(slide 18) Slide 18 depicts another ivory casket that was probably given as a gift to a loved one. Giving lavish gifts became an important practice among the nobility in Cordoba. It was another example of Andalusian society drawing on the lifestyle of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Andalusians learned about what was fashionable in Baghdad from visitors and through "etiquette" manuals that became popular in the Islamic world in this time. Elegant mannerism became an important aspect of court life in Andalusia. It is quite possible that the European culture of Courtly Love that developed in the Middle Ages was partially inspired by the lifestyle of the Andalusian courts. Back to slides