THE MOORS
... with goods. Later in the same year, Tarik took an army of seven thousand Africans, crossing from Africa to Gibraltar (named after him), defeating King Roderic and conquering most of the Iberian Peninsula. Afterwards, the Moors settled themselves in Spain, and set up a kingdom. Being ruled by the Moors, Spain became the most civilized country in Europe. The Moors built wonderful cities in Spain. Cordoba, in the tenth century was much like a modern city. There were streets that were paved and sidewalks for the people. The population of the city was over one million. There were 200,000 homes, 800 public schools, a number of colleges and universities, and many imperial places surrounded by beautiful gardens. The Tanneries of Cordoba and Morocco City were considered best cities in the world. Cordoba was the most wonderful city of the tenth century. 4,000 public markets and 5,000 mills served it. Public baths numbered in the hundreds. This amenity was present at a time when cleanliness in Christian Europe was regarded as a sin. The mineral wealth of the land was not disregarded. Copper, gold, tin, silver, lead, iron, quicksilver, and alum were extensively mined. The sword blades of Toledo were the best in Europe, and the factories in Murcia turned out the finest of brass and iron instruments. Education was popular in Moorish Spain, available to the most poor, while 99% of Christian Europe was illiterate—not even the kings could read or write. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, public libraries did not exist in Christian Europe, while Moorish Spain had more than seventy, of which the one in Cordoba contained over six hundred thousand manuscripts. There were more than seventeen great universities in Moorish Spain, while Christian Europe had only two universities. Scientific progress in astronomy, chemistry, geography, mathematics, physics, and philosophy flourished in Moorish Spain. Scholars, artist and scientists formed learning societies, while scientific congresses were organized to promote research and to facilitate the spread of knowledge. A brisk intellectual life flourished in all Islamic dominated societies. The Moors also introduced the manufacture of gunpowder into Europe, which their enemies later adopted, using this explosive to drive them back to Africa.The Spaniards eventually re-conquered their country and by 1610 Moors were completely driven out of Spain. by 16th and 17th century's, the Moors ...