The Reconquista: The History and Legacy of the Conflicts Between the Moors and Christians on the Iberian Peninsula by Charles River Editors

Author:Charles River Editors
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charles River Editors
Published: 2018-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

The Ummayad Caliphate's enterprising celebration of unity allowed for the different elements within the mélange of cultures to shine, leading to accelerated growth and progress within the Cordoban community. Some of the city's most spectacular landmarks, such as the sublime Mezquita, rose during this period. While the rest of Europe struggled to escape the darkness of disunity and barbarism, out of Cordoba flashed a promising beam of light.

The inspiration and ingenuity that pervaded Cordoba also led to the works of various innovators. There was Abbas ibn Firnas, a 9th century inventor and overall polymath who dabbled in the fields of science, medicine, music, poetry, and more. Metronomes, water clocks, and a contraption that “simulated the motions of the cosmos” were just some of the pioneering inventions attributed to this Andalusian prodigy, who spent most of his life based in the Emirate of Cordoba. Firnas also developed one of the world's first flying machines; in 852, he strapped himself into a loose cloak fitted with wooden struts and jumped from the minaret of the city's grand Mezquita. He intended to sail through the skies like a hawk, only to fall nearly straight down. Fortunately, the cloak stalled his descent, acting as a parachute of sorts. He was evidently undeterred by this episode, for he tried again in 875 at the age of 70, this time diving off a mountaintop with eagle feathers stitched on a silk cloak.

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