Moorish Legacy

Introduction
A group of Muslims called Moors lives in North Africa.  They were a very powerful people in Medieval times.  They were called Moors by Europeans because they had very dark skin.  Their color was like Wesley Snipes.  They conquered parts of Southern Europe. They reintroduced Europeans to civilization. This took place during the dark ages.  At this time Europeans were ignorant, unclean, and superstitious because of the Catholic Church.  There was a Jewish Golden Age in Iberia when the Moors ruled.

History
The Moors came from a tribe called Berber.  The Berber originated in the horn of Africa or further south. That's the official story.  Some believe the Moors were Arabs from Yemen.  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  Arabs were originally African.  A lot of non-African converted to Islam.  After that, they most of them became Arabs.  That's why most Arabs are pale.  At least the ones I see.  There are a lot of original Arabs on Youtube.

They conquered Iberia in 711CE.  The Moorish army was led by Tariq ibn Ziyad.  Gibraltar was named after him.  The Moors were able to defeat the Visigoths in Iberia but were unable to conquer the rest of Europe because they were defeated by Charles Martel.  Sephardic Jews helped Moors take over Iberia; because they were mistreated by the Visigoths.  After the took over, people were allowed to follow their own religion.  Most people followed an Abrahamic religion.  Iberia was ruled by 3 different dynasties over 700 years!

As time dragged on the Moors lost land.  There were two Christian kingdoms in the north.  One rule by King Ferdinand and the other by Queen Isabella.  They got married, so their kingdoms combined.  They were able to kick the Moors out in 1492; the same year Columbus met the Tainos.

The Moors were attracted European women because they were so exotic.  The phrase tall, dark, and handsome is what European women said about the Moorish men, in my opinion.  The Moors enslaved a lot of European women and brought them to North Africa.  This is one of the reasons why people in North Africa are pale.  There were also Caucasians migrations and invasions into North Africa as well.

Inventions
They invented universal education in Iberia, while most Europeans were illiterate.
There were 70 libraries in Cordova.
Spinach is 20% Arabic.
They brought the lyre, flute, and guitar to Iberia.
They had paper and used numbers we are familiar with.  It replaced roman numerals.
They brought new crops to Iberia.
Deodorant to get rid of body odor.
Clothes for different weather and seasons.
Public Baths and other forms of hygiene.
Street lights, running, and hospitals
Modern Surgery
Flight
Rifles (firesticks)
These are just a few of their inventions.

Jewish Golden Age
The Jews in Spain became very advanced when the Moors ruled.  A lot of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East came to Spain during this time.  They were very intellectual.  They translated ancient text into European languages.  Jews were great philosophers, scientists, poets, mathematicians, botanist, etc.  Each successive Muslim dynasty became more oppressive to the Jews.  They got kicked out of Spain in 1492 and Portugal 1496.

Conclusion
The Moors were a bridge from the ancient world to the modern world.  They were a great people of African origin.  They were highly intelligent.  There is much we can learn from them.  Sometimes the Spanish reenact the Moorish invasion of Iberia.  Sometimes other European paint their faces black and dress like them.    

References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMTujYasv6s
http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/afro-arabian-origins-of-the-early-yemenites-and-their-conquest-and-settlement-of-spain-dana-marniche/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmZm4PRhfNg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_conquest_of_Hispania
http://www.thatswhatsgoodmedia.com/moors-morroco/
https://hacomtaewresdowarriorarts.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/my-moorish-bloodline/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_Jewish_culture_in_Spain
Europeans celebrating Moors