Ahl al-Kitab: mecanismes de cohesió social entre les religions monoteistes en la convivència ibèrica

Abstract

The themes of this inquiry are sectarian cooperation and hegemony during the centuries-long Iberian cohabitation. Beginning with the Umayyad invasions of the Iberian peninsula (circa 700 AD), the study passes through nearly eight centuries characterized alternately by strife and harmony among the three monotheisms collectively designated in Arabic as Ahl al-Kitab (peoples of the book'). The timeline concludes with the Christian kings' reconquest of Iberia and the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims. Ethnic frictions, tribalism, and claims of religious superiority. Yet, by means of mechanisms of social cohesion, adherents of the three monotheisms found ways to collaborate in many human pursuits including law, commerce, arts, sciences, philosophy and architecture. These mechanisms were informed by ancient legal alliances designated in the Roman tradition and the Visigothic Code as the patronate. Consisting of a diad of patronus and client, this institution implied bonds of protection and loyalty that anticipated feudal relations of seigneur and vassal.