The article says "they are all men", not that only men are allowed. Perhaps they are. However, look closely top-right corner of that the picture. You may see a

The article says "they are all men", not that only men are allowed. Perhaps they are. However, look closely top-right corner of that the picture. You may see a group of 4 women standing very close to one of the judges; 2 of them are almost on top of him. If you think these women will keep their mouths shut if they hear something they don't like, you don't know Spanish body language well enough :). The city I was raised at used to be a big Muslim city. When they dig the foundations for new buildings, they often get disrupted by muslim ruins, which might need to be protected/removed carefully. And if they dig deeper (say, for a subterranean parking) they may find ancient Roman ruins. In the western world ancient Rome tends to be put in a good light; as "the civilisation" against "the barbarians". However, ancient Romans were very ardent and violent colonizers ("colonia" is after all a Roman word). They took slaves, and women could not vote or hold political office. They stayed in the Iberian peninsula for 700 years. The Arab muslims that followed them were only faster on their initial conquest: In around 3 years, they had full control of everything. They lasted 800 years, until the Emirate of Granada, their last bastion, was conquered. But by that point they had been in decline for 4 centuries, gradually being conquered by the Christians or being consumed by inner-fighting. While I am sure there was some influence (there are still lots Arab words in modern Spanish, after all) after 4 centuries of almost continuous but gradual conquer, I doubt the conquistadors were "emulating" the Arabs. I think they were "used to a life of war and conquer", by that point. So they just kept going. If they were able to "emulate" the Arabian conquests they would be emulating people from 400 years prior, and at that point they might as well be emulating the ancient Romans.