Yes, in general, the looked Spaniard, but some of the Caliphs were reported to have natural blond hair. So the meme is more about these blond caliphs rather than the general populationThey were mixed and would look like modern Turkish people in terms of their complexion. They would not like Germanic Europeans, most full Iberians don't even look like that.
Those people were not like the Spanish of today, not Berbers either.
This was an individual who clustered with Andalusians during the early period:View attachment 339792
46% ancient Berber, 8.8% post-Iron Age Levantine, and 45.2% Iberian middle Bronze Age, basically Mediterranean that would look like MENA than "White."
Overall, these guys would not look like White people. More like lighter MENA extraction at times, sometimes not even that.
You have Moriscos today that have a unique set of genetics showing the heterogeneity of the Andalusians later (they got elevated North African because of the mixture. I think the NA ancestry could have likely been similar for a lot of Andalusian Muslims that historically were connected with the North African coast). The Moriscos of North Africa today seem to have some Sephardic Jewish ancestry that might have been absorbed after the expulsion:
View attachment 339808
I used the Visigoth sample. This does not need to be from Visigoths, since they are less Germanic-like and more like modern French variation. Those goths were not like the Nordics. We have one Andalusian Visogoth and they were highly mixed with MENA, only looking 55.2% French-like.
So overall, these people were not "white."
Then there’s the fact that “Judeo-Christian” as a definition is also problematic for the religion it leaves out: Islam.
Muslims are as native to Europe as Christians and have been an influential force across the Continent for centuries. In Iberia, Muslims developed a syncretic culture where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in relative harmony. They introduced oranges, lemons, cotton and rice — the key ingredient in paella. But when the Christians took control of the peninsula, millions of Muslim Europeans were either killed, expelled or forced to convert.
Still, even after their expulsion, Muslims left a profound influence on Spanish and Portuguese languages, cultural artifacts and architectural treasures — the Alhambra, the Cordoba Mosque, the Alcazaba (from the Arabic Qasbah) of Malaga — which millions still visit today.
No. Even for these khalifs, that would not be the case for reasons I explained and will further show for the last time.Yes, in general, the looked Spaniard, but some of the Caliphs were reported to have natural blond hair. So the meme is more about these blond caliphs rather than the general population
Spain washed away significant Islamic, unique built-up cultural and linguistic identity imprints to such an extent one would not confuse today's Spanish with the Islamic one. I would say it was the opposite of it being an endemic European thing but more like a unique regionalization that was very much within the Islamic world, as an extension of it. Pretty much the lines of "Europe" at the time had receded their Christian-cultural geography further north into France. This means the cultural parameters of Iberia had shifted significantly due to Islamic presence.That's whats funny about it they pose them as foreigners when most of the time , they were made up of natives that converted and the leadership was mixed, Islam contributed a lot to the Iberian identity and culture, its a shame that many of them feel reluctant to acknowledge it and try to emphasize their judeo-christian heritage alone.
They mixed with whites cause they lived among them obviouslyAll of the Caliphs had white mothers. Like literally nearly all of them and the ones with Arab consorts, those wives probably had a white mother too and weren’t even fully Arab. They were probably light haired women with Arab fathers. So yes, though-out the ages, they were probably 95% European.
They were the epitome of ‘white is right’. No wonder modern Arab still put whitness on a pedestal.
So yes, the Caliphas of Al-Andalus looked like white Spanish men.
Yes, in general, the looked Spaniard, but some of the Caliphs were reported to have natural blond hair. So the meme is more about these blond caliphs rather than the general population
That’s a fair point indeed but it doesn’t change the fact that white wives and concubines were prized a whole lot more than Madow ones during that time period.They mixed with whites cause they lived among them obviouslyI wouldn't put modern racial lenses in something that happened a millenia back. The Arabian tribes mixed with everyone in the caliphate. That's why Sudan for example has such high J paternal haplogroup. Which they got from Arabian tribes migrating and mixing with the nubians in the lower nile.
This is no different for the Arabic tribes that settled and ruled Andalusia.
Who look nothing like the blonde hair guy in that picture, more so the pic below.All of the Caliphs had white mothers. Like literally nearly all of them and the ones with Arab consorts, those wives probably had a white mother too and weren’t even fully Arab. They were probably light haired women with Arab fathers. So yes, though-out the ages, they were probably 95% European.
They were the epitome of ‘white is right’. No wonder modern Arab still put whitness on a pedestal.
So yes, the Caliphas of Al-Andalus looked like white Spanish men.
True, the average Spaniard wasn’t blonde whatsoever and probably favored a more Mediterranean look, but I’d wager the constant marriages with European Med women meant that they no longer had a Khaleeji Phenotype.Who look nothing like the blonde hair guy in that picture, more so the pic below.
View attachment 339864
There just trying to go back to what their forefather looked likeTrue, the average Spaniard wasn’t blonde whatsoever and probably favored a more Mediterranean look, but I’d wager the constant marriages with European Med women meant that they no longer had a Khaleeji Phenotype.
Look at all of the Ummayad Khalifa and research who their mothers were. Hardly any of their mothers were Arab.
Spain washed away significant Islamic, unique built-up cultural and linguistic identity imprints to such an extent one would not confuse today's Spanish with the Islamic one. I would say it was the opposite of it being an endemic European thing but more like a unique regionalization that was very much within the Islamic world, as an extension of it. Pretty much the lines of "Europe" at the time had receded their Christian-cultural geography further north into France. This means the cultural parameters of Iberia had shifted significantly due to Islamic presence.
Despite that, today Europeans are selective with the Islamic presence. They would go as far as lies about Islamic Iberia for some Western historic ideology of Judeo-Christian or whatever else they're cooking up.
Judeo-Christian is a false term for several reasons. Jews in Al Andalus were closer to Muslims than Christians because Muslim rule gave them the opportunity to flourish.
Though Granada, the last of the Muslim-ruled cities, fell in 1492, Spanish Christians adopted many Arabic customs, including architectural design motifs and Arabic words modified for their Romance languages. The influence of Arab Muslims increasingly became part of the Spanish identity so that even now, Brazales said, their influence “can be clearly traced.”
The sources describing some of the caliphs tell they were full natural blonde.Who look nothing like the blonde hair guy in that picture, more so the pic below.
View attachment 339864
That is correct. But imagine how different it was when they went to extreme lengths to purge the characters of the past period. An example of this was the systematic "re-Latinization" of the Spanish language. They were not entirely successful, with today's Arabic being the second largest influence in Spanish above that of Germanic or other Roance influences.As much as the Spanish inquisition tried to wash away the Islamic and arabic imprints they were not entirely successful with since a lot of it remains