 Spain
The great mineral resources of the east coast of Spain were probably what first attracted wider Mediterranean attention to its land. The Phoenicians established a presence, as well as the Greeks, to exploit these resources and then the powerful Phoenician colony, Carthage, disputed control of the area with Rome. With the defeat of Hannibal, the Iberian peninsula began to fall under Roman control, where it remained for many centuries, becoming a highly Romanised province of the empire. The Visigoths dominated next and in the early 8th century the Muslims from North Africa arrived. For 700 years southern Spain remained in their hands, as Al-Andalus, and the story of its relationship with the Christian kingdoms of central and northern Spain, is one of the most important east-west encounters of Mediterranean history. The famous Jewish philosopher Maimonides, born in Cordoba, writing in Arabic, and influenced by Aristotle, is a good example of cultural accommodation. (Dr El Khaisy, Professor David Wasserstein [Vanderbilt])
|