Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib (1313-1374)
The last eminent writer and poet in Andalusia was Lisan alDin ibn al-Khatib, the wazir of the Grand amirs. He rnet his death-at the hands of an assassin in the prison of Fez, to which he had been committed for his philosophical theories, considered heretical. Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib was the author of a number of historical works, epistles and verses, of the latter, his mawashshah enjoyed greatest popularity. One of hi? best-known works is the elegy, written when he felt a fbieboding of his death, and reflecting the sense of approaching ruin and despair that he shared with Granada’s people long before the final victory of the Spanish. Ibn-al-Khatib’s prose style was markedly characteristic of Andalusian literature during the decadence. It has much in common with East-Arabic literature at a parade! period: the somt; fiorid style, artificiality and verbosity, the s-niis? crubf Hishi:.ARt <.-f the exposition by complex metaphors and rhetorical figures of speech, the Same love of quotations, historical digiessions, rhymed piosc, and so forth.
Andalusian literature constitutes one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of medieval Arab culture. True, the ArabicSpanish poets are less profound and philosophic than East-Arabic poets, such as Abu Tammam, ai-Mutanabbi and al-Ma’arri, but they excel the East-Arabic in clarity of idea, exposition, refinement, elegance, poetic fantasy, in the fluency and lightness of the language. The Arabic period in Spain’s history is one of extensive and deeplaying mutual literary influences of West and East. It was through Andalusia that the ancient Oriental, Greek and Arab cultural
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traditions reached Europe. Indeed, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the intermediary role played by the Arabs of Spain in the cultural exchange between East and West, which proved so fruitful an influence in the development of world culture.29 ARCHITECTURE
Several dynasties ruled in Spain and each has left historical monuments in the shape of architectural buildings of note such as the Umayyad Caliph, who built the mosque of Cordova, the Almohd, Girald Tower and a portion of the celebrated palace known as the AlCazar at Seville and Nasrid who built the Alhamra which may be called the Taj-Mahal of the Western Muslim monuments. The sides are entirely covered with palmettes in addition to peacocks and other birds. Hoag says, ”Islamic architecture in Spain is considered a great marvel of aestheticing mosque and palaces, gardens an citadels, foundations and aqueducts, public baths and private dwellings that Umayyads built at Cordova, Seville, Granada and other cities of this western outpost of Islamic culture, were unpralleled in the entire civilized world.”
These and other architectural features developed at Cordova were carried to Toledo and other centre a in the north of the Peninsula -by Mozarabs. Here by merging of Christian and Muslim traditions arose a definite style characterized by almost regular use of the horseshoe arch and the vault. In the hands of Mudejar workmen this mixed art attained great beauty and perfection and became the Spanish national style. Mudejar work is still to be seen all over the country. The Spanish language has preserved several architectural terms which attest an Arabic origin.