ABSTRACT
In 1492, with the fall of the last Arab stronghold—the Nasarite Kingdom of Granada—eight centuries of Muslim domination over the Iberian Peninsula, as well as over Sicily and southern Italy, came to an end. Members of a highly diversified society encompassing Arabs, Berbers, Hispano-Christian converts to Islam, Jews, Mozarabs, Negroes, and freed slaves from Eastern and Western Europe all took part in crystallizing a social and cultural symbiosis, wherein music occupied a prominent place. One of the major differences stemmed from the large number of neo-Muslims, Berbers, freed slaves of European extraction, and Jews; their respective cultural situations and participation in political life were also contributory factors. After the fall of the Cordoban Caliphate in 912, al-Andalus was split into a number of petty kingdoms. This coincided with the initial efforts of the Reconquista.
