HIST 251 Final, Fall 2005

The American University of Beirut Name History 251 Student No. History of North Africa and Spain in the Middle Ages January 26, 2006 Final examination Answer two of the following essay problems, one from Part A and one from Part B. Take time to think about the problems, organize your essays, write neatly, and be concise. You have two hours. Part A 1. (Ibn Tumart) began his propaganda, and he is buried there. When he had settled, the notables of the Masmuda gathered around him and he began to teach them religious knowledge and invite them to good deeds, without however disclosing to them his goals or his thirst for power. He composed for them a treatise on the articles of faith in their own tongue, in which he was one of the most eloquent men of his time, and when they understood the refinements of this treatise, their veneration for him was much increased: their hearts were filled with love of him, Write an essay in which you explain the significance of this passage in the context of the history of 2. Write an essay in which you explain the significance of religious reform in the development of the Almoravid and Almohad states in the medieval Maghrib. Explain what these movements were and their political consequences in the context of Maghribi history. In your discussion compare the dynamics of their social and political features. 3. Write an essay in which you explain the importance of the institution of the madrasa in the context of Maghribi history. Explain their political and social roles of these institutions and their consequences for the history of North Africa. Part B 4. challenging this view of Andalusian society in the period since the Taifas. Address also the issue of the extent to which it was an exclusively Andalusian, as opposed to Iberian, phenomenon. 5. -Rahman III (reigned 912-961) was able to overcome the obstacles that his political predecessors faced and discuss the significance of his reign for the social and political history of Andalusia. 6. He tore me from passion well proven my share Of obedience, Though shunned. Joy after him may choose whom it wills. I cannot resist him on any condition; A lord who accuses, treats harshly, delays; Who left me in pledge to despair and disease, Then sang with an air between boldness and love: -habib enfermo de meu amar. My beloved is sick for love of me. How can he not be so? Do you not see that he is not allowed near me?) Write an essay in which you explain the role of non-Muslim elements in the appearance of an Andalusian identity in spite of the political fragmentation that occurred during the last centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia.