In an age of identity politics and populist nationalism, the discovery of Islamic graves near Zaragoza in Spain comes as a timely reminder of the pluralist and tolerant society that once thrived in the "emirates of Europe" about 1,000 years ago.
Zaragoza was among the most splendid of the emirates of Europe. It first emerged to prominence under the Banu Qasi dynasty, descended from a Spanish nobleman named Cassius, rendered into Arabic as Qasi. He is said to have travelled to Syria-Palestine and been converted to Islam by Al Walid ibn Abd Al Malik, the Caliph famous for building the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
The emirate of Zaragoza peaked under the Banu Hud dynasty in the 11th century. The Aljaferia Palace, the oldest surviving example of Islamic palace architecture in Europe, was built during this period. It was there that the ruler convened literary majlises attended by poets and philosophers, presiding over a remarkable period of cultural efflorescence.
The Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza was built by the Emir Abu Jaffar Al Muqtadir of the Banu Hud dynasty in the eleventh century. Timothy Power
Although the history of Moorish Spain and Portugal – called Arabic Al Andalus – is relatively well known, it is less widely appreciated that emirates once also thrived in Mediterranean Europe. Narbonne and La Garde-Freinet, near St Tropez, in France, together with Tropea, Taranata and Bari in Italy, and the island of Crete in Greece, were all among them.
Sicily was under Muslim rule for over two centuries until it was conquered by the Normans in the 11th century. The Norman king Roger II transformed Palermo into the capital of a cosmopolitan kingdom combining Arab, Greek and Latin cultures. He brought artisans from Fatimid Egypt to decorate the ceiling of the chapel built for his palace. He also had himself depicted as a Muslim ruler.
Many of the Arabs and Berbers who settled in Europe took local wives and, over the generations, became increasingly European. The most renowned of the emirs was Abd Al Rahman III, the Caliph of Cordoba, who famously had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Indigenous Europeans who became culturally Arabised but kept their ancestral Christianity were known in Spain as "Mozarabs", from the Arabic "musta'rib" meaning “Arabicised”. Those who further adopted Islam were called Muwalladun, indicating they had been born among the Muslim community and raised as Arabs.
An image of Roger II from the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Italy, showing him seated in the manner of a Muslim ruler. Wikimedia Commons
Emirati archaeologist Omar Al Kaabi explores the ruins of a forgotten Arab Emirate near St Tropez in France. Timothy Power
The emirates of Europe cannot, therefore, be dismissed as the transient outposts of alien invaders. They lasted centuries, incorporated the local population and left an enduring legacy. It was through such centres of learning as Toledo and Palermo that Greek philosophy and Islamic science stimulated the emergence of northern Europe from the Dark Ages.
The modern UAE shares in the cosmopolitanism and tolerance that made the historic emirates of Europe so successful, as exemplified by recent changes to the law. There are, moreover, some more tangible and perhaps surprising links between the two.
Sometime around 3,000 years ago, the farming communities of the present UAE began to use a kind of underground aqueduct – the "falaj" – to irrigate their date-palm oases. The oldest dated examples have been found at Thuqayba in Sharjah and at the Unesco World Heritage Site of Al Ain, leading some archaeologists to argue that the falaj was invented here.
Falaj irrigation had become widely used across the Middle East by the time of the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, and was brought by the conquering Arabs into Spain and Portugal in the following century.
The Palmeral or Palm Grove of Elche is a Spanish oasis created using Arabian irrigation technology. Wikimedia Commons
The cultural achievement throughout the emirates of Europe was a pluralist and tolerant society
Perhaps the most vivid testament to the success of falaj irrigation in Spain is the Palm Grove or “Palmeral” of Elche. This oasis of 70,000 palm trees – about half the size of Al Ain Oasis with 147,000 palm trees – survives from the period when Elche was ruled by the emirate of Cordoba.
There are even genealogical links. The ruling families of the emirates of Europe claimed descent from some of the most famous tribes of the Arabian Peninsula – tribes that have historic connections with the present UAE.
The Abbadid rulers of the emirate of Seville traced their origin back to Lakhmids, who ruled over eastern Arabia, including the UAE and Oman, prior to the rise of Islam.
The Banu Tujib, one of the dynasties to rule Zaragoza, claimed descent from Kinda, a tribe that had its main centre in the pre-Islamic period at Hatta Oasis, today part of Dubai.
Some of the key sources for the history of the UAE were, in fact, written in the emirates of Europe. Without them, our knowledge of the ancient towns and tribes of the UAE would be much poorer.
The Mujam ma istajam, or Lexicon of Ambiguous Places, of the 11th-century Spanish Muslim scholar Al Bakri deals with the geography of the Arabian Peninsula. It includes a valuable description of the pearl fisheries of Tuwam, a region that included the early Islamic archaeological site at Jumeirah in Dubai, but probably also stretched inland as far as the oases of Al Ain.
The Tabula Rogeriana, or ‘Map of Roger', by the 12-century Spanish Muslim geographer Al Idrisi. Wikimedia Commons
Roger II of Palermo commissioned the 12th-century Spanish Muslim scholar Al Idrisi to produce a world atlas: Nuzhat Al mushtaq fi ikhtiraq Al Afaq, or The Excursion of the One who Yearns to Penetrate the Horizons. It contains the first reference to the pearl fisheries of Julfar – the precursor of modern Ras Al Khaimah, recently inscribed on the tentative list of Unesco World Heritage Sites.
Both Al Bakri and Al Idrisi had studied in the emirate of Cordoba. According to the 17th-century Moroccan historian Al Maqqari, the library of Cordoba contained 400,000 books and the catalogue alone ran to 44 volumes.
The lasting legacy of the emirates of Europe is summarised poetically by Al Maqqari: “In four things Cordoba surpasses the capitals of the world. Among them are the bridge over the river and the mosque. These are the first two. The third is [the palace of] Madinat Al Zahra. But the greatest of all things is knowledge – and that is the fourth.”
This tremendous cultural achievement was the result of a pluralist and tolerant society that embraced diverse peoples and multiple religions. It was ultimately undermined by the politics of hate: a warning from the pages of history to modern societies that indulge in such fallacies.
Timothy Power is an archaeologist, historian and author of A History of the Emirati People, to be published in 2021
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
