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A lecture by Rocío Daga Portillo (LMU Munich) as part of the series “Basics of Islam: Cities” organized by the Münchner Mittelost-Mittelmeer-Mittelasien-Zentrum, 4MZ (Munich Middle East Central Asia Center).
Even after the conquest of Toledo by Christian troops in 1085, the inhabitants of Toledo continued writing their contracts in Arabic for another 250 years. The cathedral’s collection of 1,175 Arabic documents reflects a mestizaje, a fusion of legal cultures within society and the gradual changes of a society rife with upheavals. Marriage contracts, purchase agreements and deeds of donation reveal the intertwining of Visigoth and Islamic laws and customs – an intertwining that came to fashion the unique features of the people and society in the city of Toledo. The documents also shed light on the mechanisms used to transform society and the process by which European “nations” were formed, ultimately triggering the end of a pluralistic society in Toledo.
For more information (in German) about this event, please visit the website of the Institute for Near and Middle Eastern Studies.