Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 86

On occasions, the trafficking of influence could nevertheless occur since some judges had
positions in the government before or after their appointment. Hence, Judge Ben Selva became a minister
whilst before becoming judge, Ben Baquir, was a counsellor of the Emir.
Potential candidates could be subject to public veto, so the Emir would necessarily take into account
public opinion when seeking to avoid social conflicts. On one occasion, the inhabitants of Cordoba
complained about how bad a candidate was, stating that: “if the monarch chose him, he will eat the money
of the poor”.
Economy
Economic development produces stability (Barbieri 2002) and al-Andalus benefited from it as a result of
prospering economically, especially from the 10 th century onwards. Naval trade was conducted with Syria,
Egypt, Byzantine Empire, Sicilia and Morocco. The emirate exported textiles, olive and slaves, and
imported spices, slaves and luxury items. Introduced to al-Andalus by Muslim’s were rice, sugar cane,
citrus, figs, almonds, saffron and improved irrigation systems. The Levant coast produced melons, beans,
lettuce, sugar cane, rice, cotton and silk. Berbers, meanwhile, specialized in sheep, asses, ox and horses.
Al-Andalus developed textile industries of wool, linen, silk and leather: Toledo was famous for its arms
and armours; Jativa exported paper. Alongside this existed industries relating to glass and fine metal
works of gold and silver (Hillgarth 1977).
Taxes could induce revolts. In the Muslim world there were two types of taxes: those included in
the Quran and those which were not. The latter taxes, such as poll and sale taxes, if and when increased
could cause public discontent. Al-Hakam II published the reduction of secondary taxes when he rose to
the throne to gain the favour of the population (Hillgarth 1977).
Abd al-Rahman III
Scholars agree that during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III (912 – 961), al-Andalus was pacified and trade
flourished (Fierro 2012) (Collin 2012) (Hillgarth 1977). However, external conflicts did not end against
Christians realms and the emergent Fatimid Caliphate.
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