During the Early Middle Ages, most of the Iberian Peninsula became part of the so-called dār al-Islam, the huge realm that extended from the shores of the Atlantic to the borders of the Indian subcontinent, and which comprised North Africa, the Near East and significant parts of Central Asia. In the long run, this meant a dramatic shift from the notions, ideologies and frames of reference that emerged in other western regions of the former Roman Empire. Notwithstanding this obvious divergence, Iberia had shared with these regions a common classical legacy that was assimilated, readapted and, finally, integrated after the Arab conquest under a new perspective in a number of distinctive ways. The aim of this paper is to analyse receptions, perceptions and ideas on classical Antiquity from the eighth to the tenth century in both al-Andalus and the Christian north, drawing data from the material evidence and the written record. It is our contention that the appreciation of this legacy underwent significant changes in both cultural milieus as a result of changing political and social circumstances.
Este artículo es un análisis crítico de las fuentes árabes relativas a la conquista de Hispania. En él se comparan los diferentes relatos que las crónicas Omeyas y las compilaciones tardías ofrecen sobre ese acontecimiento. También se subrayan los orígenes orientales de la mayor parte de estos relatos poniendo de relieve su particular elaboración en al-Andalus. Este método nos permite concluir que el principal interés de los cronistas omeyas era definir el status de la tierra según los intereses de la dinastía gobernante. Sin embargo, esta visión se vio contestada por otros autores que defendían los intereses de los descendientes de los conquistadores. Todo esto explica tanto las contradicciones presentes en nuestras fuetes como la inestable situación política de al-Andalus en su período más temprano.
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