How significant was the cultural exchange between prehistoric Iberia and North Africa? Was the peninsula dominated by Celts?
>>911278
>How significant was the cultural exchange between prehistoric Iberia and North Africa?
Very little. It wasn't significant until Carthage invaded the south.
>Was the peninsula dominated by Celts?
If you also consider Basques to be celtic, then yes.
>>911278
No the Iberians where much more diverse. Not only ethnically but also culturaly .
That´s why the roman conquest takes so long.
>>911278
>How significant was the cultural exchange between prehistoric Iberia and North Africa?
Unclear that there was any in prehistoric times. Certainly there is no record of Berbers or other Afroasiatic-speaking peoples in Spain before the arrival of the Carthaginians.
>Was the peninsula dominated by Celts?
Mostly. The northeast coast, Ebro valley, and eastern coast were all apparently Vasconic-speaking, but there seems to have been heavy cultural and social exchange between the two groups. There was a people in the southwest called the Tartessians or Turdetans whose origins and identity are unclear. There were also some Indo-Europeans in the western part of the Iberian peninsula who may not have been Celtic.
>>911278
The peninsula was in large part dominated by the visigoths, who had advanced in the collapse of Rome. There were Celts, but they weren't the dominant power - they were more a minority excluded to northern spain at that time. I guess it depends on whether or not you want to include the Visigoths - who initially came from Aquitaine before conquering the rest of the peninsula - as Celtic. I didn't think they were.
The real - and highly significant - cultural exchange in Spain takes place once the Ummayad Caliphate beat the shit out of the Visigoths. I don't know exactly when they busted onto the Peninsula, but Cordoba is taken by force in about 710, and the borders of the ummayad expansion sort of stop at modern-day Nice.
The caliphate is replaced by the independent Emirate of Cordoba. Long story short the Prince (an ummayad) declares independence when the Ummayad family is deposed as the head of the rapidly-shrinking Islamic caliphate. It expands to the aforementioned borders and becomes its own Caliphate.
The cultural value from the occupation is pretty good. Most scholars seem to agree that the treatment of the Dhimmi (non-muslim citizens) by the Islamic Caliphates of the time, by standards, incredibly good - they were permitted to practice their own religion and enjoyed equal property rights, they had their own courts and were permitted to eat pork and drink booze, but they were taxed. Arguably this contributed a lot to the social cohesion of the empire and exposure to foreign cultures among your average citizens - it wasn't a monoculture of muslims, Africans, germanic goths or carthaginians, so to speak.
Scriptures were in Latin or Arabic and many scholars learnt both. This is a big deal, as there wasn't ever any exchange of information between the East and West; usually it was just the Christians burning heretics.
>>911738
What was gained from the exchange was pretty significant in technological advancement. The Caliphate dedicated a great deal of importance to preserving knowledge from across the empire, most of which was distributed through higher learning institutions in which Jews and Christians were permitted. The uniformity of language across Africa and the middle-east allowed for the much faster spread of information, and in many instances, allowed for latin translations for texts not obtainable in Western Europe.
Hugely vital research in mathematics, including the concepts of algebra, chemistry, and trigonometry, were all translated into Latin from Arabic. The concept of an algorithm; or performing mathematics with Arabic-Indian Numerals was translated (named after its discoverer, al-Khwarzmi). This numeral system was used by Fibonacci in around 1100 in Liber Abaci; which in turn created book-keeping, conversion of measures and weights, and interest. Similar areas include pendulums for measuring time and The Book of Optics.
Many of Socrates' and Plato's philosophical works were also circulated widely among Islamic centres of Learning such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. These were translated into Latin from Arabic and re-discovered in the west. Aristotle's work in physics, magnets momentum was re-discovered.
Medicinal advances were huge. I can't speak to what they were because I don't know that much, but studies on dysentery, ophthamology, fevers and surgeries were notable examples that were present in the Hospital in Cairo. Al-Rhazes was credited for discovering both smallpox and the concept of immunity. The Canon of Medicine was translated and spread widely in print throughout Europe, where it remained in practice for 500 years. Albucasis wrote a surgical book that was translated in the 12th century and used until the late 1800's.
Tradewise, Cordoba was a focal point for spices, satin, gold, and gems into europe.
>>911814
>Magnets, and momentum**
fug idk. I also forgot to mention studies on gunpowder, though that might've already been 'discovered' by the west at that point.
So yeah everything seems pretty idyllic from a cultural input perspective. During the 10th century scholars go a little crazy with the population chart, but the average seems to be about 400-500,000 people living in Cordoba at that time. It was notable for its medical schools and universities which were developed during Islamic rule.
Then the pope got mad, the Crusaders fucked some shit up, burnt the fuck out of the city and delayed the European Renaissance by about 150 years. Yay, muh religion.
I'd stress the emphasis on the harmonious nature of religion under the Caliphs. As I'm sure you know religion was a pretty big fucking deal for thousands of years and yadda yadda, but the Caliphate built a goddamn Mosque-Cathedral rolled into one. They were very much ok with other religions, to the point where they even constructed a two which is quite equally a big fucking deal. The juxtaposition between traditional Christian 'church' and mosque is insane.
You can see the Islamic influence on the otherwise European architecture in the southern half of Spain if you google it. Everything from public baths to fortresses to libraries. Go look up pictures of the mosque-cathedral if you're interested.
source(s): Middle Eastern Studies Major
>>911854
>Middle Eastern Studies Major
Which period are you thinking to specialize in? I guess, given the current political events unfolding, it's more lucrative to study the contemporary ones, in hopes to get employed by think tanks?
>>911854
>A two-part major centre of worship
I shouldn't history when I'm tired.
>>911867
>mfw I'm actually an International /Pol/itics Student
You are right as far as specialisation goes. There's money working in the diplomatic services or security for people who have studied mudslimes, too. Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Dubai are still things, too. You could work as a translator or a in a business as a liase, though that's more of a language skill.
Think-tanks are funded by governments, who only care what to do now, or private interest, which invariably means it'll be in the last hundred years or so. Middle-Eastern Studies at my university was mostly subset of International Relations; which was my other major. Most of my learning circulated around security, terrorism, nationalism and History from the end of world war one onwards (muh ben gurion and muh david balfour and muh palestinian mandate); which had a brief lead-into the four rightly-guided caliphates and the Ottoman Empire. Most of my friends learned Arabic as part of their International Studies degree.
I'm afraid, unless you're researching the history of the architect or rennaissance historian or islamic scholar, that all of that information on it is sort of irrelevant. Not to be snooty about useless degrees, but I'm not sure what careers could come out of that. I imagine archaeology could make use of it, as could any historian/scholarly pursuits.
>>911867
Forgot my takbir
t. allah
Don't talk to me or my nubian empire's kangz ever again
