Reinhart Dozy ( 1820-1883 ) : Al-Andalus Historian from the Netherlands

This article presents a biography of a Dutch historian, Reinhart Dozy and discusses his authority as a scholar of al-Andalus history. Standing among great Orientalists of the 19 century, Dozy studied Islamic history and civilization and wrote books on them. His scholarship is evident in his works and articles encompassing the fields of history and literature. The objective of this study was to showcase his background and his authority as a scholarly figure on the history and civilization of al-Andalus. A qualitative study approach was employed via historical study and content analysis methods by analyzing primary and contemporary sources. This study argues that Dozy was a meticulous historian who carefully selected his sources of reference in writing his works. In fact, his works attained recognition of other Western Orientalist scholars apart from being reference for researchers of the Islamic history and civilization, in particular the Islamic history and civilization in al-Andalus.


Introduction
The Islamic history and civilization in al-Andalus were among the most interesting history of Islam, often becoming a point of attraction of historians, Muslims and Western alike, because it was the first site of an Islamic government in Europe.The arrival of the Muslim army to al-Andalus was on the invitation of Julian, the governor of Cueta, to topple the Visigoth ruler, King Roderick in 711AD, consequently enabling the expansion of the Muslim territory into the Iberian Peninsula until 1492AD.The uniqueness and the distinction of the civilization of al-Andalus can be observed politically and intellectually with brilliant innovations during the Islamic rule.Islamic politics in al-Andalus was unique in the sense that its leadership frequently changed from one to another and that it had to endure confrontation from the Christians of northern Iberian Peninsula.The political aspect of al-Andalus has been studied by many historians including its interaction with Muslim kingdoms of North Africa (Jamsari, 2006;Jamsari, Ashari, Kamaruzaman, & Sulaiman, 2012;Jamsari, Ashari, Sidik, & Nor, 2012).Intellectually, Andalusian rapid progress was so evident that ideas and thoughts in Islamic world reached Europe.Many aspects of progress in al-Andalus have been studied by numerous researchers, such as economic progress (Yusuf & Jamsari, 2013), women's contribution to Andalusian civilization (Sidik, Arshad, & Abu Bakar, 2013) and good governance (Jamsari, Sulaiman, Jusoff, Yaakub, Mujani, Wan Hussain, Zainol, & Ashari, 2011).Meanwhile, the long list of Muslim technological innovations requires no special mention here.Suffice to say that the innovations have far reaching effects such as the invention of surgical tools by al-Zahrawi and the flying device by Ibn Firnas, just to name a few (Amr & Tbakhi, 2007;Jamsari, Mohd Nawi, Sulaiman, Sidik, Zaidi, & Ashari, 2013).
This article presents a study on Reinhart Dozy as a scholarly figure.Such study is common in analyzing the life and contribution of scholars towards his field of knowledge and to the whole society at large such as Xiong (2011) who studied a figure of modern Chinese literature Liu Na'ou and a study on the roles of Mirza Agha Khan Kermani and Sheikh Ahamad Rouhi in the development of Pan-Islamisme in Istanbul (Matanaq, Niyeri, & Abari, 2013).According to Inayatullah (1960) and Brugman (1989), Dozy was a renowned Western Orientalist scholar in Holland in the 19 th century.He produced many works on arts and history.His work which was regarded as a magnum opus, Histoire Des Musulmans D'Espagne Jusqu'a la Conquète de L'Andalousie Par Les Almoravides (711-1110) was published in 1861AD (Dozy, 2001;Inayatullah, 1960;Brugman, 1989;Badawi, 1993).
In the Encyclopedia of Historiography of the Muslim World, it was stated that Dozy was the first modern historian to produce a work on Islamic history in al-Andalus based on researches using Arabic sources (Singh & Samiuddin, 2003).It is therefore the objectives of this article to feature the life background of Dozy and showcase his scholarliness as an eminent historian in the field of Islamic history and civilization of al-Andalus by focusing on his involvement in and writing on the study of the said fields.

Family Background
Reinhart Dozy, or his full name Reinhart Peiter Anne Dozy, was born on the 21 st of February 1820AD in Leiden to a couple, Dr. Francois Jaques Dozy and Sara Maria van Lelyveld.Dozy's father was a doctor in Leiden and his mother died when he was nine years old (Dozy, 2001;Badawi, 1993;De Geoje, 2013).Dozy came from a Protestant family in a village near Valenciennes, located between Cambrai and Douai in France.The Dozys or d'Oisy (in French) was known as a police constable family in Cambrai for generations (Dozy, 2001;Badawi, 1993;al-Zirikli, 2002;Brugman, 1989).Dozy's genealogy which was rooted in Valenciennes was confirmed by a research by Dr. Gualtherus Jacob Dozy in De Familie Dozy Genealogie en Geschiedenis which was published in 1911AD.The later Dozy found that one of his ancestors, Francois Dozy or Doizy (d'Oisy), once lived in Valenciennes in 1603AD (Dozy, 2001).However, in the 17 th century, many of the Dozys migrated to the Netherlands (al-Zirikli, 2002).

Education
Dozy received his early education from Heer Van Veen, a teacher in Wassenaar.He then continued his education in Hattem after his family moved there.Dozy was an intelligent kid and was able to master several languages; French, German and English.In fact, Dozy was only 14 years old when he entered a preparatory school for university admission.His mastery of several languages attracted the attention of Dr. J. J. de Gelder, a lecturer in theology at the school.He offered Dozy to learn Arabic.Apart from theology, Gelder also taught Arabic to his students.Dozy was thoroughly excited with the offer and passionately learnt the Arabic language (Dozy, 2001;Brugman, 1989).
In 1837AD, Dozy continued his study in the Faculty of Arts, University of Leiden.His advantage of mastering languages and deep interest in history captured the attention of Professor H. E. Weijers (1804-1840AD).Professor Weijers was a young professor whose expertise was in philology, a study of literature texts (Dozy, 2001;Dewan, 1997).Dozy then deepened his learning of the Arabic language and other Semitic languages such as Hebrew, Chaldea and Syriac from Professor Weijers (Dozy, 2001;Inayatullah, 1960;Badawi, 1993;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013).
It was Professor Weijers who suggested Dozy to take up Arabic and the studies of the Arabic history and civilization, after witnessing the latter's capabilities in the study of languages and history.Dozy took up the suggestion and embarked upon a preliminary study of the history of Arabic civilization.He discovered that it was a difficult field of studies for therein contained many war histories, conflicts and frequent change of government.He, nevertheless, persevered with his efforts, earnestly continuing the study with all enthusiasm (Dozy, 2001).
Apart from the study of history, Dozy also delved into lexicography of the Arabic language due to the fact that at that time both fields were closely related.European students at that time tend to use the Arab-Latin dictionary compiled by George Willhem Freidrich Freytag (1788-1861AD) and published in 1837AD.The highly regarded dictionary was a compilation of many Arabic dictionaries but was limited to classical Arabic vocabulary as in the Quran.Though highly regarded, the dictionary could not satisfy the needs of students to better understand Arabic due to the limited vocabulary.Dozy took the initiative of expanding his own Arabic and Latin vocabulary by reading works by Etienne Macr Quatremere particularly the Histoire des Sultans Mamelouks (History of Mamluk Sultans in Egypt) (Dozy, 2001;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013).Quatremere was a well-known Orientalist in the 18 th century whose works included the Histoire des Mongols de la Perse (History of the Mongols of Persia) and the Arabic to French translation work of History of Mamluk Sultans in Egypt by al-Maqrizi and Prolegomena d'Ibn-Khaldoun (Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun) (Vethanke, 1851).
In 1844AD, Dozy furthered his study to doctorate level and ended his bachelorhood in the same year marrying Maria Carolina van Goor den Oosterlingh (1821-1901AD).They were blessed with three sons and three daughters.The first of the sons died at a young age while Maria died in 1901AD, 18 years after their marriage.Reinhart Dozy died on the 29 th of April 1883AD in Leiden at the age of 63, two years after his last work which was a great Arabic dictionary called Supplement aux Dictionnaires Arabes (1881AD) (Dozy, 2001;De Geoje, 2013).

Academic Contribution
Dozy's involvement in the world of academics began in his early 20's.On the 16 th of December 1841AD, Dozy took part in a dissertation writing competition organized by the Royal Institute.The title, as determined by the Royal Institute, was 'De vestibus, quibus Arabes utriusque sexûs diversis temporibus etin diversis terris usi sunt, aut etiam nunc utuntur', a writing on the dressing of Arabic men and women according to the time and the country.The competition was open to all young European scholars (Dozy, 2001;Inayatullah, 1960;Badawi, 1993).Dozy registered his interest in participating in the competition to Professor Weijers who happened to be a jury of the competition.Dozy also asked for permission to fully use reference materials regarding the topic of the writing competition, which were available at the library of the University of Leiden, from Professor Weijers who also happened to be the person in-charge of Arabic manuscripts at the library.The professor was amazed by Dozy's determination and interest in the competition.He neither prevented nor encouraged Dozy to enter the dissertation writing competition.The Professor, however, gladly granted Dozy permission to use the manuscripts.Assisted by a scribe who was also his friend, Matth De Vries, Dozy completed his dissertation within the stipulated time (Dozy, 2001;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013) Dozy's toil in completing the dissertation was not in vain as he was announced by the Royal Institute as the winner on the 20 th of November 1843D, when he was at the age of 23.His dissertation was later published in 1845AD after correction and renaming it to Dictionaire Detaille des Noms des Vetements Chez les Arabes (A detailed dictionary of the names of clothing of the Arabs).It was the first publication by Dozy which became a foundation for his reputation as a scholar (Dozy, 2001;Inayatullah, 1960;Badawi, 1993;Brugman, 1989).Francis Griffin Stokes noted that Dozy's work on the dictionary was of great value to the field of lexicography, describing the dictionary as a depiction of Dozy's in-depth reading and knowledge on the culture of the Arabs (Dozy, 2001).Dozy's works on the history of Islamic civilization in al-Andalus earned him important positions in the field of history.Among the positions he had held was Assistant to the Oriental Department Head (Interpres Legati Warneriani) at the University of Leiden in 1846AD.He was entrusted with the duty of cataloguing Oriental manuscripts in the department's keep.The catalogue was published in 1851AD titled Catalogus codicum Orientalium Bibliothecae Academiae Lugduno-Batavae which contained two volumes.In 1850AD, Dozy was appointed Professor of History at the University of Leiden after the resignation of Petrus Hoffman Peerlkamp (1786-1865AD).On his appointment day, Dozy suffered an unfortunate event, the death of his first born child (Dozy, 2001).In the following year, Dozy was selected as the Corresponding Member of the Academy History in Madrid (Rawlinson, 1884;Dozy, 2001).
In addition to these, Dozy was a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Copenhagen, Corresponding Member of the Academy Sciences of St. Petersburg (1878AD), Honorary Member of the Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft (1879AD), Foreign Correspondent of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome (1880AD) and an Honorary Professor of the Institucion libre de Ensenanza in Madrid (1880AD) (Dozy, 2001;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013).The highest accolade received by Dozy was when he was bestowed with the medal Commander of the Order of Charles III of Spain, by Spanish Government (1853AD), for his contributions including criticisms on Conde's work and his defence of the Spanish historical facts (Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013).The award was a testament of his great scholarliness which was admired by many since his early age.

Literatures on the History of Al-Andalus
2.2.1 Dozy's Involvement in the Study of Al-Andalus History Dozy's interest and involvement in the Islamic history in al-Andalus were a result of encouragement and guidance by Professor Weijers.It was the professor who suggested Dozy to study and produce a work on the history of the Arabs in al-Andalus, after the latter's victory in a dissertation writing competition organized by the Royal Institute.To Professor Weijers, Dozy's victory and his ability of mastering several languages including Arabic were an advantage and of great value.Dozy himself had an interest in the history of the Abbadids (1023-1095AD), a small kingdom arose in Seville which prospered in arts and literature after the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba (756-1031AD).The history of Abbadids later became the topic of his doctorate thesis (Dozy, 2001;De Geoje, 2013).
Professor Weijers introduced Dozy to Historia de la Dominación de los Arabes en Espana (History of the Arab Dominion in Spain) (1820AD), a work on the history of al-Andalus by the Spanish Orientalist historian, José Antonio Conde (1725-1820AD).Conde's work was highly regarded and frequently referred to by researchers of history of the Arabs in al-Andalus (Dozy, 2001;De Geoje, 2013).However, after reading the book, Dozy found that the work by Conde contained numerous errors requiring much improvement.Interestingly, Dozy also found that Conde's mistakes were never criticized by other historians.He therefore set himself to learning Spanish in order to learn the history of al-Andalus himself.He was resolute in delivering an accurate and truthful historical account of Muslim rules in al-Andalus.Dozy, therefore, embarked upon accumulating various authoritative Arabic reference materials whether they had been studied or not (Dozy, 2001;De Geoje, 2013).

Visits to Germany and the United Kingdom
To obtain resources on the Abbadids and the history of Islam in al-Andalus, Dozy visited several libraries in Germany and the United Kingdom.In the summer of 1844AD, Dozy took the opportunity while he was on his honeymoon with his wife in Germany to have a meeting with a renowned Orientalist, Heinrich Fleisher in Leipzig and obtained manuscripts from the libraries there.It was then he discovered a very valuable resource in Gotha, which was a collection of manuscripts about Cid Campeador, or his real name Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043-1099AD), a Castile's army commander of the 11 th century under Sancho II and Alfonso VI.Cid Campeador had assisted the Muslim ruler of Saragossa in opposing other Muslim rulers such as that when he assisted Yusuf al-Mu'tamin (reigned 1081-1085AD) fighting his kin, al-Mundhir (reigned 1082-1090AD) who was in control of Denia, Tortosa and Lérida.Dozy found errors in the cataloguing of Cid Campeador manuscripts when they were erroneously classified as part of al-Maqqari's work.In actual fact, the manuscripts were the first part of the third volume of Dhakhirah, authored by Ibn Bassam in 1109AD, 10 years prior to the death of Cid Campeador (Wright, 1856;Hitchcock, 1991;Dozy, 2001;De Geoje, 2013).
Moreover, Dozy discovered that the piece by Ibn Bassam (d.1147AD) had not been studied by any other contemporary historians even though the manuscripts were among the earliest writings on Islamic governance of al-Andalus.He applied for a permission from the library of Gotha to bring back the manuscripts for further study.That marked the starting point of Dozy's scholarly and in-depth research on the history of Muslims of al-Andalus.In the following year, Dozy traveled to the United Kingdom to access information on Abbadid and other Arabic manuscripts available in Oxford and London (Dozy, 2001).The result of his research was conveyed in an article published in a Dutch bulletin in 1845AD (Badawi, 1993).

Dozy's Works on al-Andalus History
The following is by no means an exhaustive list of Dozy's publications with regards to the Islamic history of al-Andalus (Chambers' Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge of the People, 1862; Rawlinson, 1884;Inayatullah, 1960;Brugman, 1989;Badawi, 1993;Dozy, 2001;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013 This article edited by Dozy was furnished with an introduction, footnotes, a glossary and an index section.This article was published in 1846AD by Chez S. and J. Lucthmans in Leiden. 2) Historia Abbadidarum: Based on his doctorate thesis, Dozy produced three volumes the Abbadids.The first volume was published by S. and J. Lucthmans of Leiden in 1846AD.The second and third volumes were published in 1852AD and 1863AD respectively by E. J. Brill of Leiden titled Scriptorum Arabum loci de Abbadidis.
3) The History of the Almohades, preceded by a sketch of the history of Spain, from the times of the conquest till the reign of Yusof ibn-Táshiján, and of the history of the Almoravides, by Abdo 'l-Wáhid Al-Marrákoshí:

Dozy's Criticism of Works by Other Orientalists
The more Dozy studied Arabic manuscripts on the history of al-Andalus, the more he found inconsistencies in the work of Conde, Historia de la Dominacian de los Arabes en Espana (1820AD).Therefore, Dozy decided to criticize Conde's writing in defense of the historical facts of the Muslims of al-Andalus.As Conde's work was, at that time, the most renowned and unchallenged, Dozy found himself in need of a more formidable argument to counter Conde's assertions in his work.Hence, not only did Dozy did research on the history of al-Andalus guided by Arabic sources but also Christian sources and narrations (Dozy, 2001).
Convinced with the outcome of his research work, Dozy then published a piece titled Researches sur l'Histoire Politique et littleraire de l-Espange Pendant le Moyen Age (A research on political history and literature of Spain in the Middle Ages).The first volume of the work was published by E. J. Brill in Leiden in 1849AD.The publication was a slap in the face of those scholars who had been supporting Conde as Dozy highly criticized the work by Conde.In Dozy's opinion, Conde was not well-trained in using Arabic sources as there were disarrays on the use of individual names in his writing.Dozy charged that Conde used his extreme imagination in writing the historical account instead of basing his work on historical facts.On top of that, Conde's writing was littered with inaccuracies in the dates and facts of historical events.Therefore, Dozy also registered his amazement at the fact that many great orientalists were led to believe the fallacies presented as facts in the work by Conde (Wright, 1856;Dozy, 2001).Dozy's criticisms damaged Conde's reputation dramatically.In support of Dozy, Ernest Renan (1823-1892AD) wrote 'Conde's History' in Journal des Debats stating that the historical work produced by Conde contained numerous errors and falsified facts.One of the errors was that Conde combined two or three different names to become a single name.In addition, there was an individual who were reported to die on two different dates, and there were even the date of death which came before the date of birth of an individual (Dozy, 2001).
Moreover, according to Renan, Conde's most obvious mistake was making Arabic infinitives names of cities. Conde was said to have used a writing by Ibn al-'Abbar, al-Hullat al-Siyara' as a source of reference in producing his piece.Conde, however, may have not realized that there were misplaced pages when the book was compiled, leading to discrepancies in the facts of lives of famous Islamic ruling figures in the 14 th and 15 th century AD.Moreover, there were statements presented as facts which were fabricated or exaggerated, containing fable-like stories in order to make the work more attractive (Wright, 1856;Dozy, 2001).Nevertheless, in a revised edition of Researches published in 1860AD, Dozy toned down his criticism of Conde, citing that the matter was over and should not be made a big issue (Dozy, 2001).Dozy also criticized his own friend's work, Don Pascual de Gayangos' (1809-1897AD) History of Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain which was a translational work of al-Maqqari's Nafh al-Tib.The criticism on Gayangos was not as sharp as that on Conde as Dozy considered the errors in the translational work as excusable.The translation by Gayangos was indeed not free from errors.Nevertheless, it was a highly valuable resource for students who did not master the Arabic language.In fact, Gayangos' work contained discourse and explanations on vague items of the original work.Because of that, Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931AD) argued that the work by de Gayangos was a piece of work which contained a distinctive value not available in other writing (Dozy, 2001).Dozy's readiness in criticizing the two Orientalist historians proved that he was very meticulous in his work and cared about as well as very sensitive to the corruption of actual facts of history.Dozy was of the opinion that each erroneous fact in the writing of history is a crime and, indirectly, those who committed the mistakes of including fallacies into historical work without due care were criminals (Dozy, 2001).As students of history, the authors agree with the opinion of Dozy as dishonesty in carrying out a research study can cause negative perception toward certain communities or societies if the writing of history is not based on just and fair practice.

Histoire Des Musulmans d'Espagne
Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne jusqu'a la Conquete de Andalousie par les Almoravides (History of the Muslims in Spain until the reign of the Almoravids in Andalus) was published by E. J. Brill in 1861AD.Dozy felt it was his moral obligation to produce a better piece of work on Islamic history in al-Andalus after criticizing the work of Conde, de la Dominacian de los Arabes en Espana (Dozy, 2001).Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne contains four volumes in the form of chronological narrative history (Inayatullah, 1960;Badawi, 1993;Dozy, 2001).Dozy began his Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne with the era of the Bedouins in the Arabian Peninsula and ended his work with the early era of the Almoravids in al-Andalus, unlike the work by Conde which continued until the fall of the Muslims in Granada.However, Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne was considered among the best works in the field of history, a magnus opus for Dozy, in fact, among his many handiworks on al-Andalus Islamic history (Rawlinson, 1884;Inayatullah, 1960;Brugman, 1989;Dozy, 2001).This masterpiece by Dozy has been translated into German, Spanish, English, Urdu and Arabic.

Translation Work of Histoire Des Musulmans d'Espagne
Dozy's Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne had been translated into several languages such as German, Spanish, English, Urdu and Arabic (Weststeijn, 2004).Translation of the book into the German language was done under the direction of Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich von Baudissin (1847-1926AD) and the supervision of Dozy himself to ensure that the translational work was an accurate representation of the original work.Published by Grunow in Leipzig in 1874AD the book was named Geschichte der Mauren in Spanien bis zur Eroberung Andalusiens durch die Almoraviden (711-1110).The Spanish translation of the book was produced by F. de Castro, a Professor of Spanish History at the University of Seville in 1877AD and was titled Historia de los Musulmanes Españoles hasta la conquista de Andalucia por lis Almoravides (711-1110) (Rawlinson, 1884;Dozy, 2001;Weststeijn, 2004).(Inayatullah, 1960;Dozy, 1994;Weststeijn, 2004).

Volumes in Histoire Des Musulmans d'Espagne
Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne contains four volumes (Inayatullah, 1960;Badawi, 1993;Dozy, 2001;Dugat, 2013;De Geoje, 2013): 1) Volume 1 titled 'The Civil Wars' and has 16 chapters.Historical accounts in this volume focus on the struggle for power between the Yemeni Arabs and the Qays Arabs.Dozy also wrote a history of the Arabs during pre-Islamic era, the arrival of Islam and the prophethood of Muhammad.It was followed by an account of the expansion of the Muslim empire by Muslim rulers until the conquest of Spain (also known as al-Andalus) by the Arabs and the Berbers and the rivalry between the two in controlling al-Andalus.
2) The second volume was designated 'Christians and the Renegades' and contained 18 chapters.At the beginning of the volume, Dozy explicitly described events and scenarios in al-Andalus beginning with Visigoth's conquest of the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of Islam, followed by historical accounts on conflicts during Visigoth rule.In this volume, Dozy also detailed out events during the Umayyad Dynasties as governors holding the title of sultans in al-Andalus which was centered in Cordoba.In addition, the Christians' and the Muladis' quest to expel Muslims out of al-Andalus, 'butchery' by Christian fanatics and the great achievements by 'Abd al-Rahman III (reigned 929-961AD) during his rule were also given a place in this volume.
3) The third volume was 'The Caliphate' and contained 18 chapters.This volume was a continuation of the narrative history of the Umayyads in al-Andalus in the second volume.This volume presented the history of the Umayyads in the caliphate era.In this volume, Dozy chronicled the Umayyad rule beginning with Caliph 'Abd al-Rahman III until the reign of Caliph Hisham II (reigned 961-976AD).Caliph Hisham II was appointed when he was still young, causing all state affairs being administrated by his hajib (a position similar to Prime Minister) al-Mansur (938-1002AD).The role played by hajib in managing the state affairs led to the decline of the caliphate institution whereby the caliph became puppet rulers.However, during the reign of al-Mansur, Islamic territory expanded to the north of al-Andalus which was controlled by the Christians.At the end of this volume, Dozy related the tales of the revival of the caliphate institution after the death of al-Mansur.

Scholars' Views on Dozy
Dozy's works received critiques from several Muslim and Western academics.According to De Geoje (2013), the French orientalist Charles Defremery (1822-1883AD) praised Researches sur l'Histoire Politique et littleraire de l-Espange (1849AD) authored by Dozy in his article entitled Mémoires d'Histoire Orientale (Memoirs of the Oriental History).According to him, Dozy was the best candidate to carry out a re-research on the history of al-Andalus previously done by Conde.Defremery opined that Dozy's deep knowledge of and mastery of the Arabic language, coupled with his knowledge in Spanish literature qualified him to produce a better work on al-Andalus history.He however did not agree with Dozy's harsh criticism in his writing.
According to Dugat (2013) and Inayatullah (1960), Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne contained vivid historical accounts and scenarios of the Muslim community in al-Andalus based on the accounts of writers who lived during the era.The book was so well written that readers could feel the emotions depicted in the book, be they happiness, sense of rivalry, hatred, loyalty, courtesy and the greatness of the society in al-Andalus at that particular time.The greatness of the work was due to the fact that Dozy used a variety of reliable and credible sources and references in producing his masterpiece such as al-Dhakhirah (Ibn Bassam), Nafh al-Tib (al-Maqqari), al-Ihatah fi Tarikh Gharnatah (Ibn al-Khatib), al-Bayan al-Mughrib fi Akhbar al-Maghrib (Ibn 'Idhari) and Tarikh al-Andalus (Ibn al-Qutiyyah).He studied almost all manuscripts related to Islam in al-Andalus available in Europe such the ones in Germany and the United Kingdom.It was indeed his sincere effort in producing a work on the Islamic history in al-Andalus which led him to succeed in producing such a magnificent work, drawing critical acclaims and recognition from fellow and later historians (Inayatullah, 1960;Brugman, 1989;Badawi, 1993;Dozy, 2001).Inayatullah (1960) also stated that even though Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne was considerably the best work on al-Andalus history, it nevertheless was not a totally complete account of al-Andalus.This is because, Inayatullah argued, the work accounted for history of al-Andalus up to 1110AD only, which was the beginning of the Almoravids in al-Andalus.Moreover, Dozy's account focused only on the political scenario in al-Andalus, sidelining the cultural and intellectual progress achieved during that time.
However, Inayatullah (1960) stated that such shortcoming was not a neglectful act on Dozy's part because probably Dozy, given the circumstances, was limited in terms of time as well as reference materials.Therefore Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne was considered the best attempt any author could have made at highlighting Islamic politics in al-Andalus.With his numerous other works on al-Andalus, it is no wonder that Dozy's involvement in and prolific works on al-Andalus history drew praises and acknowledgement by scholars of history.In fact, Dozy was reported to be the first writer in modern history to ever write a great work on the history of al-Andalus based on his research on Arabic sources (Singh & Samiuddin, 2003).

Conclusion
In general, Reinhart Dozy was a great Orientalist scholar and renowned for his scholarly works on the history of Islam specifically on Islamic history of al-Andalus.His ability to deepen the studies of history was evident since the early age, winning the first prize in a dissertation writing contest in 1843AD.His mastery of the Arabic language enabled him to easily delve into the study of the history of the Arabic civilization.His seriousness in searching for and analyzing accurate historical fact earned him respects and admiration from academicians and even the King of Spain.His commitment in studying the history of Islam in al-Andalus was apparent when he willingly learnt Spanish in order to understand the facts on Spanish history (al-Andalus) and when he studied Arabic manuscripts to get the actual facts on Islamic history of al-Andalus.
In addition, Dozy was committed and meticulous in his adoption of sources in producing his works.His visits to libraries in Germany and the United Kingdom were testimonial to that.In fact, he was very sensitive on the deviation of historical facts committed by other historians.Dozy's relentless commitment of the pursuit of facts led him to succeed in producing a magnum opus level of work, titled Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, which was admired and recognized by western scholars and Muslim scholars alike.Based on the analysis done in this study, it is a strong recommendation of the authors that a further study on Dozy's magnum opus work should be done.
): 1) Commentaire Historique d'Ibn Badroun sur le poeme d'Ibn Abdoun (Ibn-Badrun's Historical Commentary on the Poem of Abd al-Majid ibn Abdun): This work contained Ibn Badrun's (d.1211AD) criticism of Ibn 'Abdun's (1050-1135AD) poetry on the downfall of the Aftasids rule in Badajoz which was exploited by the Almoravids for the latter to interfere in the conflict in al-Andalus.Ibn Badrun was a scholar who lived in the 12 th century AD.
Dozy's edition of the original book Tarikh al-Muwahhidin by 'Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi (1185-1228AD) detailed out the glorious era of the Almohads (1121-1269AD) and was published by the Society of Publication of Oriental Texts, London in 1847AD.4) Notices sur Quelques Manuscrits Arabes: Completed in 1851AD, this work by Dozy was published by E. J. Brill, Leiden.Through this work, Dozy presented a discourse on the work of Ibn al-'Abbar (1199-1260AD), namely al-Hullat al-Siyara' which discussed the political history and literature of the Muslim society of al-Andalus.5) La Chronique d'Afrique et l'Espagne: A work of translation from al-Bayan al-Mughrib fi Akhbar al-Maghrib authored by Ibn 'Idhari (late 13 th -early 14 th century), this work by Dozy came in two volumes.The first volume was published in 1848AD while the second was in 1851AD by E. J. Brill, Leiden.6) Researches sur l'Histoire Politique et littleraire de l-Espange Pendant le Moyen Age: Published by E. J. Brill of Leiden in three volumes in 1849AD (first volume), 1860AD (second volume) and 1881AD (third volume), this extensive work by Dozy contained his harsh criticism of writings by other Orientalist scholars on the history of Islam in al-Andalus.7) Analectes sur l'Histoire et la Litterature des Arabes d'Espagne: Dozy's research and analysis in cooperation with G. Dugat (1824-1894AD) from France, L. Krehl (1825-1091AD) from Leipzig and W. Wright (1830-1889AD) from Cambridge on Nafh al-Tib authored by al-Maqqari (1577-1632AD), this particular work was completed in 1861AD and was published E. J. Brill, Leiden.8) Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne jusqu'a la Conquete de Andalousie par les Almoravides: This was a magnum opus by Dozy throughout his entire involvement as a historian and a literary man.This four-volume work was published in 1861AD by E. J. Brill in Leiden.9) Description de l'Afrique et de l'Espagne: Based on Nuzhat al-Mushtaq authored by al-Idrisi (1099-1166AD), this handiwork of Dozy's was published in 1866AD.10) Calendrier de Cordoue de l'année 961: This was a Cordovan calendar for the year 961AD which was based on a Hebrew manuscript in Paris.The calendar was published in 1873AD.
Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne was also translated into the English language by Francis Griffin Stokes (1853-1949AD) and was published by Chatto & Windus in London in 1913AD.The work was named as Spanish Islam: A History of the Muslims in Spain.In 1939AD, M. Inayatullah bin Mawlawi Zakaullah from Delhi translated Dozy's masterpiece into the Urdu language with the title 'Ibrat Namah-yi Undlus Musannifah Ra'in Harnt Dozi.The translation of the great work into Arabic was done by Hasan Habashi, titled al-Muslimun fi al-Andalus in 1994AD, and published by Matabi' al-Hay'ah al-Misriyyah al-'Ammah li al-Kitab in Cairo

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The final and fourth volume, 'The Party Kings', contained 15 chapters.In this volume, Dozy chronicled the emergence of Muluk al-Tawa'if (The Party Kings), small rulers in al-Andalus territories and the conflicts among Muslim rulers after the collapse of the caliphate in Cordoba.Disintegration of and conflicts in Muslim territories caused the al-Mu'tamid (reigned 1069-1095AD), ruler of the Abbadids in Seville to call for helps from the Almoravids of Northern Africa to solve the conflicts.Dozy ended this volume with a narrative of how the arrival of the Almoravids led to their taking over of al-Andalus including Seville which was ruled by al-Mu'tamid.