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Walk this pathway
8steps · 75min · teacher · student · standard
What is al-Andalus?
The name of the land Muslims ruled in the Iberian peninsula from 711 to 1492.
Umayyad Cordoba
A prince fleeing Damascus builds a state, and a caliphate is proclaimed in 929.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba
A building enlarged in stages over two centuries: architecture as politics.
The palace library
Al-Hakam's library: what the sources say about its size, and what did not survive.
Ziryab
A musician from Baghdad changes Andalusi taste: music, food and dress.
Ibn Rushd
A judge and philosopher whose commentaries on Aristotle Latin Europe read.
Granada
The last Muslim emirate in al-Andalus as the land shrank.
The Alhambra
Palace, fortress and city: ornament, water and calligraphy.
What you now know
Mastery check
Five questions on what you walked through. Marked on your device; nothing is kept but the stamp in your passport when you pass.
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Answer key (for the teacher)
- Between which years did Muslims rule land in the Iberian peninsula? — 711–1492(Learn it at step 1: What is al-Andalus?)
- Why was the Great Mosque of Cordoba enlarged repeatedly? — The city grew and rulers displayed their power(Learn it at step 3: The Great Mosque of Cordoba)
- Who was Ziryab? — A musician from Baghdad who changed Andalusi taste(Learn it at step 5: Ziryab)
- For what was Ibn Rushd known among Europeans? — His commentaries on Aristotle(Learn it at step 6: Ibn Rushd)
- What is the Alhambra? — A palace and fortress in Granada(Learn it at step 8: The Alhambra)
Tell it back
Tell what you learned in your own words. What you write stays on this device only, and no one else reads it.
- I can place al-Andalus in time and space and name its main phases.
- I can assess the contribution of at least two individuals to Andalusi culture.
- I can analyse what survives of al-Andalus in architecture and thought.
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Write at least two sentences, or tick that you told it, to earn the stamp in your passport.
Overview
A CHW3M pathway on al-Andalus: Umayyad Cordoba, its mosque and library, Ziryab and Ibn Rushd, the coexistence and tension of three faiths, then Granada, the Alhambra and the end of the emirate in 1492.
For the teacher
Seventy-five minutes. The question of 'coexistence' is discussed from the museum's sources in the form 'what do the sources say', not 'who was right'; the museum gives no verdict and students learn to do the same.
Sources
- The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Canadian and World Studies (2015)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Al-Andalus: eight centuries from Cordoba to Granada”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/exhibits/pathway-g11-chw3m-al-andalus/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.