The History of Muslim Influences on Spanish Culture and Language:
As a Spanish A-Level student, it’s embarrassing to admit that I knew little to nothing about Spanish history when starting the course. That’s why it shocked me when I stepped into Spanish class one day and my teacher played a video about the Spanish Inquisition, a powerful institution established by Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II to eradicate other ethnic and religious groups (Jews and Muslims) by convicting Jewish or Muslim (as well as Protestants and other religious groups) converts of heresy and using secretive trials, punishments of torture and even public executions to make Catholicism the only religion that stands in Spain.
I had been aware of the significant Catholic influence on Spanish culture, so the events of the Spanish Inquisition were not surprising; however, the mention of other religions making their way to Spain was quite a shock. I had lots of questions, which led me to research for this article, which will focus on the Muslim and Arabic influences on Spanish culture and language in the past, but also in the present day.
How did the Arabs get to Spain?
One of the major questions I had was how this strong Arabic and Muslim influence even arrived in Spain in the first place. Unlike many other European countries that had indirect Arabic influence through trade, Spain had direct influence due to nearly 800 years of Muslim rule (Only certain parts of Spain, in particular the South, had direct Muslim influence. The Muslim scope of power shifted and decreased over the years due to battles with the Catholic North).
This began with the Moorish invasion in 711 AD of the Iberian Peninsula, an area of Western Europe that included Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and a small part of France. (The Moors refer to Muslim inhabitants of North Africa and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula). They faced little to no resistance in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, allowing them to conquer the majority of the peninsula in 7 to 10 years. During this period, the Moors were mainly installed in the south of the peninsula, known as ‘Al-Andalus’, the territory that is today known as the autonomous region of Andalusia.
From around 718AD began the Spanish Reconquista or Reconquest, a series of battles and fights over a period of almost 800 years to remove Muslim influence in Spain and to reinstate Catholicism as the main and only religion of the peninsula. Over the years, the Muslim sphere of influence gradually decreased as the northern kingdoms became stronger and more determined to eradicate the Muslims. At the end of the 15th century, only Granada, an area in the very south of Spain, remained. However, internal struggles and civil wars made it weak, leading to the fall of Granada in 1492, ending the Reconquista and the fight to remove Muslim power from Spain.
How did the Moors influence Spanish culture and language?
Since the Muslims held power for almost 800 years in Spain, Arabic culture and parts of the language inevitably started seeping into Spanish and Spanish culture as well. As this is a post mainly about language, I’d like to discuss more of the Arabic influences on the Spanish language.
Firstly, during the Spanish Reconquista, the Castilian language, which is what became the basis of modern Spanish, came into contact with southern Romance dialects. Many of the southern dialects were influenced by Arabic dialects (especially Andalusian Arabic - i.e. the Arabic used by the Moors in Spain) and started to change the Castilian language, leading to almost 4000 words in Spanish having Arabic origins or influences. Even though many of these words are outdated and are not used by Spanish locals, it is still fascinating to see the remnants of Arabic influence even after so many years.
One fact my Spanish teacher told me was that words in Spanish beginning with ‘al’ or ‘a’ practically all originate from Arabic (e.g. alfombra - carpet, almuerzo - lunch, algodón - cotton). This prefix ‘al’ probably originates from the Arabic definite article ‘Al’, which means ‘the’. For words that begin with ‘a’, the most likely theory is that it is a result of the assimilation of the ‘l’ sound. (e.g. aceite - oil, aceituna - olive, albaricoque - apricot).
While there are a plethora of examples of Spanish nouns influenced by Arabic, some of my favourites include the Spanish noun ‘taza’, meaning cup, being influenced by the ancient Arabic term ‘طاسة’ (tassah) that means goblet. Another example is ‘zanahoria’, meaning carrot in Spanish, which is from the term 'إِسْفَنَارِيَّ’ (isfanāriyya). Not only did ancient Arabic influence Spanish nouns, but also certain Spanish phrases like the commonly used phrase ‘Ójala’ meaning ‘I hope’ or ‘hopefully’ which stems from ‘وشاء الله’ (wa šá lláh) or ‘لو شاء الله’ (law šá lláh), meaning ‘If God wills’ or ‘God willing’.
The Moors also influenced Spanish culture deeply in numerous ways, including science and technology, food (like the introduction of spices), Mathematics, alcohol, literature, and so much more. One of the Moorish influences on Spanish culture relates to the creation of Flamenco. Flamenco is a traditional Spanish art form of singing, dancing and guitar music. It has become one of the most iconic parts of Spanish culture and appeared during the decline of the Moorish invasion of Spain. Along the borders between the Christian and Muslim empires, Christians, Arabs and Jews all celebrated their respective cultures and cultural exchange, creating Flamenco as an expression of the cultural harmony that existed between them, even amidst the persecution of ethnic groups. There are lots of theories on how the name ‘Flamenco’ came about, with the most popular theory being that it comes from the Arabic colloquial phrase فلاح منكم (felag mangu), which means ‘fugitive peasant’, referring to the Andalusian Arabic people and Gypsies who fled the hills of Andalusia to escape persecution.
Do these influences still last till this day?
Moorish influences definitely still permeate through Spanish culture and language. As mentioned above, many of the nouns and phrases that are commonly used in modern Spanish are very much influenced by the Arabic dialects during the Moorish invasion. There are also lots of cultural influences from the Moors, which are still a large part of current Spanish traditions.
The Moorish influence on Spain is also clearly reflected in the architecture, where many buildings and structures that were built by the Moors still stand. Lots of mosques, castles and fortresses are even popular tourist attractions, especially in the south of Spain, from the time of Moorish influence. The most famous example of this is ‘The Alhambra’ in Granada, which is a palace and fortress complex built by the Muslims. Other prominent examples include the Mezquita-Cathedral of Córdoba, with traditional lustrous Muslim decoration and structure, and the Alcázar of Seville, a palace built by the Muslims as a strategic protection location of the city of Seville.
It is clear that the nearly 800 years of Muslim influence in Spain definitely made an impact on so many parts of Spanish life, from the language spoken to the buildings and structures on the land, as well as their rich culture and various other facets of life. Even under the pressure of Catholic power during the Reconquista and Spanish Inquisition, the traces of the Moorish conquest still pervade throughout, which make up the basis of so many parts of Spain that we know and love today.
Links for further information:
Arabic influence on Spanish and Portuguese (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3QML3tfBNQ
The Spanish Inquisition (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmcKS47BsAo
The Spanish Reconquista (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8btnQEUQw
Influences of Arabic on Spanish (Blog Post): https://www.spanish.academy/blog/10-incredible-ways-arabic-influenced-spanish-culture-and-language/
