Firas 1

Maab Firas Salim

Professor Hoffiz

ENL 101/Section A

10 April 2022

The Fall Of Islamic Spain

To conclude, after decades of planning and consideration, the Castilians and Arrgonese

were able to achieve their big ambition of overthrowing the Caliphate of Banu Al-Ahmar.

Over this period, Castilians and Arrgonese made many sacrifices and had different

strategies to overcome the Andluse. The Islamic State, on the other hand, had poor

planning and bad decisions, leading to loss of land and people. For example, the rulers

of Banu Al-Ahmar had poor leadership and participated in many useless and

time-consuming activities, causing the morality of Islamic state to disappear. They also

spent money on “looks” of their land instead of defensive equipment that they could’ve

used to fight the Castilians and Arrogans. All in all, the lack of research and

development was the big reason for the fall of Islamic State in Spain. If Banu Al-Ahmar

had strong leadership and planning, they could’ve clearly seen what was happening to

them and the Islamic State of Spain would still stand today.

Fall Of Spain Questions

1. Apply the lessons you have learned from this summary to write your comments

and observations regarding the quotations in Arabic at the top of Page 91. With

each quotation, to what extent do you agree or disagree?

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"‫"ان في التاريخ لعبره‬

I agree with this quote because throughout history, we can learn our lessons and be

able to know what to do and not do based on experience. By looking at what has

happened throughout history, we are able to get an idea of what could be coming and

have a possibility to prevent tragedies from happening again. For example, in the fall of

Islamic Spain, we can learn to have stronger leadership in Islamic countries so that we

.don't lose another land and our people

"‫"ما اشبه الليله بارحه‬

This quote means that history repeats itself and that events may keep happening. For

example, something similar to the fall of Islamic State in Spain may happen if we do not

prevent it and see what might be coming our way. I semi-agree with this because we

have seen history repeat itself before but many times we also see that people are

learning their lessons and not allowing something to happen to them.

"‫"فاقد الشيء ال يعطيه‬

This quote means that if you do not have something, you can not give anything. I agree

with this quote because if you do not have knowledge about something, you can not

give advice to yourself or others. For example, during the fall of Spain, the ruler of

Banu- Al Ahmer appeared to have no knowledge about what's going on as they did not

have the power to stop it or see what was happening to them.

…‫"نيرون لم يحرق روما و لم يعزف على اطاللها‬

"‫هكذا ظلم التاريخ االمبراطور المجنون‬

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This quote means that Neuron had nothing to do with and isn’t one to blame for the

burning of Rome. I disagree with this quote because according to our sources, the

reason that Andalusia fell was because the Arabs were busy doing silly entertainment

and didn’t really worry or protect their land. Again, the Arabs could’ve stopped this

chaos from happening if they had done something serious about the situation rather

than doing useless activities. In this quote, it says that this is how history wronged the

mad emperor but according to sources, history didn’t blame him, it was simply the truth

that land was taken over due to lack of care and attention from the Arabs such as

Neuron.

2. How could someone write even a brief essay on the fall of Andalusia|Spain

without ever having read reliable sources about it?

In order to write about the fall of Andalusia, you must understand the full history of it and

have full knowledge about how and why it happened. However, if you needed to write a

short essay about the topic, you could write about what happened, but not in detail

since history can’t be predicted, rather, it should be fully understood and examined. For

example, the writer could write about how the Islamic State fell because we know that it

doesn’t exist today in Spain. Yet, the writer still wouldn't be able to write in detail about

why the Islamic State fell if a reliable source was not used to back up their information.

3. Do you believe that the fall of Spain was a “fait accompli,” i.e., inevitable? Why

or why not?

I believe that the fall of Spain could’ve been prevented if the rulers of Banu Al- Ahmer

had paid attention to what was happening. It stated in the article that at some points, the
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Catalians and Arragons made tactical decisions to be peaceful with the Andulusians,

when in reality it was just a way to achieve their goal of taking over Islamic Spain. Also it

was mentioned that the Banu Al-Ahmar spent their money on fountains and

entertainment, rather than spending it on materials that could’ve helped them to fight the

Castilians and Arragons. It’s clear that Banu Al-Ahmar did not maintain their presence,

which is why the fall of Andaluse happened. If Banu Al- Ahmar would’ve taken the

situation seriously and with thought, they could’ve prevented such things from

happening.