Lesson No. 10 - The Jewel of the World

THE JEWEL OF THE WORLD

1.         Give an account of the early career of Abd-al-Rahman I, his dramatic escape and his adventures in Africa.

Ans:    He was among the very few who escaped Abbasids’ cruelties. Along with his brother he jumped into the river to escape from his enemies. His brother was killed while he swam successfully to the other bank. From here he reached Palestine. He was always pursued by enemy spies. He barely escaped assassination at the hands of governor of North Africa. At last he reached Ceuta in North Africa. His maternal uncles gave him refuge.

2.         How did Abd-al-Rahman deal with the governor appointed by the Abbasid caliph to contest his rule?

Ans:    He dealt with the governor very revengefully. He got the governor’s head cut, preserved it in salt and camphor, wrapped it in letter of appointment and a black flag and sent it to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad.

3.         What did Abbasid caliph say on receiving the head of his governor?

Ans:    On receiving the head of his governor the Abbasid caliph fervently said, “Thanks be to Allah for having placed the sea between us and such a foe!” He uttered this because he feared Abdul Rehman and considered the long distance on the sea as a defence from him.

4.         What did Abd-al-Rahman do to make himself strong and to beautify his capital?

Ans:    Abd-al-Rahman developed a well-disciplined and highly trained army of forty thousand or more Berbers to make himself strong. He beautified capital by paving the streets, built an aqueduct for water-supply and built a palace with a garden for himself.

5.         Give an account of the all round progress made by the Arabs under Abd-al-Rahman III.

Ans:    Apart from other things, Spain developed in agriculture, industry, art of war, engineering and above all education. The royal revenue was so immense that only one third of it sufficed for the developmental works. Spain truly became “the jewel of the world”.

6.         What did Al-Hakam do to promote learning and scholarship in his kingdom?

Ans:    Al-Hakam was a great scholar himself. In his time, The University of Cordova was the best university of the world. He invited scholars from the East and set endowments for their salaries. He built a library comprising four hundred thousand books gathered from Alexandria, Baghdad etc.by buying or copying.

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FBISE, HSSC English-2, English Book - II, F. G Board, Second Year