Uses of the Past in Early Medieval Iberia (Eighth-Tenth Centuries)

Abstract

During the Early Middle Ages, most of the Iberian Peninsula became part of the so-called dār al-Islam, the huge realm that extended from the shores of the Atlantic to the borders of the Indian subcontinent, and which comprised North Africa, the Near East and significant parts of Central Asia. In the long run, this meant a dramatic shift from the notions, ideologies and frames of reference that emerged in other western regions of the former Roman Empire. Notwithstanding this obvious divergence, Iberia had shared with these regions a common classical legacy that was assimilated, readapted and, finally, integrated after the Arab conquest under a new perspective in a number of distinctive ways. The aim of this paper is to analyse receptions, perceptions and ideas on classical Antiquity from the eighth to the tenth century in both al-Andalus and the Christian north, drawing data from the material evidence and the written record. It is our contention that the appreciation of this legacy underwent significant changes in both cultural milieus as a result of changing political and social circumstances.