Question: According to this source, why did Muslim al-Andalus fall?
"Andalus (the Iberian peninsula), which was conquered in the year 92 of the Hijra, continued for many years to be a dependency of the Eastern Khalifate, until it was snatched away from their hands by one of the surviving members of the family of Umeyyah (Umayyad), who, crossing over from Barbary, subdued the country, and formed therein an independent kingdom, which he transmitted to his posterity. During three centuries and a half, Andalus, governed by the princes of this dynasty, reached the utmost degree of power and prosperity, until civil war breaking out among its inhabitants, the Muslims, weakened by internal discord, became every where the prey of the artful Christians, and the territory of Islam was considerably reduced, so much so that at the present moment the worshippers of the crucified hold the greatest part of Andalus in their hands, and their country is divided into various powerful kingdoms, whose rulers assist each other whenever the Muslims attack their territories."
—Ibn Said, Book of the Maghrib, in Ahmed ibm Mohammed al-Makkari, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, translated by Pascuual de Gayangos s, (London: Oriental Translation Fund, 1840), 1, 95-102
Options:
- A) It fell because the Umayyads lost their hold on the Arab Empire.
- B) It fell because the divisions within the empire made it vulnerable to attack.
- C) It fell because of the superior military forces of the Christian Crusaders.
- D) It fell because Muslims from the Eastern Khalifate conquered its lands.
Answer: The correct answer is option: B) It fell because the divisions within the empire made it vulnerable to attack.
Explanation: The text clearly mentions the divisions and the various attacks towards Al Andalus. The decline of Al-Andalus began with the Almoravids, a Berber dynasty. Alfonso, the leader, was later on defeated and leader Yusuf ibn Tashfin eliminated the area and added it to his empire. After the Almoravids, Almohads began ruling. Almohads was another Berber dynasty that after the death of their leader, Al-Andalus, they started falling apart and fell into independent principalities. Since those principalities were independent, they were quite weak and one by one were conquered. The last territory that remained with power and control was Emirate of Granada but eventually Granada fell into the hands of Christians.
