THE GOLDEN AGE

The golden age, 1000 -1100 AD, of al-Andalus was centered around its capital, or Cordoba. The political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological aspects of it greatly added to its growing fame and prosperity.

The golden age of Cordoba might have been a good time for the people, but it was not a very good time to be a political leader. Abd al -Rahman III , the leader of the time, had to put down many revolts from other factions and groups. At the same time, he had to fight off the Christian forces at the northern border. This is a little similar to what is happening today in Iraq. In the country, there are groups that are fighting against each other and we, the US., are on the border. Other than that, I don't think our time period has much in common with the political aspects of the golden age of al-Andalus and Cordoba. Although most of the political aspects of the golden age of al-Andalus were hard, it was a great time for the people.

During the Golden Age, Cordoba had a very prosperous economy. The goods made in Cordoba were traded with goods from all kinds of places including Europe and India. The farmland was fertile and the farming flourished. Over 4.000 marketplaces were scattered all over the city. This does not have much in common with the state the economy of the United States is in. In spite of the economy, the number of marketplaces in Cordoba can be compared with the hundreds of thousands in the country. Our trading with countries all over the world might be comparable with Cordoba trading with different empires and regions, after all they were trading with everyone in the known world then. The golden age of Cordoba had a very prosperous economy.

Culture flourished during the golden age of Cordoba. There were many religious philosophers contemplating one thing or another. Cordoba was famous for its religious acceptance. This factor brought many Jewish people to the city, because in other places, they did not have the freedom of religion. The city was also famous because it had over 100 libraries with thousands of books written in many languages. The amount of libraries and books in Cordoba cannot be compared to any one city that I know of. The United Stated of America was founded by people wanting to practice their own religion and not get persecuted for it so , like Cordoba, we naturally have the freedom of religion. And so, Cordoba was a very cultural city during the Golden Age.

Last but not least, the technology and the advances in it were very great at the time. Many scholars were inventing and making new gadgets and machines. The breakthroughs made in the city were astounding. Today, people ate still innovating and inventing fabulous things, just like in the age of Cordoba. We have many people teaching, learning and and researching the many fields of technology.In conclusion, Cordoba was a great technological center during the 1000-1100s.