Although 6 centuries have passed since the departure of Arabs and Muslims from Andalusia(espania), hundreds of urban landmarks and historical cities still remind of the ancient Islamic civilization in that country, including the city of Randa, which is located in the southern Andalusian mountains, north of Algeciras and west of Malaga, and rises (750 km). meters) above sea level.
Randa enjoys a wonderful natural location, surrounded by deep valleys and mountains. It was written in Al-Rawd Al-Mu’ttar by the scholar of countries, Muhammad bin Abd al-Moneim al-Himyari (d. 900 AH/1445 AD), “Randa in Andalusia is one of the cities of Takarna. It is an ancient city with many ruins. It is on a river attributed to it, and water was brought to it from a village to its east and from Mount Talwira to its west.”
The Andalusian(espania) scholar Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib (1313-1374 AD) described it, saying, “A mother of directions and fortresses, a tree with branches, a fertile side and a protected sanctuary, a country of crops, roots and branches, and it is a country of notables and nobles, and its people are generous and fresh, and there is no freshness in the people who are obsessed with it.”
Place, people and architecture
The ancient city of Randa – with an Andalusian (espania) character – is considered one of the most famous tourists and historical landmarks in Andalusia, as it dates back to the Second Stone Age. The presence of Randa at the crossroads between the regions of Malaga, Seville and Cadiz allowed it to play many historical roles throughout the ages. Randa was occupied by many empires, and the first to settle there were Iberian tribes. Then, through successive eras, it was occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Goths, and Muslims.
Randa submitted to the Banu Yafran, the Banu Abbad, the Almoravids, the Almohads, and the Banu al-Ahmar, and she also had a share in the period of the struggle of the Taifa kings. During the reign of the Beni al-Ahmar, the city of Randa became a great importance, as it became one of the most important defensive centers linking Morocco and Andalusia.
Inquisition era
One of the consequences of the fall of the Arab/Islamic rule of Andalusia (Espania) in 1492 AD was that Muslims were harmed by the Spanish Inquisition, as no Muslims remained present in the Iberian Peninsula except in the Granada region. Then its new rulers issued a decree requiring all Muslims and Jews to be converted to Christianity or to leave Spanish territory without taking their property. Because of these measures, the Muslims of Randa suffered from the Spanish Inquisition, and the name Moriscos was given to the Muslims who remained in Andalusia, and they were forced to convert to Christianity (convert to Christianity).
They were also forced to wear a blue crescent over their hats and turbans, which brought them ridicule and abuse from the fanatical population. Arabic was the official language in Randa during Islamic rule until Philip II (1527-1598 AD) issued a decree prohibiting its use in speaking or writing, and ordered all Muslims to keep the doors of their homes open on Fridays so that they would not perform Friday prayers, and imposed heavy taxes on them. These harsh measures pushed the Muslims to revolt in the city of Randa, where the Muslims were able to form the “Fihri” army and defeat the Spanish forces, but they were then subjected to a mass massacre in which most of the Muslims were killed, and those who remained alive were treated as a “slave” to be sold in the slave markets.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Randa was not spared from the French invasion led by the French military commander Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821 AD), who invaded Spain in late 1808 AD. Randa was damaged as a result of that invasion, and it is said that its population decreased from 15,600 to 5,000 people per year. Within 3 years.
A source of inspiration for writers and artists.
It is worth noting that a number of writers, writers, and artists interacted with the city of Randa and the events it went through, as it constituted a source of inspiration for many of them. Some of them took Randa as their headquarters and a base from which these writers launched their literary creativity, such as the American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961 AD), which Chapter Ten describes. From the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1948 AD), a scene that simulates the actual events that took place in Randa, and by the American writer George Orson Welles (1915-1985 AD), where he, Hemingway and Wells spent a long period in the
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