history teacher was amazing, but like- I've been watching y'all for fun (and to procrastinate homework) for years! Now I get to listen *for homework*

[@whatthefridge1o1]

me rn

[@galaxydeathskrill5607]

real, and i have to make a presentation on Andaluia and i've been procrastinating to the end as usual

[@dantemaquiavelli9039]

Thanks, i have an exam of Al-Andalus this monday, this is really good. Saludos desde España!

[@ilo3456]

Hey my distant Spanish counins, how are you doing? Greeting from former New Spain.

[@haoxinlinying5278]

En que curso estas?

[@dantemaquiavelli9039]

@@haoxinlinying5278 segundo de la eso

[@Miolnir3]

No aprendas todo de un angloparlante. Tienen la tendencia de minimizar los méritos de la cultura hispana y maximizar el aporte árabe. Cuando en realidad estaba lejos de ser un paraíso en la tierra. Todos la pasaban mal, cristianos y árabes bajo gobierno musulmán... Sin duda fueron grandes artistas, pero muy malos "sociólogos". Sin hablar del tráfico de esclavas blancas (hispánicas) que inundaban el mundo árabe hasta más allá de irak e irán.

[@haoxinlinying5278]

@@dantemaquiavelli9039 Mi consejo estudiando historia: resume y organiza el material en antecedentes, desarrollo y consecuencias. Para mi me resulta más fácil recordarlo y desarrollar mis ideas al redactar. Así sé que eventos desembocan en otros y cómo están relacionados.

[@Alias_Anybody]

Spanish history between the end of the Spanish Habsburg line and the Spanish civil war would be pretty interesting.

[@vulthuryol8051]

Easy Habsburg: religion, represion, incest Bourbon: centrality, stupidity, enlightment XIX century: let's kill each other 1931-1936: mmmh... this seems like an actual decent country and... oh crap

[@Audentior_Ito]

It's kind of ironic Blue presents the Iberian wars & those of the Middle East as opposites to contrast when, in reality, they shared far more than they differed. Christians & Muslims allied and lived in harmony in the Holy Land under Christian rulers for the same reason that Christians were tolerated in Islamic Iberia - pacification & pragmatism. You see similar with the Normans in Sicily too. The victorious Christians in Iberia also take the same route as the victorious Muslims in the Levant; once the balance of power is totally shifted, tolerance ends.

[@artsman412]

Sadly true. Talking about the loss of tolerance part.

[@None-do2qn]

Holy land? Jerusalem? Nope Christian rulers killed all muslims

[@Audentior_Ito]

@@None-do2qn I mean, I hope you're kidding but if you're not I'll be happy to link plenty of sources explaining exactly how/why the Crusader states did not somehow magically commit genocide in the Middle Ages in a land where they held only marginal control

[@trolldrool]

@@None-do2qn There are many sources, some by contemporary Muslims that show that when there wasn't an active Crusade going on, Muslims and Christians were able to coexist peacefully. It was noted that both sides were ready to start killing each other if war broke out, but war was an expensive undertaking that required years of planning, resources and numbers that quite frankly, neither side was particularly interested in.

[@None-do2qn]

@@trolldrool yep only on Muslim side there was peace. Are you trying to say there were Muslim citizens in medieval Christian states? 😳😂

[@kenzafaten1461]

Moroccan here with Andalusi/Amazigh(Berber) heritage, born and raised in Denmark, so never got to learn too much about my ancestors history. Thank you so much for covering this so brilliantly! I'd love to see you cover both Pre and Post Islamic Maghreb.

[@TheUnique69able]

Arab history* berbers have no history

[@mahdimehdi445]

We wuz Andaluz ,no you are just an amazigh

[@floris2971]

Back then Spain and Portugal were *Juan* country

[@hglundahl]

No, even Spains was *Severinal ...*

[@GOFFBITZH666]

Bye.

[@videogamebomer]

Now listen here you little shit

[@hglundahl]

Portuguese speakers : Galicia, Portugal. (Counting Galego and Portuguese as one language, of course). "Spanish" (that is non-Portuguese Romance) speakers : Galicia, Leon, Castille (home of standard Spanish), Aragon (home to Catalan and Valencian) ... if not at times more.

[@calebtimes453]

@@hglundahl there is also a language called mirandese. North east Portugal

[@Perseuson]

I want adorable Norman plushies. They would love to conquer the world and your heart!

[@nowherefast840]

The fact that you've mentioned Lisboa multiple times, but didn't talk about Portugal makes me sad.

[@leedavey4769]

Whoever you is, sir, you manage to pull off that middle ground between humour and information. I enjoy your lightness of being while stacking up the numbers of lost history classes. And trust me that is no mean gift. More strength to you and long may you sail the waters of entertainment

[@vigilantsycamore8750]

I really want a History Summarized episode on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth because 1/ I'm Polish and my country has a really cool history that would make a great topic for an OSP episode, 2/ it's always funny when people who don't speak Polish try to pronounce Polish words. I feel like that's something our language has in common with Welsh

[@37robinb]

And some slavic mythology from Red too maybe, that would be nice.

[@SophiaLilithUwU]

If you wann suggest topics for episodes, you'd have to donate on patreon afaik. :)

[@wojciechkowalski8061]

And with Blue's fascination with functional multicultural societies Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would seem a great topic for research. I already could imagine him talking about catholic and orthodox churches standing side by side with a synagogue and nobody seeing this as something strange.

[@wojciechkowalski8061]

@@37robinb There would be a big, BIG problem with slavic mythology: we have so little of it. It's like a puzzle with half of its pieces missing, and remaining ones are almost bleached of colour. See just how many interpretations exist among slavic neo-pagans. Basically all we are certain of are names of major gods, their traits and relations, as well as a fact that all were supposedly a reflection, aspect or part of some single supreme being. But there is a ton of cool demons and beasts. And a different kind of undead for literally every single cause of death. Seriously, slavic world must have been a prime area for RPG paladins looking for an easy experience points ;)

[@RadioactiveKetchup]

cmon boys lets push this suggestion to the top!!!

[@Evilgood1]

I lived in Spain and, while I was invited to spend time in Córdoba, I decided to give Asturias a visit instead. Still had great beaches and warm weather, but few tourists. Also learned a lot about the Goths. Toledo has a Catholic synagogue built by Muslims. Tl;dr España era tan cool.

[@nicklab1927]

Did you go to Covadongas ? The church is nice, the cave inside the cliff also, and it's a place of great historical value.

[@Evilgood1]

Nicolas It’s going on the list for my return trip.

[@nicklab1927]

@@Evilgood1 Some cool stuff to see: Naranjo de Bulnes, Cangas de Onis, Los lagos (Lago Enol, with the fog

[@Evilgood1]

Nicolas Eramos en Oviedo y Gijón. Queremos ir a la Senda del Oso. ¿Es bueno?

[@nicklab1927]

@@Evilgood1 I don't know this place. But I have nice memories about the region between Mieres and Leon, with the forests everywhere uphill, and when you enter the Leon plateau, the change in atmosphere is nice (and seeing the mountains, hills and forests in the fog from the plateau is cool). Thats all I can tell you, sorry. Do you guys have fog today ?

[@Otutrifor]

This story doesn't only include Spain... Portugal also took a place in it, being independent in 1139 and conquering it's share

[@AlejandroLopez-ed8kj]

I'm Spanish and I agree with you. The Anglo-Saxons mistake the whole Iberian península for Spain, but don't get angry with us, it's not our fault. Something similar happens when people say the British Isles.

[@vascocampelo2054]

he literally talks about king alfonso .....D afonso heriques.... the portuguese king and then fails to mention portugal.....

[@anarchoenby]

My favorite episode so far, although I keep saying that with every new episode. The quality is superb. I feel so happy that I am able to live in an age when I can just simply look up your videos. Thanks for all of your hard work.

[@evaristegalois6282]

God of War looks different in this video...is this a new mod?

[@tntguardian6455]

Maybe they're trying a Spanish mod?

[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

Soy el dios de la guerra -B

[@joshuabarrett7997]

@Tomar finnean " I am the god of war."

[@110000116699]

Evariste Galois yeah it's the accurate history mod 😜

[@Green-tf8uw]

@Tomar finneanthere's something called "google translator".

[@chaosspork]

I love Andalucia and it's culture and history, and this is probably one of the best takes I've ever seen on them. Thank you so much for doing all this research and sharing this!

[@ArtemisDianaApollo]

I don't know if you've always done this and I'm just now noticing, but I really like that you've put the dates things are happening on some shots in this video. It really helps me contextualize whats going on here with the larger historical narrative.

[@kylemurdock3743]

I love you blue! You make even the "boring" parts of history great! Thanks for these videos.

[@ArgentumFox]

A few extra details about this, from a fellow historian that study Spanish History with a teacher whose specialty was medieval Spain. First, after the Almoravid conquest, the Spanish ended up forming their own orders of chivalry like the ones from the crusade. They were the Knights of Calatrava, the Knights of Santiago, the Knights of Alcántara and finaly the Knights of Montesa. This marks a shift to a more intolerant view from the Christian side as well. Second, the Edict of Expulsion was a response to a muslin rebellion in the south (so half consolidating power and half Ottoman scare). It gave the option of either convert or leave. The Inquisition was form when the kings realized that a lot of people had taken the option to convert… but hadn’t actually converted. Their job was to find “false converts”. This later evolved in what we all know and never expect. Lastly, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar a.k.a. the Cid Campeador is usually described as having an amazing long beard, as shown on his statue. His nickname meant "my lord the conqueror".

[@Artur_M.]

One of my favourite Popes - Sylvester II (999-1003) previously known as Gerbert de Aurillac, was one of the Christian scholars coming in that period to al-Andalus to learn from the Muslim ones. Also, while talking about lost and underappreciated great European realms, characterised by cultural diversity and unusual for their time tolerance, why not take a look at Poland-Lithuania?

[@artski09]

mine would be Pope Julius II The smell of gunpowder is sweeter to me than all the perfumes of Arabia.

[@agihammerthief8953]

Instead of a rift between peoples or religions, the PLC had an unusually severe rift between the szlachta and the peasantry. In many places, its serfdom was worse than in Russia, and that's saying something. But the Jews weren't expelled, so there's that, I guess.

[@aleksandersokal5279]

@@agihammerthief8953 Commonwealths peasants were approximately the same as in every other place in Europe, the thing is that the middle class was weak and smaller than nobility and this was the reason why you think the rift was so big. Moreover, Russia was far worse for its peasants than Poland. Unless you mean the Polish treatment of Orthodox peasants, but they don't matter so that is ok.

[@auctor9165]

Or Norman Sicilly. They had a very very similar thing to Al-Andalus

[@Goblinsharkhundredsofthem]

Why did I have a feeling you were about to talk about poland

[@LegendOfMoriad]

This is a wonderful point in history that I'd never heard anything about. Wonderful! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[@jordanlapid]

I have watched this video multiple times! I love it. I saw it before traveling to Spain, and now I just got back I'm watching it again. You should make more videos about Spanish History. Thanks!

[@KnightSlasher]

"Where is your beard and where is your axe"

[@yoshilorak5897]

I must have forgot it in my kitchen this morning when I had my breakfast of nails with no milk.

[@furorfrisii7679]

Here, in the Old North, with us. Come get them...

[@mslightbulb]

Spanish history, is like a soap opera drama mixed with really weird decisions and no stability at all ever. Like for example Isabel II. life was... interesting, she married her gay cousin and had a children with the man that harassed and violated her, had 11 children of which most of them died, never got a proper education and most if not all of Spain hated her, until she left. And that’s only one weird queen/king. There have always happened weird things in Spain. Also, I am studying for my industrial period of Spain exam, this is why I know all of this. We are always doing whatever compared to most of Europe, why do you leave us out of it guys? Like we do everything you do half a century later?

[@TheRachaelLefler]

There were interesting king/queen stories from all over like that. I write fantasy, so stories about medieval drama are good inspiration for fictional stories. What I like about Spain is its history of preserving and patronizing great art. Hard to imagine art without Picasso, or El Greco, or Velasquez. Spanish exploration of the New World was also really important to the history of the American continents. The oldest settlement in what's now the United States was Spanish, St. Augustine, FL. They may have been behind the rest of Europe sometimes but they were definitely ahead of the rest in other areas, like colonization and exploration in the 16th century.

[@carlosfedericogimenez5081]

there is also the story of Juana "la loca" (Juana "the crazy one") the nickname was given to her because of a supoused mental illness several people claimed she had, I´m not sure if it´s true but i remember one time I Heard the story of how after her husband (Felipe I also know as the beautiful) she had his corpse stay in the throne room with her tought thats probably bull, while the story of the crazy queen was told as fact for centurys it has been discovered that the whole mental illnes thing was part of a conspiracy by her father and brother to keep her from geting throne

[@davitxenko]

Yeah, the Spanish 19th century is a fucking mess. During that time Spain was one of the most backwards European countries, while other countries were fully industraliced we were like: "Can you use steam to move things?! That is sick!" But saying that Spain has been always half a century late compared to rest of Europe... During the 15th to the 17th century Spain was faar more advanced on everything compared to the other kingdoms: Art, exploration, science, human rights and military.

[@cloroxbleach6344]

davitxenko Human rights?! Let’s not get crazy here

[@davitxenko]

@@cloroxbleach6344 Ok you have to put that into the historical context. Read "Las leyes de Indias" it is basically a book published at the beginning of the sixteenth century in which it is explained that all the subjects of the crown had the same rights, including the natives of conquered lands. Although from our point of view this seems to us of common sense, at that time it was something revolutionary that will not happen until very late in the rest of the countries. Basically, these laws of the indies were the base for the modern human rights. I do not blame you if you did not know this because the Spanish empire was demonized for centuries by English and Dutch propaganda, meanwhile the colonial territories of these countries were zones of extermination.

[@StepBackHistory]

This is an amazing video. Easily my favourite on the channel so far.

[@crsmith6226]

Blue’s voice literally makes me happy just hearing it

[@nessesaryschoolthing]

I can't believe you left out when the Moops invaded in the 8th century.

[@franciscomm7675]

He said it. He just didn't talk about the battles of guadalete and covadonga

[@kshitijsrivastava6440]

MOORS!!!!

[@_extrathicc]

LMAO that was a reference that culd have been made

[@FwendlyMushwoom]

@@kshitijsrivastava6440 Sorry, the card says "Moops"

[@Maia_Cyclist]

So good

[@cinidevil]

Thanks red, as a Portuguese I didn’t get access to this side of the story during my history classes, so this is amazing :3 I feel like I learned about myself today! :D

[@PhyroByte]

So you're telling me... That I had an exam on medieval Spain and the Al Andaluz a few months ago, and NOW this video appears on my timeline? The world works in mysterious ways... Great video, guys. Absolutely love all your content.

[@mokilatte]

Being spanish myself i have to say you did an awesome job on illustrating this part of our history

[@devbhadauria2506]

Nobody expects the Spanish supremacy villager rush.

[@poliestotico]

lol

[@SmilayBros]

Wololo

[@ililililili9726]

Tatoh forest nothin

[@haraka8123]

Nobody expect to know how to turn this on.

[@97Multiphantom]

Actually didn’t expect the Inquisition this time. Well done!

[@ptlemon1101]

When Portugal participates but he only talks about Spain :'(

[@76456]

The thing is making Portugal the same Colour as Spain

[@swagmama408]

Just moved to andalucía, such a unique and beautiful land! Glad to be learning more about the history (: Great video!

[@noahsherwood2445]

Of the many periods of history I would've loved to go back in time to, Al Andalus is in my top 10. Also the Spanish Inquisition starting in France is some of the best irony I've seen in a long time.

[@Evilgood1]

Alhambra is the Hagia Sophia of the West.

[@Dave_Sisson]

No it's not. Hagia Sofia is a huge and very solid 1400 year old church. But Alhambra is only half as old and is a secular palace of elegant pavilions scattered around a hilltop.

[@simaopereira3697]

From what I know Hagia Sophia is also officially secular, due to all controversies between muslims and christians arguing if the the place should be a mosque or a cathedral.

[@sugar-daddykhayreddin1115]

Al-Hamrah*, the B shouldnt be there.

[@Abshir1it1is]

Thanks a really cool comparison. One was built by Christians, but conquered and preserved by Muslims. While the other was built by Muslims, but conquered and preserved by Christians. It's almost like a weird, woefully bloody trade.

[@cagdas135]

Only one side is still butthurt and keep bitching about it.

[@whiteraven562]

Thank you for posting this! I've always wanted to know more about this time period

[@bmoney2011]

I'm *really* glad you did this video (and deeply thankful for the patrons who were able to make it happen!)...I had little to no knowledge about this section of history. Keep up the excellent work! Also, great googly-moogly the Muslims were brilliant at making beautiful architecture.

[@just-a-silly-goofy-guy]

It’s crusade time bois

[@suchenzuehx192]

DEUS VULT

[@suchenzuehx192]

Alexander the Greater VEUS DULT

[@ajaxmaye2520]

WE MUST TAKE BACK JERUSALEM! DEUS VULT!

[@g-rexsaurus794]

@JoJo is not an anime That's literally untrue.

[@poliestotico]

VIVA EL CID CAMPEADOR

[@hawk7013]

When I was watching this video at 8:17, when Alfonso was halfway to conquering Iberia, Living on a Prayer was playing in my playlist. Nobody expects the Spanish Coincidence!

[@givowl2160]

This was really nice to watch, I wish I learned more about this in school, but thanks for spreading the knowledge!

[@Ninjasaucetoothbrush]

6:00 my home town cameo

[@nopecopter9353]

I’d love to see an episode on the history of Morocco! It seems like it’s had a diverse history, and I’ve always wanted to know more!

[@floris2971]

Ah yes what they call, Spain and Not Spain

[@dani4ever]

As a Not Spanish this comment offends me.

[@elrafa111]

Proud to be Not Spanish

[@thecleitom9497]

As a Not Spanish speaker, I feel uncomfortable with this comment.

[@tyrannovex]

*Spain't

[@670HP-Package-NOW]

Is that like France and not-France?

[@deand7673]

I always love when source books are directly referenced so I can do further reading~

[@liljjstudios]

I hope you know, Blue, that I was so interested in this topic i paused the video halfway through, bought the book you recommended, finished it, and then rewatched the video

[@floris2971]

Nobody expects *THE SPANISH INQUISITION*

[@HunterStiles651]

Flo Ris How could they? Surprise is among their chief weapons.

[@herodotus945]

Actually they did, the inquisitions would always send an invitation for the trial weeks ahead.

[@inakarbaash4781]

@@HunterStiles651 Indeed! Among their chief weapons are surprise, fear, ruthless efficiency and a near fanatical devotion to the pope!

[@lazyc0mmander277]

I finally got that joke.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Technically the Pope part is wrong it was a more national institution so the Monarch had most of the power.

[@gwest3644]

4:08 I honestly thought he would say “it would be like having 2 popes!” and have major Pope Fights flashbacks.

[@thethirdsicily4802]

Same.

[@Vo_Siri]

I've only recently discovered your channel and I love it to death, keep up the good work

[@alfonsosillero4689]

As an Andalusian myself, this was a cool video!! Love your content!

[@molly-zx9cr]

We just started covering Spain in my Islamic Art and Architecture course so this was perfect! Thanks for a great video!

[@Milkermaner]

You've made it sound too perfect. There were lots of rebellions during the rule of the Ummyyads as well as the Almoravids and the Almohads

[@mayoandbananasandwich6527]

I think he was just trying to say that it was generally good; there’s only so much you can fit into a 13 minute video

[@ahbabmuttaki1856]

Well comparatively,it's almost perfect. The western Europe and North Africa were just literal chaos at that time. And there were only one or 2 rebellions against the umayyad. So it was the best it could have been.

[@KayclauShipper]

It's kinda weird to listen to history, thinking that all of that happened a long time ago and now the world has settled and the story of history is done. But suddenly realize that history is still happening. That's the take I get from this series and I love you for that.

[@retwerd]

Ever since I saw you post about studying this on Twitter I’ve been suuuuuper excited.

[@hglundahl]

9:21 _"[people like Aquinas who argued about] almost the exact same balance were pretty much banned until about 5 minutes before they were made saints"_ 1) Aquinas would defintely object to being consider as arguing about or for _same_ "balance" as Averroes, so thanks for "almost". 2) Contrary to a persistent rumour in English speaking Academia, the bans of early 1277 (or late 1276 as in after December and already beginning of March, nearly approaching New Year, you know) of Paris, by bishop Tempier in fact did _not_ ban one single sentence which Aquinas had subscribed to. Note, I am not sure he was not banned as a text on the full text portion I haven't dealt with, but I think not even that. 48 years later, there was no lifting of bans over his theses, just a declaration his theses should not be considered as banned by that earlier ban. Both bishops of Paris had the same name, Stephen II Tempier and Stephen III de Bouret, if you like a fun fact.

[@Kari7]

Great video, though, as a Portuguese, seeing my country displayed as Spain kills me a little inside. Portugal was already a country before Spain became the country we know today.

[@Kari7]

@Alberto Castillo Big words when you guys can hardly keep Catalunya, fascist.

[@arielgaray302]

Portugal was considered as one of the "Spains" before what we now know as "Spain" unified in the 16th century.

[@Volvith]

Oooh, i've been waiting for an Iberian episode. :3 Thank you!! ~~

[@DarkDennis1961]

Impossibly fascinating indeed. Great video.

[@sathoryn9662]

Just saying, you are missing a country there

[@josecarlosmoreno9731]

What, Spain's West Coast?

[@perfectlyfine1675]

He already made a video on Portugal

[@sathoryn9662]

was because of comments like those that we parted our ways with you guys and decided to go independent :)

[@sathoryn9662]

​@@josecarlosmoreno9731 Então deixa-te de tretas, tambem não estou para aqui a desrespeitar a tua terra ao contrário de certas pessoas.

[@888nevik]

The old spanish saying that you have to bomb barcelona every 50 years makes quite alot of sense now

[@yaheln9265]

The timing of this video is actually incredible. I'm going to make a massive essay about how Jews were successfully integrated and able to prosper in Al-Andalus over the next few months for school, and would love to get some more sources (still pretty early stages), so I know that it's a longshot that you'll see this, but if you do... any chance to know what those sources are?

[@alexanderbruwer9363]

I keep loving the content you guys put out and I'm very happy I joined the Discord server

[@KlaunVI]

This video is awesome and you're awesome for making it.

[@naoufel2000]

You're using the words "north african mercenaries" a little too frivolously, to call the Almoravids mercenaries is a little misleading, it makes them sound like some tribal warlords fighting for a payday, they actually were a very well established state and controlled a huge chunk of Africa when they marched onto Spain.

[@jhonshephard921]

a Pakistani-American youtuber named Admiral Price did a good history video on them and the rest of the Muslim world in the 11th century and another one on the 8th century

[@pandoragoldspan7012]

if "from North Africa" implies "tribal warlords" to you that's on you

[@ConnorCocoas]

@@pandoragoldspan7012 hehehe ouch, you are not wrong 😬

[@tricksl8r]

I read the thumbnail title as “medieval spam” at first. I was expecting extremely old spam but got a history lesson instead. Thank you.

[@myoechester2027]

hey blue, I was wondering if you could do a video on the history of theosophy. ya know maybe do a whole video series on newer religions. love your videos keep up the great work

[@aken6566]

I am so lucky dude, I have to do a really long presentation of Al-Andalus and its history, and u have basically done everything for me

[@stephenrosene1505]

Okay Blue, I'm sorry, but there's an important mistake at 1:47. The Umayyads did not try to convert their subjects; in their eyes Islam was meant to be an exclusively Arab religion. Non-Arabs converted anyway (they were called Mawali) but the Umayyad ruling class didn't like that and tried to discourage them. This is important because the Mawali sided with the Abbasids who opened up the religion to non-Arabs without obstruction. Source: my class's textbook The Formation of Islam by Johnathan Berkey, page 77.

[@totalwartimelapses6359]

They also preferred they stay non-muslim because the state relied heavily on Jizya tax to function (and on conquest loot but I assume that dried up quickly) and so converts lowered the state's revenue

[@simon89oi]

They were arab supermacists and benefited from the jizya tax , it made them rich , that's why they didn't want people to convert

[@mohssenkassir431]

I have heard the same (from an Egyptian Arab Scholar), but to my understanding the Ummayids had to change a lot to keep up with the Abbasids. Seeing the political change led me to infer that the Ummayid perceptive had to change a lot when the Abbasids took power so they can stay relevant.

[@christopherlin4706]

The only good caliphate :(

[@elitesoldier234]

@Dark0 Yeah, there are 2 choices for non-Muslim in my religion, Convert or pay Jizya. And damn that was fucking slick to make our religion exclusive to Arabs (Cause i'm not even Arabs, and Arabs here live mostly in mount Salak). Of course, Ummayah quite heretic since Islam wants you to convert anybody, even just a Black Slave brought to you out of nowhere.

[@defunctroses1644]

Those churches/mosks were so beaufiful they damn near made me cry

[@greywalker505]

*mosques, but you’re right, they’re gorgeous. (Sorry to be “That Guy™️”)

[@defunctroses1644]

@@greywalker505 it's ok. I'm dyslecsic so I expecred it

[@gnome3715]

Woah, I never knew about this part of history! Awesome

[@letsdothis2791]

This was awesome! Thank you!

[@mo1ya938]

Discount under the sycamore tree? Got it. Thanks man.

[@dani4ever]

It hurts me everytime you say Spain when you mean the whole peninsula. You re talking about a pre-spain era and Portugal is part of that territory too.

[@Wafi_a]

then call it Andalusia because it was

[@lxportugal9343]

Portugal Reconquer his land before Castlile did (Someone is full of himself)

[@nosirve9458]

@@lxportugal9343 And León, Castile, Galicia (kingdoms of actuals Spain) gave birth to Portugal, and? Your country is older than León, Castile, Galicia, Navarra, Aragón, etc, because refused to unite with Spain. That's it. And you know perfectly (i hope) that they maintain Granada for a huge time because they payed super high taxes.

[@AlejandroLopez-ed8kj]

@@lxportugal9343 You mean that Portugal stopped conquering land in the península before Castille.

[@Safirajuro]

Castille had all that land but still couldn't conquer portugal lol

[@DomyTheMad420]

3:20 that animated pause and gensturing with the hands is so fitting, i had the same reaction xD

[@AscendtionArc]

Thanks for the amazing video.

[@Fummy007]

Funfact: the reconquista ended with the fall of Grenada in 1492, the exact same year Columbus sailed the ocean blue in the name of Spain.

[@louisduarte8763]

"Not even SPAIN expected the Spanish Inquisition!" had me in stitches. But you skipped one thing in all that history: how did Portugal happen?

[@Veshgard]

That's a long story, but easily summarized: There were several different Christian kingdoms in medieval Iberia. Through wars, marriages and diplomatic deals, most of them gradually united and formed Spain. But one kingdom did not join Spain. That was Portugal.

[@arturmonteiro8541]

basically, one of the Christian kingdoms was the Kingdom of Castile, and Portugal was a county subject to Castile, The count of Portugal in 1139 (Afonso Henrique) fought a war against his own mother and won the independence of Portugal.

[@angelalycos2.076]

Yes, I'm commenting again, this time to say thank you to Blue and Red. You guys make learning new things sooooo easy to digest and grasp. Wish you guys were teachers because the ones that want to learn would and benefit grandly

[@Hypogean7]

Yeah, but, from what I understand this episode wasn't all that well researched.

[@willowmiku]

The maps just keep getting better!

[@DarkSoulSama]

Well, I'm portuguese, so how much more of Iberia will Squarespace allow me to.... OH! It helps me create websites.... nevermind!!!

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

Allow you to treat it like some places in Africa?

[@malachyduffy863]

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and retain the ability to function" George Orwell wants to know your location

[@zeebee8527]

This might be my favourite episode, ever.

[@Brilchan]

What a wonderfully informative video