290 Muslim Spain mountainous region of the peninsula, as well as France The Muslim invaders were especially looking to gain resources in France rather than the inaccessible regions in northern Spain These attacks were launched in order to gain booty, because at that time the Muslim rulers in Spain possessed a booty or ghanima economy This system came to an end when the three major military expeditions to France during the eighth century ended in disastrous defeats Umayyad caliphs in al-Andalus had a policy of tolerance toward the non-Muslims under their rule NonMuslim residents had to bear the heaviest burden of taxation They had to pay a poll tax (jizya) and a land tax Thus the greatest source of revenue, which went toward financing the caliphs’ military campaigns, was the nonMuslim inhabitants of al-Andalus This contributed to the policy of tolerance of the Christian and Jewish population Conversion to Islam escalated under the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate This is despite the fact that Islamic proselytizing was minimal during this period Thus it has been suggested that social or economic forces, rather than any active missionary pressure on the part of the Muslims, motivated conversion During the ninth century mass conversions took place The benefits of conversion included employment opportunities in government Not only did Muslims pay significantly less tax than non-Muslims, they could also gain better positions in the bureaucracy In fact the unifying bonds between the various groups of people were culture and literature, rather than religion, which created a harmonious setting There was a large Christian group within Muslim Spain known as the Mozarabs, who settled mostly in Seville They adopted a Muslim lifestyle, in terms of fashion, architecture, and literature, without converting to Islam These Mozarabs suffered religious persecution in 1139 by fellow Christians after the raids of King Afonso I (Henriques) of Portugal on Seville, as they were not considered true Christians UMAYYAD DYNASTY OF CĨRDOBA The caliph of Córdoba, formerly known as the emir of Córdoba, ruled Spain for slightly more than a century, from the year 929 to 1031, beginning with the reign of the most powerful Muslim ruler, Abd ar-Rahman III, who claimed the caliphate in 929 The caliph was especially skilled at projecting his image as a powerful Arab leader Abd ar-Rahman III made sure he was visible to his people in the many ceremonies and processions organized for him He was Hispano-Basque (grandson of a Christian Basque princess) and was only a quarter Arab In order to look more like an Arab, it has been said, he dyed his hair black The caliph presented himself as an effective leader of his own military troops In his image campaign, newsletters and poems were glowingly written of his military prowess and piety During this period, in addition to having a reputation as an illustrious commercial center, al-Andalus also became an eminent center of knowledge and learning Al-Andalus was a great civilization, compared with the rest of Europe at that time Many Islamic works of art were produced during this era of Muslim rule Umayyad caliph Abd Al-Rahman III had a keen interest in the arts, as well as the religious and secular sciences He amassed many books from other intellectual centers such as Baghdad, which were then stored in the library Scholars were also hired to supplement further the amount of written knowledge imported Drawn to the bastion of knowledge and culture, many philosophers and scientists began to migrate to al-Andalus, making it a renowned center of learning Intellectual life in Córdoba peaked during the reign of Al-Hakam II, who was in power from 961 to 967 He was responsible for establishing a massive library filled with hundreds of thousands of volumes, a useful repository of knowledge in the Mediterranean world During this period several intellectuals achieved prominence in Muslim Spain Spanish Muslim intellectuals excelled in the fields of mathematics, medicine, and astronomy The most famous example is Ibn Rushd, otherwise called Averroës, who was a philosopher, theologian, physician, and sometime royal consultant, born and educated in Córdoba CHRISTIAN RECONQUEST Simultaneously the territories owned by the caliph of Córdoba decreased just as aspects of commerce and culture thrived Internal dissension among different Arab factions weakened the Umayyad power base in Córdoba as they disintegrated into warring divisions The lack of Muslim unity proved crucial to Christian success During the reign of Hisham II, the Umayyad Caliphate disintegrated into party-kingdoms in 1009 He was executed in 1013, only to be succeeded by another weak ruler, Hisham III, the last caliph of Córdoba Hisham III was exiled to Lerida Nominal rule continued under the short-lived Hasanid dynasty until 1054 The further remaining territories dwindled into mere Muslim principalities, better known as independent taifas, ruled by mainly Berber rulers, though there were also nonBerber rulers With their defenses weakened because of lack of unity, these taifas often had to hire mercenaries