Alfonso X built a unified Christian imperial ideology on anti-Muslim polemics

Evidence

Alfonso created a comprehensive and powerful ideology, weaving together various earlier arguments: the restoration of the Gothic monarchy in Spain; the affirmation of Roman imperial power; the reconversion of mosques into churches; the protection and succor of Christian subjects of Muslim rule; the illegitimacy of all Muslim rule, particularly in Spain; the appropriation and nationalization of the culture of the Muslim other. … It is an ideology much more unified, developed, and coherent than any found in the court of his fatherin-law, Jaume I of Aragon. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 997 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Alfonso did not invent this ideology, of course; he wove it together of familiar strands: denigration of Islam’s prophet, affirmation of Visigothic Christian rights to rule over Iberia. Over the course of the thirteenth century, the various strands begin to come together. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 908 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Jaume does not demonize his Saracen enemies, nor does he explicitly denigrate their religion. Indeed, he often expresses admiration for the military prowess of his adversaries. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 915 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Alfonso X’s cultural patronage served his political ideology rather than distracting from it; Alfonso X synthesized earlier polemical threads into a coherent royal ideology — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 997; Alfonso’s ideology assembled preexisting anti-Islamic polemical strands rather than originating them — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 908 (+16 more)

Broader Connections

• Alfonso X synthesized earlier polemical threads into a coherent royal ideology #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 997
• Alfonso’s ideology assembled preexisting anti-Islamic polemical strands rather than originating them #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 908
• Christian anti-Islamic polemic was a defensive reaction to Muslim power and prestige #complicates (0.80)
• Political conquest enabled sharper Christian polemic against Islam #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 830
• Crusading against Islam unified fractious European Christendom #complicates (0.80)
• Anti-Muslim polemic functions primarily to define its Christian authors #complicates (0.80) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 177
• Iberian crusader ideology could coexist with respect for Muslim foes #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 915
• Medieval anti-Islamic polemics aimed to fortify Christians rather than convert Muslims #complicates (0.80)
• Christian polemicists derived universal Muslim depravity from one Spanish legal school #complicates (0.70) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 783
• Spanish Christians under Muslim rule forged anti-Islam polemics for the same reasons #complicates (0.70)
• Cordoba House referenced Muslim Spain’s era of interfaith coexistence #complicates (0.70)
• Alfonso justified Christian blasphemy law by citing Muslim dhimmi precedent #complicates (0.70) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 987
• Premodern Christian polemics staged Muslims as easily-convinced strawmen #complicates (0.70) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1551