The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710-797 (History of Spain) - Hardcover

Reseña del editor

In 711 A.D. the Arabs invaded Spain. They were to dominate the country for the next 800 years, leaving behind them an architectural, cultural, artistic and scholarly legacy which has endured to the present day. Through Arab Spain Christendom gained knowledge of Eastern learning, science and vital agricultural techniques such as irrigation, as well as access to Eastern markets. This book is an account of the history of Spain in the eighth century. In it Roger Collins assesses the political and cultural impact on Spain of the first hundred years of Arab rule, focusing upon aspects of continuity and discontinuity with Visigoth Spain. He begins with a consideration of Visigoth power which forms the background to Arab invasion, and explains how the Arab military occupation of Spain and restoration of order was achieved. Throughout, the author is concerned to set events in Spain within the wider context of developments in France, North Africa and the Near East. Dr Collins examines the reaction of Christian Spain to Islamic rule, and describes the wars between the Arabs and the Franks, and the conflict between the Arabs and the Berbers. He also looks at Arab administration and government in Spain during the eighth century, and evaluates its political success. He concludes with a discussion of the last two decades of the century, when the Umayyad dynasty overcame problems of succession and renewed Frankish threat, to re-emerge as the indisputable masters of the Iberian peninsula.