A novel set in Cordoba X century during the Umayyad dynasty. Among historical figures such as Al-Mansur (Almanzor) and the Sultana Subh or Aurora, using her Latin name, mingle fictional characters interwoven with historical facts that will make you...
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The house was modest, located in the popular neighborhoods of Córdoba, in deep contrast to the luxurious residences of the nobles of a flourishing city. The Christian family, consisting of a father, mother, and daughter, lived disguised as Muslims.
It was a dangerous choice that few ventured into and required discipline and a strict code of conduct.
Adil, his wife Amina, and his daughter Jalila professed Islam for public consumption while keeping their Christian practices at home. They were descendants of an ancient and zealous northern family who immigrated to the south, along with other branches of ancestors, about four previous generations; covert conversion had been a painful decision in the last generation. Their Arabic names were necessary due to the conversion to Islam and signified, respectively, honest, safe, and exalted.
Adil kept a small fruit market, an old family tradition. The house was small, but also, as the familiar core was not great, the two rooms and the living room allowed the necessary privacy to the couple and their daughter. His wife performed the housework and helped her husband in business.
Jalila, then aged 21, with graceful forms and long black hair that was always tidy, lightly touching the rosy of her shoulders.
The beautiful trunk harmonized with the lap modeling the kind of silhouette that produces overmen effluvia ranging from divine to Mephistophelian. But the face dominated the initial impression, marked by the eyes with their typically Basque color. ─ imagine two topazes swimming in the milk using a similar figure in Al-Mahad D'Aziz, {1A] a well-known poet of Córdoba. She was like those women who appear to show the plaster's fragility but are as determined and tough as a diamond. She had become literate in Arabic in one of the numerous schools aggregated to Córdoba's libraries and learned the Basque language in family life. Exercising the prayer in Arabic in the mosque, and using the mother tongue during the Christian creed practiced at home, are examples of how the family dealt with this high-risk situation. They avoided exposure by reducing social life. It was dangerous and would deviate from the constant attention they needed to maintain.
Now and then, Jalila collaborated with the family business but was committed to obtaining a place in the entourage of Subh Sultana, wife of the Caliph, who had just announced a new round of chambermaids selection.
This job was within a structured revenge strategy plan hatched by the family and had already been on the agenda for several generations. Toward that goal, Jalila spared all kinds of service that could compromise the softness of her hands and skin, the seduction of her hair, or at last, compromise its beauty. She was a beautiful woman who distinguished herself despite her garbs and could not compete with the fabulous dresses and jewels the palace maids carried. However, the family supplied the best they could.
Their Christian ancestors were shattered by the events known as the "Martyrs of Córdoba," 48 accused were put to death by decapitation.
The leader or encourager of this movement was a suicidal monk name Eulogo, which belonged to an ancient family and was famous for his Christian zeal. One of Jalila's ancestors, her Uncle-great-grandfather, had been sentenced to death in the episode. Her family kept a latent hatred of Muslim rulers, never giving up on promoting revenge. It was a plan without an execution date. The opportunity would dictate the time. During four generations, the revenge intentions were fueled by parents to children by the same kind of oath promise that Hannibal had given to his father against the Romans.
