Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus

So interesting. Such a great read for anyone who loves history, culture, or anything Iberian. Also, it is lovely to read a piece of literature that does not either disregard Portugal or refer to Portugal as Spain. There are so many books out there or even history resources that refer to "Muslim Spain" with no mention of Portugal which is bizarre to me! 1.) It was Muslim IBERIA (meaning Spain & Portugal). Spain did not even exist at the time. The Muslim rule was over all of the Iberian peninsula except for pockets of the north - that means 100% of Portugal and, by far, most of Spain. 2.) Portugal was not some mysterious piece of land on Iberia that had no part in this time of history. Anyways, my point is that it is refreshing to read this written the accurate way for once!!

I got hooked on learning as much as possible about the early history of the Moors who conquered Spain in 711. This is a great book for the novice and historian alike. It is a political history of Spain. If you want writings on music, art & architecture, economics, Philosophy and Science you will have to purchase The Legacy of Muslim Spain which can be expensive. I went directly to the publisher and got the two volume paperback for $40 which is a fifth of what it sells for on Amazon and other book stores. After reaing this book I visited Spain and went to many of the sites discussed in the book. It gives you an appreciation the Muslim contribution from 711-1492. A real eye opener.

A very comprehensive book of Al Andalus

Not finished, but so far has filled in much of what you get from reading about the Reconquista. Explains why the Reconquista occurred, bit by bit, from internal Muslim rule.

Very good book, not too sure what Amazon is on about describing this book as the first to be based upon Arabic sources. What about chejne or Taha or any number of orientalists such as Lane Poole? Anyway, this a well written book, sraight and to the point. Fairly easy to read and covers all of the most important aspects of the history of Andalusia. For anyone wanting to study that period of Iberian history they may want to start with Lane Pooles book, move on to this one then look for the exellent books of L.P. Harvey.

Kennedy's book is a great introduction to the political history of Muslim Iberia. Densely packed with information, the book could have used more maps and lexcionic information. If you are not already familiar with the general outline of the situation in medieval Iberia (either from an encyclopedia or a survey of the Middle Ages), you may want to become so before tackling Kennedy's work. This book should serve as a foundation for building a larger and more detailed understanding through future reading.

Very complicated mot enough sub headings, the maps were minimal and poor, a good read for a afficionado, but could of been done much better. The value of $48 for a papepack of this quality was not good

yet another wretched scan to text riddled with spelling errors, nearly unreadable. very frustrating for such an expensive book, wish i had purchased the print version instead

Alongside the work of Bernard Reilly, Bernard Lewis, Kaegi and others Hugh Kennedy has brought a lifetimes dedication in Academe to bring us the intriguing complexity of Muslim history to us in the form of several books on Islam and the history of the Arab conquests. For years the political history of Al Andalus had lacked a competent historian. My appetite was created by Bernard Reilly in his hugely exciting book on the confrontation of the Christians with Islam from c950 to 1100 in the age of El Cid. This interest was itself nurtured by driving holidays in Spain which took in Cordoba and Granada. So much ink has been expended on the Christian Reconquista but so little on the political history of the Moslems. In his book Professor Kennedy reveals the fragile extent of Moorish, Berber and Islamic power. How just as the Christian kingdoms witnessed upsurges and downturns in energy, the Ummayyad Emirs based in Cordoba extended their power as well as they were able before the coming of the Party Kings when Al Andalus shivered into squabbling states ripe enough for the Christians to harvest. Professor Kennedy is our foremost Islamic scholar and this book is a must for anybody intending to holiday in Andalusia as a background to what can be seen and admired there.

Very expensive and the quality of the book is very bad

This book is a brilliant account of the political history of Muslim Spain. It is an interesting and comprehensive history of the Musllm side. However it is badly spoilt by poor transcription to the ebook, notably substitution of "d" instead of both "tl" and "ti" (e.g. partial and partly rendered as pardal and pardy). And also placing of footnotes in the middle of the text, instead of at the end of each chapter of the end of the text, is wildly eccentric. There are also problems with the tables of rulers, esp. Ummayads (numbers overwritten or missed) and Nasrids. If it was better produced this would be a 5 star review.