The genesis of Al-Andalus

The evocative Arabic name for Hispania (the Roman term), Al-Andalus (“land of the Vandals”) referred to one of several Germanic tribes who had exploited the power vacuum left by the Romans, soon overtaken by the Visigoths But by the late 7^th century, the geo-political map was changing radically Across the Mediterranean a new religion, Islam, was on the march from Ummayad-ruled Damascus, advancing westwards through North Africa, converting and signing up Berbers (indigenous North Africans) on the way In 711, an army of some 10,000 men crossed the strait and landed between Tarifa and Gibraltar Over the next centuries, the Arab and Berber cultures were to transform the lives and diet of the seductive land they conquered; food is, after all, the first element any migrant tries to recreate from his roots.