Page 48 - A History of the World in 25 Cities

In NuMbers
Number of mosques in Granada in the 1400s:
Life in
In the 700s, Muslim Berber and Arab invaders sailed from North Africa and went charging through Spain on horseback. They ruled over much of the country for hundreds
of years. The citizens of the beautiful city kingdom of Granada were the last in Spain to live under Islamic rule, until the Islamic
kingdom was finally overthrown. 2Number of mosques in
Granada today:
Population of Granada in 1450:
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Population of Granada today:
People have lived in the area that’s now Granada since the Stone Age. The ancient Romans came and went, leaving the aqueducts and sewers they’d built, and after them came the Visigoths (a Germanic people). Later on, the city’s Jewish community named the town ‘Garnata al-Yahud’, which might be where the name Granada comes from.
Under Islamic rule, Granada grew from being a small
settlement to a rich and beautiful city. The Berber and Arab settlers,
who came from the deserts of North Africa, were experts in water
engineering. They improved the ancient Roman aqueducts and sewers
and channelled more fresh water to Granada for homes and for growing food. They also introduced new kinds of fruit and
vegetables to Spain – oranges, lemons, apricots, bananas, spinach, celery and artichokes are just
a few – as well as almonds, rice and sugar cane.
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