The use of object-oriented programming in the study of the position of Muslims in the social space of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon (XIII-XV centuries)

Sidorovich Ekaterina Andreevna Postgraduate student; Faculty of History; Belarusian State University 220030, Belarus, city, Minsk, ave. Independence, 4 ekaterina.sidorovich@alum.uca.es

Current trends in the development of the humanities and social sciences imply the active use of information technology in historical research as a strategy of adaptation ^[1] and transformation, thereby expanding research opportunities. Technological development contributes to a more effective solution of tasks at the level of primary information processing and the stage of analytical review of secondary historical sources ^{[2, p. 98]}. However, visualization of data ^{[3, p. 23-29]} and information ^{[4, p.107]} remains one of the key problems of Digital Himanities, especially in works that are ontologically linear and text-centric ^[5]. In this context, the use of object-oriented programming is based on the example of the Unified Modeling Language (hereinafter – UML). As a tool for structuring data and visualizing concepts in historical research, it can significantly increase the level of analytical information processing. This approach allows for a clear understanding of complex social structures, the evolution of historical processes, and the dynamics of historiographical discussions. It can become an effective tool not only for academic research ^[6], but also for educational programs ^[7], helping students to better navigate complex historical issues.

The object of this study is the social history of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon in the 13th–15th centuries, covering the dynamics of interactions between religious communities and their legal status. The subject of the research is the application of object-oriented programming as a tool for analyzing interfaith interactions in the specified historical context. The purpose of the article is to explore the possibilities of using UML in historical science, demonstrating how this method contributes to the modeling of social and legal structures of the past, as well as the structuring of historiographical concepts explaining the problem of coexistence in medieval Spain.

The methodological basis of the research consists of theoretical and empirical levels. The deductive method allowed us to deduce specific cases of UML application in history from its general use in the humanities and social sciences. The comparative analysis helped to compare the various elements of the diagram and determine their applicability in the study. The case study method also made it possible to demonstrate the effectiveness of UML in visualizing complex historical structures using the example of studying the position of Muslims in the social space of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon during the High and Late Middle Ages. At the same time, we used a historical and systematic approach to consider the social space of Castile and Leon as a complex system where Muslims, Christians and Jews interact within a single social, economic and religious context. Finally, the modeling process was accompanied by an analysis of the schemas in ChatGPT queries ^[8]: the algorithm performed the initial reading and structural analysis of the code, after which we checked the correctness of the interpretation and clarified the identified inconsistencies. This method made it possible to combine automated analysis with expert verification.

In our study, we used the StarUML program (version 6.3.1), which is a software tool for charting and modeling. It provides extensive capabilities for creating various types of UML diagrams, including diagrams of classes, sequences, states, activities, and components. They can be used to visually display the structure, behavior, and interaction of system elements. In addition, the program has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to create, edit, and organize charts.

The relevance of this work is explained by the development of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and the active integration of digital technologies into the humanities ^[9]. The use of UML in historical research follows the principles of an interdisciplinary approach, allowing the use of engineering methods to model social and legal structures of the past, and can also contribute to a simplified perception and analysis of large amounts of information, revealing hidden patterns and connections. This is in line with Digital Humanity trends aimed at creating new research tools, analysis methods, and forms of data representation in the humanities.

UML is a standard modeling language developed in the mid-1990s by G. Butch, J. Rambo and A. Jacobson for the description and design of software systems, including their structure, functionality and dynamic behavior ^[10]. As a graphical language, UML provides researchers with a tool for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting various aspects of complex systems. In addition to programming, UML can be used to describe concepts through attribution and operations reflecting the relationship between "superclasses" and "subclasses" ^{[11, p.150]}, therefore it is actively used in such fields as genetics ^[12] and business administration ^[13].

In the early 2000s, P. Bonmel and D. P. Muler proved the possibility of using UML in the humanities and social sciences, considering classes of individuals or their groups as objects of research and establishing relations of generalization and association between them ^[14]. The issue of adapting UML to historical research was raised by J. Bergandi and S. Gonzalez-Perez. The first proposed the use of UML in historical and social sciences, noting that such diagrams at the level of abstraction not only contribute to the visualization of concepts, but also help to identify logical inconsistencies ^[15]. He identified the main types of connections applicable to historical and social research: generalization – as a way of representing levels of abstraction; association – as a reflection of subjects' awareness; dependence – as a connection between different levels of concepts.

Spanish researcher S. Gonzalez-Perez developed the ideas of conceptualization in historical, anthropological and archaeological research, applying UML in case study, which allowed to formalize complex structures and processes using concrete examples ^[16],[17]. Together with P. Martin-Rodilla, he suggests using a conceptual modeling language (ConML) adapted to the specifics of the humanities, in which the basic construct is a level represented by a class expressing a category and its characteristic. These elements can be linked by associations or semi-associations ^[18]. Therefore, the class diagram is the most suitable for our study of the social history of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Using the class diagram "Historiographical discussion of the problem of coexistence in medieval Spain" (Fig.1) concepts explaining the degree of interaction of three religious communities in medieval Spain were illustrated ^[19]. We have structured the relationships between publications, concepts, and discussions to identify the main research areas, their intersections, and methodological differences.

Fig. 1. Class diagram "Historiographical discussion of the problem of coexistence in medieval Spain"

One of the central elements of the diagram is the concept of convivencia, proposed by the philologist and cultural historian A. Castro ^[20]. He viewed interfaith relations in medieval Spain as a positive interaction based on cultural exchange, where religious minorities played an important role. In contrast, the medieval historian C. Sanchez-Albornoz^[21],[22] proposed the concept of coexistencia, emphasizing the conflict nature of these relations. He saw isolation and rivalry in religious coexistence, in which the Christian cultural tradition emerged victorious, which makes his approach the opposite of A. Castro's interpretation. These two views on the Iberian Peninsula's social past have been in opposition for a long time ^[23] and both have been criticized by anthropologist T. Glick, who proposed using the well-known ethnological and more universal term acculturation to describe the social and cultural situation in medieval Spain ^[24]. In his opinion, religious and cultural interactions on the Iberian Peninsula were not unique – similar processes took place in many regions of the world, which makes the terms convivencia and coexistencia unnecessarily specific.

An interesting interpretation is that of the medievalist and religious scholar B. Katlos ^[25], who reinterpreted the problem of coexistence, considering it not as an ideological concept, but as a behavioral strategy for survival. In his interpretation, the interaction of different religious communities included elements of both mutually beneficial cooperation and competition, which made it possible to reconcile the two early historiographical approaches.

The analysis of the diagram makes it possible to trace the dynamics of the historiographical discussion with a noticeable shift from the binary opposition of convivencia-coexistencia to polyphonism. The UML links used help structure this trend. Aggregation (a solid line with a hollow diamond) is used to indicate the relationship between publications and author concepts, showing that the authors' ideas come from their scientific works. Associations (solid lines indicating cardinality) connect authors with their works. We have recorded the situation of academic discussion in the diagram through dependence (dotted line with direction), indicating criticism or use of colleagues' conclusions.

This visualization method makes it possible not only to systematize historiographical material, but also to identify logical relationships between concepts, which may be useful for further research. The UML diagram clearly captures which concepts are related, which are in opposition, and which combine disparate approaches, which makes it a convenient tool for analyzing historiographical discussion.

Visualization of social space ^{[26, p. 128-138]} of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon in the 13th–15th centuries. (Fig.2) with the help of UML, it made it possible to visualize the interaction of various groups in the context of the policy of unification of society on religious grounds in the context of the contact space ^[27]. The developed UML class diagram reflects the main communities, including the Christian majority, religious minorities and their related subgroups. Here we used not only the attribute part of the class, but also the functional part, using the example of the roles and purpose of some groups in the social space.

Fig. 2. Class diagram "Muslims in the social space of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon"

The upper-level element of the scheme is the "Society" class with the following macrosocial context: territorial affiliation and time frame. The society includes "religious groups" whose existence is conditioned by a legal basis: the rights of Christians and non-Christians were spelled out in canon law, the Fuero, the Orders of the Cento and the codes of common law. There are two main branches coming from him: "Religious minorities" and "Christians". The first category is abstract (the class name is automatically italicized) and unites Muslims and Jews, whose status was determined by the protection of the king ^{[28, p. 11]}, and the strategy of state policy towards them was gradual Christianization. The second group, represented by Catholics, includes subcategories of "Old Christians" and "Neophytes." The latter included baptized Muslims (Moriscos) and Jews (Conversos).

As can be seen, our diagram is based on the division into religious groups: as representatives of the titular faith, Christians occupied the most favorable position in the social space, since they were endowed with both political and property rights. At the same time, religious minorities — Jews and Muslims — were protected by the King, but were subject to legal and social restrictions.

The economic situation of minorities was determined by their status and traditional fields of activity. Jews held positions in the financial sector and engaged in usury, which made them important figures in the kingdom's economy, but also increased hostility towards them. The Muslims competed with them in crafts and trade, but at the same time they could also engage in military activities for the benefit of the Crown. Conflicts on economic grounds, along with religious prejudices, contributed to social tension and the consolidation of hierarchical barriers.

The relationships between classes are expressed using aggregation, generalization (solid line with hollow triangle), and association. Religious groups were united into one superclass through aggregation as parts of a whole. Generalization is used to demonstrate the hereditary connection of groups. We used the Association to show the competition between two religious minorities ^[29].

In this UML scheme, the social space of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon was demonstrated with an emphasis on the religious variable. It demonstrates the structural complexity of Castilian society, in which religious identity was not only a factor of religious affiliation, but also a determining element of social, economic and political life ^[30]. Using UML in this context allowed not only to structure historical information, but also to identify patterns of interaction between different groups. In this study, this tool can subsequently be used to model social interactions between religious groups, as well as to structure the alham and legislative sources that shaped both the status of Muslims and its change in the specified chronotope.

Thus, the use of UML diagrams in historical research has several advantages. This modeling language allows you to structure complex social relationships and capture the hierarchy of social groups. UML is also effective for schematizing historiographical material. Thanks to this approach, it is possible to identify hidden relationships between concepts that are not always obvious in text analysis. Nevertheless, UML is not a traditional tool for historians, which may make it difficult for researchers who are not familiar with object-oriented modeling and the syntax of a unified language. Despite this, its use in historical research seems promising to us, especially when modeling social relations.