The land of Al Andalus The creation of Al Andalus is a result of conflict within the Islamic Empire, between two families, the Abbasids and the Umayyad. The conflict arose when the Abbasids started a civil war with the Umayyad’s on the premise that the Umayyad’s where putting religion after conquest. After the Umayyad’s had been slaughtered the remaining survivor Abd al-Rahman I fled through northern Africa into southern Spain where he established himself as the ruler of the land that had once belonged to the whole Umayyad empire. In the particular the creation of Al Andalus, has at one point or another been referred to as a foundation of a utopian nation. Abd al-Rahman I chose the specific land to build the palace because of the terrain, it is set between a valley and a mountain range, looking out onto the valley so that it would be visible to all and at the same time as a political move. 1 This location helped in not only separating the royalty from the common people but also showed that they were grand and overlooking the city below. The steep inclines made for ideal security measures in case of an attack upon the city the palace would have been the last line of defense. The stone used to make up the palace came from the zone located between the valley and the mountain, majority of the stone work that make up the palace come from somewhere close by. This explains the remarkable speed it took to create the works. Additionally the inside of the palace is historically important as it was advanced in pluming in a time where that knowledge was thought to be lost with the Roman Empire. Within the walls of the palace the people had the hydraulic system installed that provided water constantly to all the buildings inside based upon... ... middle of paper ... ...xt, from Greek and Arabic into Latin and so it reinforces the idea that Al Andalus was really an empire built on thinkers and knowledge lovers. Their love of knowledge spawned libraries and schools. In fact the Al-Hakem II the son and successor of Abd al-Raman I “built one of the greatest libraries in the Islamic world in Cordoba, rivaling those at Baghdad and Cairo.”15 The great love of knowledge that thrived in Al Andalus was vast and attracted scholars throughout Europe. Al-Hakem even made twenty-seven free schools that drew in even more scholars from Muslims to Christians to Jews. At a point the Maghreb historian al-Maqqari states that there are four things that made Al Andalus great and out of the four the knowledge was the greatest. 16 Al Andalus has been credited as being a beginning of what a utopia would be, a place where political, economical and social
Knossos was centered on a palace, which was a very complex building. According to Greek mythology the palace was designed by architect Daedalus’, were anyone placed in it could never find its exit. King Minos then held the architect prisoner so that no one would ever get ahold of the palaces building plan. The palace occupies and area greater than 20,000 sq. meters and has its own sewage system. The center of the palace was its throne room, which was adorned with frescoes depicting the mythical creatures called “gr...
Monarchs often displayed their power by commissioning buildings and monuments. Louis and Suleiman were no exceptions. Louis had one of the greatest palaces in the world build in the middle of a swamp. This showed his absolute power because no builder ...
it should be learnt that the search for „utopia‟ is a contemplative one, and can never be
Caetlin Asher Spanish 325 10 March 2017 Lack of Separation Between the Church and State The separation between state and Church has been a controversial issue for decades. In the movie “Mar Adentro”, this separation between Church and state, or lack thereof, is brought to attention through the court battle between the state and Ramón Sampedro. Ramón Sampedro was a sailor who became a quadriplegic during an accident diving into the ocean water causing a permanent spinal cord injury leaving him paralyzed. Over twenty years of being paralyzed from the neck down, Ramón decides to receive legal permission to end his life through assisted suicide, specifically Euthanasia.
Utopia is a term invented by Sir Thomas More in 1515. However, he traces the root two Greek words outopia and eutopia which means a place does not exist and a fantasy, invention. It is widely accepted that Plato was to first to picture a utopian order. In his masterpiece, “Republic”, he formed the principles of ideal commonsense and his utopia (Hertzler, 1922:7). After the classical age, Sir Thomas More assumed to be the first of the utopian writers in early modern period. As a humanist, he gave the world in his “Utopia” a vision of a perfect communistic commonwealth (the history of utopian thought). Utopia’s influence on contemporary and rival scholars is so deep that it has given its name to whole class of literature. Following the appearance of More’s Utopia, there was a lack of Utopian literature for nearly a century (Hertzler, 1922:7). This period ended with the works of Francis Bacon, Campanelle and Harrington. These early modern utopians, being the children of Renaissance, filled with a love of knowledge and high respect for the newly truths of science. Thus, they believed that the common attainment of knowledge means the largest participation of all members of society in its joys and benefits. After the period of early Utopians, continuation of a sprit of French Revolution and initial signs of industrial revolution resulted in the emergence of a new group of Utopians called Socialist Utopians (Hertzler, 1922: 181). The word “Socialism” seems to have been first used by one of the leading Utopian Socialists, St Simon. In politics utopia is a desire that never come true neither now nor afterwards, a wish that is not based on social forces (material conditions and production) and is not supported by the growth and development of political, class forces. This paper discusses the validity of this claim, tries to present and evaluate the political reforms, if any, offered by Socialist Utopians.
A utopian society is very hard to come across these days. People tend to start a utopian society in order to better the life’s of others. Bronson Alcott of the Fruitland Community tries to find a utopian society that will last and be productive. The Fruitland’s goal is to abstain from worldly activity and integrate systems of trade and labor in order to find spirituality.
Imagine a place where everything is perfect. There is a place where there is no warfare, where all. All politics, laws, customs, and traditions are respected. A place where there is sameness among all the citizens and everyone is content and happy. This place would be considered a utopia.
...era to protect the dynasty and religion. Furthermore, it presents itself as an art object representative of the ottoman period due to the material used, arabesque and calligraphic inscriptions.
The Valley of the Kings is a very intricate system of tombs. It's designs are very
This serene society greatly contradicts the one we live in. Our society is furnished with hatred and warfare, yet in return, we are given freedom and the privilege of having distinctive characters. Given the nature of human beings, our society is more idealistic to live in. Utopia is an imaginary state, which consists of people who believe they are more capable of living in a group than alone. In such a community, the welfare of the group is the primary interest compared to the comfort of individuals.
Throughout his life, the Muslim ummah, Arabic for “community” began, which was the basis for the Empire.
Natural philosophy might have played a much smaller role in Islamic science but is not to be overlooked. Al ma’mun built observatories as high as three stories in order to gain a better understanding of the cosmos. With these tools, Islamic astronomers made accurate descriptions of the heavens and created their own geocentric views of the orbits of the heavenly bodies. Attached to many of these observatories were great libraries. Islamic libraries contained a wealth of knowledge which was taken from other civilizations and translated to Arabic such as the House of Wisdom. These libraries had upwards of 2 million books, a massive accomplishment considering they did not have movable type. The Islamic Empire also saw great advances in mathematical understanding with the creation of trigonometry and algebra.
Somehow omitted and forgotten are the fruitful scientific collaboration and theological discussions which occurred in Baghdad in the 9th and 10th centuries, where Christians and Muslim scholars worked together to translate and comment upon Greek philosophy and science. Omitted is the fact that under the Nordic rule in Sicily, the first translation of Arab philosophy was accomplished which would have profound effect and influence on the works of Albert the Great and the famous Christian scholar Thomas Aquinas.
When walking around a city, you may notice that the architecture and art look similar to other works. Many of these designs have changed along the course of history and time whilst others have not. The designs that many people still see in society and day to day living is from two of the many cultures of the old civilizations, Roman and Islamic. The art and architecture forms from the Islamic and Roman cultures have many comparisons and contrasts between them. They, the Islamic and Roman nations, have both adopted from other cultures and have made their own discoveries in the art and architecture worlds. The Roman and Islamic architecture and art vary drastically from each other and yet have varying comparisons between the two.
During the Umayyad Caliphate era 661 AD – 750 AD, as far as the Byzantine impact on early Islamic architecture is concerned, the Byzantine artistic heritage formed a fundamental source for the new Islamic art, especially in Syria and Palestine. There are considerable Byzantine influences which can be detected in the distinctive early Islamic monuments in Syria and Palestine, as on the Dome of the Rock 691 AD in Jerusalem, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. While the Dome of the Rock gives clear reference in plan - and partially in decoration - to Byzantine art, the plan of the Umayyad Mosque has also a remarkable similarity with 6th- and 7th-century Christian basilicas, but it has been modified and expanded on the transverse axis and not on the normal longitudinal axis as in the Christian basilicas. This modification serves better the liturgy for the Islamic prayer. The original mihrab of the mosque is located almost in the middle of the eastern part of the Qibla wall and not in its middle, a feature which can be explained by the fact that the architect might have tried to avoid the impression of a Christian apse which would result from the placement of the mihrab in the middle of the transept. The tile work, geometric patterns, multiple arches, domes, and poly-chrome brick and stone work that characterize Islamic and Moorish architecture were influenced to some extent by Byzantine