Unashamedly my favourite army of the period, the Tai’fa Kingdoms of Al-Andalus were ultimately the victims of the Reconquista. However, they were also centres of learning, culture and trade, and undoubtedly helped to found the unique Spain that we see today.
Here’s a gallery of a few of my Andalusian miniatures. All flags and shields are painted by hand.
Left: Andalusian guard spearmen. Gripping Beast figures sculpted by Colin Patten.
Andalusian cavalry were famous throughout Europe. These chaps often see action as part of my force of Zaragoza, one of the most important Tai’fa kingdoms in the eleventh century (all figures by Gripping Beast).
Above, we have a mixture of Gripping Beast and Perry Miniatures jinetes with the distinctive adarga shield that developed in Al-Andalus.
Crossbows were popular in Al-Andalus, especially for arming militia. Above, we have a unit of more professional crossbowmen (Gripping Beast Normans with some conversions); below are some militia converted from Old Glory renaissance Moors. Several companies make specific Moorish crossbowmen nowadays so life is much easier!
Andalusian archers from Artizan Designs (above) and slingers from Qualiticast (sadly no longer available) – below.
This is part of a unit of sub-Saharan African spearmen that have seen service as the personal bodyguard of the Emir of Seville in my games. The shields have a somewhat fanciful zebra-hide covering, but it looks the part, I think!
mogsymakes 