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THE NAME APPLIED TO THE DARK SKINNED BERBERS IN THE WEST AFRICA. THE WORD MOOR COMES FROM THE GREEK AND ROMAN WORDS MAURES AND MAURUS MEANING DARK OR BLACK. I N THE 8th CENTURY, MANY MOORS CONVERTED TO ISLAM, SPREADING THE RELIGION THROUGHOUT THE WEST AFRICA AND THEN INTO SPAIN, WHICH THEY OVERRAN IN 711 A.D. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF TARIQ IBN ZIYAD. FROM THERE THEY CROSSED THE PYRENEES INTO FRANCE BUT WERE DEFEATED BY CHARLES MARTEL AT THE BATTLE OF TOURS( 732). UNDER ABD AR-RAHMAN'S I UMAYYAD DYNASTY WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED AT CORDOBA, SPAIN IN 756 AND THE KNOWN AS THE CALIPHATE OF CORDOBA, THE MOORS ESTABLISHED AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION THAT EVENTUALLY BECAME THE LEADUNG AGRICULTURAL, INDUSTRIAL, CULTURED AND EDUCATION CENTER OF EUROPE. ANOTHER MORISH GROUP, THE ALMORAVIDS INVADED SPAIN IN 1086 AND THEY WERE SUPPLANTED IN 1174 BY THE MOORISH ALMOHADES . ALL GROUPS OF THESE PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY THE ALMOHADES BROUGHT THOUSANDS OF SKILLED WORKERS AND ARTISTS INTO SPAIN. THE CULTIVATION OF SILK, RICE, COTTON, SUGARCANE, GINGER, DATES AND LEMON WAS INTRODUCED AND THE CITIES OF CORDOBA, TOLEDO SND SEVILLE WERE CELEBRATED FOR THEIR UNIVERSITIES AND THEIR ARCHITECTURE. TOLEDO WAS INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS FOR IT'S PRODUCTION OF SWORDS A OTHER MOORISH CITIES WERE KNOWN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHIELDS, LEATHER, CARPETS, WOOLENS, GLASS AND POTTERY. THE STREETS OF CORODBA WERE PAVED AND LIGHTED AND THE CITY BOASTED MANY SCHOOLS, COLLEGE, UNIVERSITIES, LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC BATHS. THE MOORS BUILT TUNNELS, AQUEDUCTS, DAMS AND RESERVOIRS ALONG WITH NUMEROUS MOSQUES AND THE MAGNIFICANT ALHAMBRA COMPLEX AT GRANADA . ALMOHAD RULE ENDED IN THE EARLY 13th CENTURY AND THE MOORS WERE DRIVEN OUT OF SPAIN AT THE END OF THE 15th CENTURY. MOST MOORS NOW LIVE IN MAURITANIA, MALI AND SENEGAL. IN FACT THE WORD SENEGAL COMES FROM THE NAME OF THE MOORISH CLAN, THE ZENAGA, AND MAURITANIA MEANING LAND OF THE MOORS. EXTENSIVE INTERMARRIAGE BETWEEN MOORISH BERVERS, ARABS, AND SPANISH WOMEN RESULTED IN LIGHT SKINNED DESCENDANTS WHO AR REFERRED AS THE " WHITE MOORS"
Posted By: barbara robinson
Sunday, June 24th 2012 at 7:10PM
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