Western Europe

France

Castille and Léon

Aragon and Navarre

Caliphate of Cordoba

Once the jewel of Islam, the moorish al-Andalus has long been on the decline. Under constant pressure from the warlike christian states to the north the current caliph Hisham III has had to rely on the military help of the Berbers of Mauritania. The power of the caliph is nominal, as the taifas - local principalities - are ruled by their emirs with no influence from the caliph. The emirs have largely withdrawn to their decadent courts and compete among themselves for prestige, each tries to recruit the best artisans and poets but leaves war to the Berbers.

The only military power in al-Andalus are the Mauritanian generals and many emirs have come to notice that their power ends at the walls of their courts. After the loss of Zaragoza to Aragon and Toledo to Castille, the most powerful remaining taifas include Seville, Granada, Badajoz, and Denia. Valencia was for a time held by the famous knight El Cid, but has since fallen back to moorish rule.

Al-Andalus is a civilized land, compared to most other areas of Europe. The moors allow Jews and Christians to practice their religion, albeit under heavy taxation. Many non-Arabs have voluntarily converted to Islam, mainly for financial reasons, and these muwalladeen form the overwhelming majority of the population. Every city has places of learning and the universities in Granada and Seville enjoy an almost legendary reputation even among the scholars of Christendom.