Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

This is a beautiful film. It is rare for a documentary to be so relevant to our times. It tells us that it is indeed possible for the three major religions to work together and make magic; magic great enough to plant the seeds of the Renaissance, on which modern civilization is based. It also tells us how easily we can turn that magic into menace; menace great enough to threaten the world for generations. If we examine our current world, the seeds of destruction are being planted, and the casualty will be peace, harmony, understanding between peoples, and the great progress human civilization has made over the last few centuries. The question we should ask ourselves is this: Is it possible for our civilization to regress into an era of hatred, intolerance, prejudice, and injustice, and plunge the world into a new "Dark Age"? This film tells us that it did happen, time and time again, in Spain during the last two millennia. At the same time, it shows us that if we have the will, we can also work together and make the world an infinitely better place. The question it forces us to ponder is: What direction will we choose? As democracies, what direction will we make our leaders take?

Islamic Spain was also called Moorish Spain, after the Moors, a synonym for blacks in medieval Europe. But, you'd never know that if you view Cities of Light as historical fact. Blink, and you'll miss the few blacks in this presentation. The 800 year conquest of Spain by Islamic Moors was initiated by Tarik ibn Ziyad. Primary Christian sources like the Primera Cronica General made the following observation of his troops: "Their faces were as black as pitch, the handsomest amongst them was as black as a cooking pot".

But, it is in the Cantigas of Santa Maria where we see how well integrated the Moors were in Spanish society. Cantigas illustrators portray Blacks in a variety of roles-from members of the aristocracy to the military. Included among the images of medieval Spain is a black man receiving gifts from a caliph or emir. In another illustration two noble black Moors are shown playing chess while being attended by black and white servants and musicians . Also, in the army black Moors are shown not only as foot soldiers, bowmen, lancers, and horsemen but also as high-ranking officers.

One day, a documentary on Islamic/Moorish Spain will be made without the racial bias of Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain. Until then, check out the Cantigas illustrations in The Image of The Black in Western Art.