In all the vast domain of historical inquiry there is probably no subject which has been treated with such studied neglect, with such flagrant injustice, as the civilization of the Arabs in the Spanish Peninsula. Its story has been written in the majority of instances by the implacable enemies of those who founded and promoted it. Theological hatred has lent its potent aid to the prejudice of race and the envy arising from conscious inferiority to deny or belittle its achievements. The greatest of Moorish princes have been represented by zealous but malignant churchmen as barbarians, persecutors, idolaters. The accumulated wisdom and labor of centuries manifested in rare copies of the literary treasures of antiquity, chronicles descriptive of epochs now veiled in hopeless obscurity, elegant productions of the most accomplished poets of Cordova and Seville, innumerable treatises of mathematical and physical science, have been consigned to the flames by ignorant prelates, who regarded these precious works as copies of the Koran or works on magic and necromancy. Others, which the negligence of clerical enmity permitted to escape for the time, were subsequently ruined by damp, by insects, by accidental conflagration. The carelessness of inappreciative governments, aided by the stupidity of the masses and the innate levelling tendencies of the uneducated, the invasions of foreign armies and the vicissitudes of revolution, have wrought the partial or complete destruction of many of the noblest monuments of architectural genius that ever illustrated the history of any people. The defiled ruins of mosque and palace, the mutilated fragments of products of the industrial arts whose form and materials indicate the highest degree of mechanical knowledge and classical culture, the remains of that wonderful system of irrigation, whose perfection was the secret of Moorish prosperity and opulence, constitute almost all the remaining data by whose aid we may attempt to picture the splendors and the glory of the mighty Khalifate of the West. No just idea of the greatness and power of the Peninsula under the Ommeyade sovereigns can be formed from the present condition of even those states whose inhabitants in physical aspect, mental disposition, manners, habits, and industry have preserved, in a striking degree, the characteristics of their Mohammedan progenitors.
It has been happily remarked that “facts are the mere dross of history.” The rise and fall of dynasties, the evolutions of armies, the recital of battles, sieges, and skirmishes, the enumeration of captives and booty, the exultation of the victor, the distress of the vanquished, the crimes and excesses engendered by sedition, have, it is true, in all periods of the world, been considered the most important, often the only, subjects worthy of historical narration. These, however, are but the manifestations of conditions upon which are dependent all that is valuable and all that is instructive in the noble science which depicts the occurrences of past ages. The true interest and utility of that science, the benefits to be derived from the lessons it teaches, the warnings pronounced by the triumphs or the disgrace of its heroes, the application of principles by which universal prosperity may be advanced and national disaster diminished or wholly averted, are not usually apparent to the superficial and careless observer. They are to be laboriously traced in the analysis of the incentives of human actions; in the gradual development of schemes of ambition; in the contention of religious sects for political supremacy; in the exhibition of the prejudices, the foibles, the superstitions of mankind; in the incessant mutations of social life; in the delineation of manners. No event is too trivial, no custom too unimportant for notice, which, by even its most remote consequences, may serve to disclose the motives of a government or illustrate the policy of a nation. The prevalence of certain habits, the existence of certain inclinations are often of more weight in determining the career of a people than the fortunate issue of a campaign or the disastrous result of a revolution. It is in the chronicle of prosaic, every-day existence that we must search for the origin of momentous events, that we must study the philosophy of history.
One great cause of the phenomenally rapid establishment of Islam was polygamy, which absolutely confiscated the means of racial propagation. Mohammed, like Moses and all other ancient lawgivers, recognized and inculcated the supreme importance of the increase of mankind,—a principle on which was founded Phallic Worship as well as the widely diffused practice of Communal Marriage. The vast power of its empire was dependent upon the culture of the soil and the marketing of the products of labor, in which no people were more successful than the Arabs. Its decline is attributable to the many inherent faults of its political and religious organization; to the uncertain course of royal succession; to the implacable spirit of tribal enmity which survived and dominated every other feeling; to the inevitable want of harmonious co-operation existing between the numerous and conflicting elements representing a score of nations governed by force; to the treasonable schemes of zealots, envious of the consideration extended to literary merit; to the social corruption incident to a society abandoned to boundless prodigality, vice, and luxury.
The agricultural system of the Spanish Mohammedans, who understood the soil and the resources of their country better than any nation that has ever inhabited it, was the most complex, the most scientific, the most perfect, ever devised by the ingenuity of man. Its principles were derived from the extreme Orient, from the plains of Mesopotamia, and from the valley of the Nile,—those gardens of the ancient world where, centuries before the dawn of authentic history, the cultivation of the earth had been carried to a state of extraordinary excellence. To the knowledge thus appropriated were added the results obtained from investigation and experiment; from the introduction of foreign plants; from the adoption of fertilizing substances; from close and intelligent observation of the effects of geographical distribution and climatic influence.
The statesmanlike policy pursued by the khalifs was productive of incalculable advantage to every branch of agriculture. As previously stated, accomplished botanists, provided with unlimited funds, were regularly despatched to the most fertile regions of the East,—to Egypt, Mesopotamia, Hindustan,—under instructions to collect seeds of useful plants and fruits for experimental cultivation in the royal demesnes. There is scarcely a country in the temperate zone to-day which has attained to even a moderate degree of civilization, whose inhabitants are not the beneficiaries of this zeal for agricultural improvement constantly manifested by the sovereigns of Moorish Spain, nor one, unhappily, which is willing to even reluctantly concede to those entitled to the gratitude of nations credit for that progressive spirit which has contributed so essentially to the physical well-being and advancement of mankind.
The divine origin assigned to agriculture by Arabic as well as by Persian tradition had almost as much to do with its development as the imperative necessity which demanded its practice. The rural economy of every people was diligently explored for advantageous suggestions by the Moors of the Peninsula. Their tastes, although the pursuits of their ancestors were pastoral and manual labor of every description is distasteful to a nomadic and predatory race, seemed to adapt themselves at once to the circumstances of their new environment. Their progress in that science is not less striking than the rapid succession of their military triumphs. No nation in so short a period achieved such extensive and important conquests. No people so quietly abandoned the excitements resulting from the profession of arms and embraced the toils of a sedentary life as the Arabs of the Peninsula. No sooner did they change their mode of existence than they began to excel in the new pursuits to which they devoted themselves. Many inducements were afforded by the cultivation of the soil, whose results, despite its hardships, seemed to more than counterbalance the benefits to be derived from life in large communities. The Koran declared it to be especially meritorious. The air of the country, like the atmosphere of the Desert, seemed congenial to independence. The vast estates acquired by the followers of Musa, their wealth, and the social superiority which they assumed, did much to incite others to emulate their example. In villages and on plantations larger harems could be maintained, and more numerous families could be reared than in cities,—considerations of great weight in the mind of the luxurious and ambitious Moslem. Every encouragement was afforded by a succession of wise and generous rulers to those who embraced an agricultural life. A considerable portion of the country which had never been subjected to tillage because of its aridity became suddenly metamorphosed, as if by the wand of an enchanter. Barren valleys were transferred into flourishing orchards of olives, oranges, figs, and pomegranates. Rocky slopes were covered with verdant terraces. In districts where, according to ancient tradition, no water had ever been seen, now flowed noisy rivulets and broad canals. Where marshes existed, the rich lands they concealed were drained, reclaimed, and placed under thorough cultivation. On all sides were visible the works of the hydraulic engineer,—which supplied the necessary moisture to the fields by every device then known to human skill,—the reservoir, the well, the sluice, the tunnel, the siphon, the aqueduct. The ingenuity of the Moors improved methods of terrestrial culture, for centuries regarded as perfect by many highly civilized nations. They adopted and extended the irrigating system of Egypt. They appropriated the Persian wheel, which, with the rows of jars on its periphery and propelled by cattle, served as a pump; or, driven by the rapid current of streams, distributed the waters of the latter through lands of higher level. Some of these wheels were very large, not infrequently attaining a diameter of seventy feet; one at Toledo was ninety cubits high. Their number was immense; within an area of a few square leagues five hundred might often be counted. Fields were surveyed and grades ascertained by means of the astrolabe. The public works constructed for irrigating purposes were on a gigantic scale. The artificial basin near Alicante, elliptical in shape, is three miles in circumference and fifty feet deep; the dam at Elche is two hundred and sixty-four feet long, fifty-two feet high, and a hundred and fifty feet wide at the bottom; that over the Segura, near Murcia, is seven hundred and sixty feet long and thirty-six feet in height. The aqueduct at Manesis, in Valencia, is seven hundred and twenty feet long, and is supported by twenty-eight arches. The principle of the siphon, familiar to the Arabs eight hundred years before it was known in France, was utilized to a remarkable degree in the Moorish hydraulic system. The length of the curve in the great siphon at Almanzora is five hundred and seven feet; the diameter of the latter is six feet, and it passes ninety feet under the bed of a mountain stream. The subterranean aqueduct at Maravilla, which waters the plain of Urgel, is a mile long and thirty feet in diameter; that of Crevillente, north of Orihuela, is fifty-five hundred and sixty-five feet long and thirty-six feet in diameter. All of these underground conduits are cut through the solid rock. The masonry of the reservoirs is of the finest description, and the cement made use of has become harder than stone itself. Contingencies are provided for with such skill and foresight that no overflow occurs, and no damage ever results, even in time of the greatest inundations. The excellence of construction which characterizes these massive works of Arab engineering genius is demonstrated by the fact that they have needed practically no repairs in a thousand years.
As was necessary under the conditions which prevailed in a region where water was so valuable, the greatest care was exercised in its apportionment and distribution. The irrigating system of the khalifate was governed by a peculiar code of laws, perfect familiarity with whose provisions was only to be obtained by a life-long experience. The strictest economy was enforced. All waste was forbidden. The water conducted from one canal to another was used again and again. The sluices were opened at certain times, the quantity furnished being accurately graduated according to the requirements of the cultivator. Theft was punished with exemplary severity. In some provinces those whose crops for the time did not need irrigation might dispose of their diurnal supply to their neighbors; in others this privilege was not conceded. No one could be served out of his turn. The complexity of the system may be inferred from the variety of distributing outlets dependent upon the extent and character of the soil to be watered. There were two hundred and twenty-four of these, all different, and each designated by a separate name. Under the especial care of the imperial authorities, a vigilant police patrolled the canals and guarded the reservoirs of every district. All disputes and violations of law were passed upon by a court—whose judges were chosen by the farmers themselves—called The Tribunal of the Waters, which sat on Thursdays at the door of the principal mosque. The place where its sessions were held imparted to it a semi-religious character. To it the complicated and expensive organization of modern judicature was unknown, and, secure in the good sense and integrity of its magistrates, it was equally free from royal interference, political interest, judicial corruption, absurd technicalities, and legal chicanery. Its proceedings were not embarrassed by vexatious delays. No official was required to preserve order. No record was kept of its deliberations. No costs were incurred. No advocate was present to perplex by subtle arguments and frivolous distinctions the plain interpretation of the law. Each party stated his own case. The accused conducted his own defence. Judgment was rendered after a brief consultation, and from it there was no appeal. The most exalted rank, the greatest wealth, the most distinguished public service, did not confer exemption from the jurisdiction of the court or affect the impartiality of its decrees. The noble was summoned to its bar with but little more ceremony than the slave. Infractions of the various ordinances which protected the canals and their supply were punished by fines. Where the offence was repeated, the culprit was deprived of the right to enjoy the privileges upon which the existence of his crop depended.
The wisdom of these regulations is demonstrated by their longevity. Preserved by tradition, they have descended to our times almost unchanged, and The Tribunal of the Waters still sits every Thursday, the last day of the Mussulman week, at the door of the Cathedral of Valencia, as it did before the portals of the Great Mosque under the rule of the famous Ommeyade monarchs ten centuries ago.
In the distribution of water the measurement was by volume, a certain quantity being allotted to a stated area during a given period of the day or night at intervals of ten to fifteen days. The sides of the canals were provided with flood-gates, kept under lock and key, by which the adjoining fields could be submerged at the proper time. Drains carried the surplus back into the original channels, so that there was the least possible loss.
The same care and economy were observed in fertilizing the soil, which the requirements of a dense population never permitted to rest. Unlike the policy adopted under the Roman and Gothic dominations, there were few large estates. The land was divided into small tracts, and for that reason was much more thoroughly tilled. Manure and dust were collected from the highways. The contents of sewers and vaults were preserved, desiccated, and, mingled with less powerful substances, were used to supply the impairment consequent upon incessant cultivation. Ashes, the burned and pulverized seeds of fruits, the blood and bones of slaughtered animals, all played an important part in the intelligent and systematic treatment of the rich and productive valleys of the South, whose surface, resting on an impenetrable subsoil of clay, required continual renovation. The curious and minute investigations of the skilled agriculturist had determined the best composts, the most advantageous modes of applying them, the kind of vegetation to which they were specially adapted.