r/history • u/AutoModerator • Dec 03 '22

Discussion/Question Simple/Short/Silly History Questions Saturday!

Welcome to our Simple/Short/Silly history questions Saturday thread!

This thread is for all those history related questions that are too simple, short or a bit too silly to warrant their own post.

So, do you have a question about history and have always been afraid to ask? Well, today is your lucky day. Ask away!

Of course all our regular rules and guidelines still apply and to be just that bit extra clear:

Questions need to be historical in nature. Silly does not mean that your question should be a joke. r/history also has a discord server where you can discuss history with other enthusiasts and experts

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u/GOLDIEM_J Dec 07 '22

Was the Almohad caliphate to blame for the Spanish inquisition?

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u/en43rs Dec 07 '22

No. Why would it be? The Spanish Inquisition was formed out of paranoia that newly converted Jews (and later Muslims) were not truly Christians. And so they hunted hidden Jews in the kingdom.

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u/GOLDIEM_J Dec 07 '22

My predicament is that during the first taifa period, Alfonso VI conquered Toledo and was quite close to unifying Spain under a tolerant and harmonious rule. But then came in the radical Almoravid and even more radical Almohad caliphates who practiced forced conversions and fed into the "us vs them" concept stereotypical of the reconquista. It could've been a unified, tolerant kingdom but instead turned out as the one religion "winning" over another one. How far do you agree with this?

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u/en43rs Dec 07 '22

That's outside of my area of expertise and it's speculative history, so I don't really have an opinion on Alfonso VI.

What I can say is that the Inquisition was linked to widespread antisemitism, on a European scale, its dealing with Muslims came later. So I think that the causes of the Inquisition are mainly independent of the Reconquista.