Changes

After Spain became part of the Muslim world, there was a marked increase in trade. This led to an increase in wealth and to the growth of towns and cities. Soon cities like Toledo were sprawling metropolis and they became major centers of culture. Another of the areas where there was a rapid change was in the legal code. As in other societies that they conquered the Muslims imposed their own legal code. The traditional laws were overturned, and this impacted on every aspect of society. Before the Muslim conquest the law was structured to represent Christian values but now it reflected the conquerors' religion. The Christian’s were now classed as the Dhimmi. They enjoyed legal protection in the eyes of the law and their person and body were fully protected<ref> Bernard Lewis. History of the Middle East; a brief history of the last 2000 years (Touchstone Books, University of Michigan, 2008), p. 45</ref>.

However, they legally inferior to their Muslim overlords. The Arabs introduced a new language into the territories that they conquered, and Latin went into decline. Arabic became the official language, and this was the lingua franca of the bureaucracy and the army. This led to the emergence of a scribal class that was versed in Arabic and a culture that was decisively influenced by Islamic culture.