Between masāŷid and rawābiṭ: muslim religiosity in the Axarquía of Malaga in the Middle Ages (XI-XV cc.)

Abstract

The present work deals with Islamic religiosity in the Axarquía of Malaga and ṭā'a of Comares between the XI and XV centuries where we recognize a large number of religioas facilities such as mosques, rabitas, zubias, among others thanks to archaeology, written sources and toponymy. The objective is to know the implementation of the different types of oratories in rural areas in line with the number of settlements and demography. Thus, despite the margin of error due to the absence of data in some of the farmhouses, we believe that the demographic and, therefore, economic importance of the Axarquía, is resolved from those settlements where there was at least one islamic temple, more when there were several nearby farmhouses, each with its mosque, signifying a large agricultural exploitation and the outstanding exercise of the islamic faith.