Glossary
Use the glossary for careful definitions, variant spellings, and terms that need historical context before they become claims.
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Topics
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Regions
Browse by geography, including al-Andalus, the Maghreb, Iberia, and wider connected regions.
Eras
Move through the record by century, dynasty, and major historical period.
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Adab
A broad Arabic term connected to literature, cultivated conduct, education, style, and elite social knowledge.
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al‑Andalus
Arabic term used for parts of the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule; its geographical scope changed over time.
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Almohad
A Maghrebi reform movement and empire that replaced Almoravid power and ruled major parts of North Africa and al-Andalus in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
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Almoravid
A North African and Saharan reform movement and empire that ruled parts of the Maghreb and intervened in al-Andalus in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
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Amazigh / Berber
Terms used for Indigenous North African peoples and languages; Amazigh is a self-designation, while Berber is a long-used external scholarly and historical label.
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Arabization
A long process through which Arabic language, names, literary culture, administration, and prestige spread into communities that were not originally Arabic-speaking.
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Caliphate
A form of Islamic rule centered on the title caliph; in al-Andalus it most often refers to the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, proclaimed in 929.
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Convivencia
A modern scholarly and public-history term for coexistence among Muslims, Christians, and Jews in medieval Iberia, useful only when balanced with conflict, hierarchy, and changing power.
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Dhimmi
A protected but subordinate legal status for certain non-Muslim communities under Islamic rule, usually discussed for Jews and Christians in al-Andalus.
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Emirate
A polity ruled by an emir; in al-Andalus the term is especially important for the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba before the caliphate.
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Fitna
An Arabic term often translated as civil strife or disorder; in al-Andalus it commonly points to the crisis that fractured the Cordoban caliphate in the early eleventh century.
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Islamization
The process by which Islamic belief, law, institutions, naming, ritual life, and social norms became established in a region or community.
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Jizya
A tax associated with certain non-Muslim communities under Islamic rule, commonly discussed alongside protected status and state finance.
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Maghreb
The western part of North Africa, especially the region that includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and neighboring western Islamic lands depending on period and author.
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Maliki Law
One of the major Sunni schools of Islamic law, especially important in the Maghreb and al-Andalus.
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Moor
A shifting historical label used in medieval and early modern European writing for Muslims, North Africans, or people associated with Islamic Iberia and the western Mediterranean.
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Moorish
A modern English adjective often used for art, architecture, culture, or historical influence associated with Muslim Iberia and North Africa.
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Morisco
A term for people in Iberia who were converted from Islam to Christianity, or descended from such converts, especially in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
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Mozarab
A term commonly used for Christians living under Muslim rule in al-Andalus, especially where Arabic language or culture shaped community life.
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Mudejar
A term for Muslims living under Christian rule in medieval Iberia, and later for artistic or architectural forms associated with Islamic-influenced craft under Christian patronage.
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Nasrid
The dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from the thirteenth century until the surrender of Granada in 1492.
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Qadi
A judge in an Islamic legal setting, often responsible for legal disputes, documentation, public morality, and the application of legal norms.
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Reconquista
A later framing term for Christian expansion against Muslim-ruled territories in Iberia; useful with caution because it can impose a single long plan on complex medieval politics.
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Taifa
A regional kingdom or party-state that emerged after the breakdown of central authority in al-Andalus, especially after the fall of the Cordoban caliphate.