Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the frontier between the Muslim world and Christendom. At various times, either a Christian or a Muslim kingdom might be the most hospitable toward scholars. Translation of Arabic texts into Latin began as early as the 10th century, major works dates from the School of Toledo, which began during the reign of Alfonso VII of Castile,. Translations were made into medieval Latin or Church Latin, then Europe's lingua franca, or into medieval Spanish, which was the vernacular language of that time and place. Early translations included works by Avicenna, Al-Ghazali, Avicebron, etc.; books on astronomy, astrology, and medicine; and the works of some of the Ancient Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, who unlike Plato had previously been relatively unknown and largely ignored in European Christendom. The philosophical translations were accompanied by the Islamic commentaries, e.g., on Al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd, to the point of there being an identifiable Averroistschool of philosophy in Christian Europe. This cultural borrowing from the Arab culture enjoyed the strong patronage of Alfonso X of Castile, who commissioned translations of major works into the Latin and the Castilian Spanish of the time. This led to the first Spanish translation of the Qur'an, and of such influential works as Kalilah and Dimnah, Libro de los Engannos e Asayamientos de las Mugeres, the Escala de Mahomá and Los juegos del ajedrez. The works of Alfonso X in history and astronomy drew on numerous elements of Muslim knowledge. Also, the Tales of Count Lucanor, by Juan Manuel and El Libro de buen amor by Arcipreste de Hita from this period both show an interpenetration and symbiosis of Oriental and Spanish cultures.
With the Reconquista well under way, Arabist efforts in Spain were sometimes closely tied to the goal of the possibility of proselytizing Christianity in the Arab world. Spain was so dynamic a center of medieval Arabism as to draw scholars from throughout Christian Europe, notably Gerard of Cremona, Herman of Carinthia, Michael Scotus, and Robert of Ketton. In 1143, Robert of Ketton made the first Latin translation of the Qur'an, at the request of Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny. Marcos de Toledo produced another translation of the Qur'an in the 13th century under a mandate from archbishop Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, who later edited the landmark Historia Arabum, drawing on the work of al-Razi for the knowledge of al-Andalus prior to the Almoravid conquest. This trend continued in the 15th century, with Juan de Segovia's trilingual Qur'an, now lost, and Cardinal Cisneros's multilingual Bible. In the 16th century, Pedro de Alcalá produced his Arabic primers for Spanish speakers, and several histories were written about the previous century's reconquest of the Kingdom of Granada with its aftermath of Moorish uprisings.
Eclipse and renewal of Spanish Arabists
As Arabism was declining in Europe after the Reformation, this was also the case in Spain for like reasons, and due in particular to Mediterranean politics and to the repressive atmosphere created by the Spanish Inquisition. Some Moriscos hesitated to show their knowledge of their mother tongue. In the mid-18th century a new phase of Arabism arose in Spain. Later, in the era of the Generación del 98 Spanish Arabism began to produce widely recognized studies, and thus regained its prominence, particularly regarding such Arabists as Miguel Asín Palacios, and Emilio García Gómez, as well as many others.
entered Trinity College, Oxford in autumn 1840, after his family had travelled extensively in Europe. His studies at Oxford included falconry and Arabic. Burton's time in the Pakistani province of Sindh prepared him well for the transgressive pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina that he undertook in 1853. Seven years in Pakistan had given Burton a familiarity with the customs and behaviour of Muslims. This journey made Burton famous. He had planned it whilst travelling disguised among the Muslims of Sindh, and had laboriously prepared for the ordeal by study and practice. Although Burton was not the first non-Muslim European to make the Hajj, his pilgrimage is the most famous and the best documented of the time. He adopted various disguises, including that of a Pathan, to account for any oddities in speech, but he still had to master intricate Islamic ritual, and the minutiae of Eastern manners and etiquette. Burton's trek to Mecca was quite dangerous and his caravan was attacked by bandits. As he put it, although "...neither Koran or Sultan enjoin the death of Jew or Christian intruding within the columns that note the sanctuary limits, nothing could save a European detected by the populace, or one who after pilgrimage declared himself an unbeliever." The pilgrimage entitled him to the title of Hajji and to wear a green turban. Burton's own account of his journey is given in Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah.
, was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, archaeologist and spy. She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq.
