During the night, ten miles of streets were well illuminated by lamps. The streets were well-paved, with raised sidewalks for pedestrians. At its height, Córdova, the heart of Moorish territory in Spain, was the most modern city in Europe. Basil Davidson, one of the most noted historians recognized and declared that there were no lands at that time (the eighth century) “more admired by its neighbours, or more comfortable to live in, than a rich African civilization which took shape in Spain”ĥ. Scientific progress in Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Geography and Philosophy flourished in Moorish SpainĤ. The Moors, who ruled Spain for 800 years, introduced new scientific techniques to Europe, such as an astrolabe, a device for measuring the position of the stars and planets. Quoted in Edward Scobie, The Moors and Portugal’s Global Expansion, in Golden Age of the Moor, ed Ivan Van Sertima, US, Transaction Publishers, 1992, p.336ģ. The noble Goths were broken in an hour, quicker than tongue can tell. he reins of their (Moors) horses were as fire, their faces black as pitch, their eyes shone like burning candles, their horses were swift as leopards and the riders fiercer than a wolf in a sheepfold at night. A European scholar sympathetic to the Spaniards remembered the conquest in this way:Ī. The Spanish occupation by the Moors began in 711 AD when an African army, under their leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from northern Africa and invaded the Iberian peninsula ‘Andalus’ (Spain under the Visigoths).Ģ. Eredo: The Largest City in the Ancient Worldġ.10 things you didn’t know about Nelson Mandela.15 facts about Black Londoners before 1948.African Holocaust: The History & Legacy of African Enslavement.Black Power: Great Black Leaders & Liberators (2).Black Power: Great Black Leaders & Liberators (1).Images of Black Women Film Festival 2012.The South African Film Festival Wood Green.Black Europe On Film: Europe and The Black Diaspora Film Festival – May – June 2018.