The Mozarabs (in Spanish, mozárabes; in Portuguese, moçárabes) were Iberian Christians living under Muslim domination, and their descendents.

As Christians are dhimmis or non-Muslims living under the rule of a Muslim government, they and Jews were allowed among Muslims if they paid the jizyah, a personal tax. Mozarabs had their own tribunals and authorities. Some of them had high offices in Muslim courts. Conversion to Islam was encouraged, but not demanded

The construction of new tall churches and the sounding of loud bells were eventually forbidden.

As the Reconquista advanced, they integrated into the Christian kingdoms, where the kings privileged those who settled the frontier lands. They also migrated North in times of persecution.

Language

During the early stages of Romance languages development in Iberia, a set of romance dialects was spoken in Muslim areas of the Peninsula by the general population. This is known as the Mozarabic language, though there never was a common standard.

This variety of Romance is the first documented in writing in the Peninsula as choruses (kharjas) in Arabic and Hebrew lyrics called muwashakhas . As they were written in Arabic alphabet (aljamiado), the vowels had to be reconstructed. In some aspects, it is more archaic than the other Romances.

This Romance variety had a significant impact in the formation of Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan (especially the Valencian variety), which explains why these languages have so many words of Arabic origin (Mozarabic was, understandably, quite influenced by Arabic and vice versa). The northward migration of Mozarabs explains the presence of Arabic toponyms in places where the Muslim presence didn't last long.

The cultural language of Mozarabs continued to be Latin, but as time passed, young Mozarabs studied and even excelled at Arabic.

Religion

The Mozarabs remained out of the influence of French monks and conserved the Visigothic rite of Mass, also known as the Mozarabic rite. The Christian kingdoms of the North, though, have changed to the Latin rite (Castile in 1080) and appointed Northern bishops for the conquered sees. Nowadays, the Mozarabic rite is allowed by a Papal privilege at one chapel of the Toledo Cathedral. The St. Isidro hermit in Madrid also holds occasional Mozarabic masses. A Mozarab brotherhood is still active in Toledo.

Conversion to Islam opened new social horizons to Mozarabs. Some Christian authorities (Alvaro from Cordoba and Eulogius) were scandalized at how the young ones preferred the Arabic culture and language and, in 851, tried to raise confrontation by publicly offending Islam. They expected that, by becoming martyrs, they would visibilize the conflict. There were executions of Christians until 11 March 859. The Islamic authorities, however, often chose to consider them as madmen, thus deflecting tensions.

The Mozarab Christians still practice their faith in Arabic and Spanish languages in many parts of Spain. New members need to prove that they are descendents of Christians who lived in parts of Spain when it was under Muslim rule. While most hymns are in Arabic, a certqain amount of Hebrew is still present in their Christian service.

See also

Afariqa (Christian Berbers in North Africa)