Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)
No.2, 2014
The Circumstances of Christian Survival in Al-Andalus at the Beginning of Muslim Conquest
(Abstract)
Xia Jiguo
Before the Moslem conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the Visigoth Kingdom had forcibly converted the inhabitants to Christianity. While this policy was being implemented, from 711 to 713 the Moslems were completing their conquest of the area, which they renamed Al-Andalus. Christian converts now faced Moslem rule. At this early stage of the Moslem conquest, how did the Christians survive? Early literature tells us that between 711 and 756, the Moslems established their control over Al-Andalus through military conquest or peaceful agreements; the governing order bequeathed by the Visigoth Kingdom was maintained to a considerable extent, and a two-way process of acclimatization was under way. The Christians enjoyed freedom of religion provided they paid the capitation tax imposed on them, and Christian churches operated normally as they had before the conquest, with no change in the issues that concerned them. Some material in Latin, including the Chronicle of 754, indicates that the Christians did not view the Moslem conquest or Moslem rule as a religious threat. A relatively peaceful relationship of co-existence grew up between Moslems and Christians in Al-Andalus.