Moors+and+Their+Culture

= Moorish Culture and Religion =

Moorish culture was influenced by the presence of caucasian people during Shakespearean times. When the Romans entered West Africa in 46 B.C., they saw Africans and called them Maures, from the Greek adjective Mauros, meaning dark or black. It is from the adjective Mauros and the Latin term Marues that the word Moor is derived. Since the inhabitants of North Africa were black, the Romans and later the Europeans called them Moors. It is no coincidence that the land inhabited by the Moors was called Mauritania and Morocco, meaning "Land of the Blacks." Moorish culture then developed from there. The Moors often engaged in various conflicts with the surrounding people in Europe and the Middle East.

Due to the presence of these tribes in Moorish land, the Moors took on a variety of religions. They were forced into Christanity, like most of the Moors living in Europe, or Islam in the Middle East. Despite trying to assimilate, the majority of Moors still chose to practice the Muslim religion, casuing conflict in their European society.

A Moor man (left) and Moorish women (right) dressed in traditional robes. [[http://www.moorsgate.com/ http://www.myarabicstory.org/morocco/arts.htm

The Moorish Empire. The vastness of this empire diversified the culture and religion of the Moors greatly. [[http://www.smallgrouptours.net/gsma_map2.jpg|http://www.smallgrouptours.net/gsma_map2.jpg

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