Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 85

and influence aroused hostilities, especially between the Arab nobility who lost influence and authority
(Hillgarth 1977).
The history of judges of Cordoba
The History of Judges of Cordoba describes the daily life of the city. Unfortunately, it only relates to the
life of the judges and cases brought to the court of justice. Therefore, I have focused on those cases
directly relating to social justice since equal treatment is a factor that brings stability to a society.
In Cordoba, to be appointed as a judge required high moral standards which allowed the
population to trust the judge. For example, the judge Mohamed ben Baxi rejected the testimony of a
friend because they travelled together to Mecca. In the Mosque he put a carpet in front of a wealthy man
so the poor could be close to the head of the prayer. Another judge, Ibrahim Ben Elabas bado, kept his
slave weaving close to him when several wealthy men came to his house. Yet another indicated that his
family were the clients of a woman from Jaen involved in a case, whilst he could omitted or rephrased this
and none would have questioned it.
Judges tried to act independently of who was in power, and many accomplished it according to
the historical record. A judge decided against the Emir in a case of a mill in the vicinity of Cordoba. The
Emir accepted the judge's decision and bought the mills instead of inheriting them. The judge Ben Baxir
did not solicit familiarity with people, regardless of their rank. He returned the house to a poor man that
had previously lost it unjustly in a case involving a wealthy individual. The judge Ben Soleiman refused
undue social familiarity and intertwinement of interests with men from the government, even the most
powerful. Ben Soleiman even ruled in favour of entering the house of a minister that was hiding an
offender.
However, judges could suffer from pressures upon their independence. The judge Ben Baxir met
with obstacles in implementing his decision concerning at least one wealthy individual. The Judge Ben
Soleiman had enemies in the court and needed to protect himself against a minister. Some people from
the court complained that a judge was weak and took too long to pronounce his decisions. He answered:
"Save me God from the indulgence coming from weakness, but also from the severity that brings
violence".
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