Lane-Poole's The History of Moors in Spain narrates Iberia's Muslim centuries from the 711 conquest to Granada's fall in 1492, moving from Umayyad Córdoba's efflorescence through the taifa era and the Almoravid and Almohad interventions under the pressure of the Christian Reconquista. Political change is interlaced with chapters on learning, agriculture, architecture, and urban life, from Toledo and Seville to the Alhambra. In poised Victorian prose, and within the late-Victorian synthesis tradition, he draws on Arabic and Latin chronicles, with numismatic cues, presenting both convivencia and conflict in a brisk, literate account. A British orientalist and nephew of Edward William Lane, Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931) trained in the British Museum's Department of Coins and Medals and later held the Arabic chair at Trinity College Dublin. His numismatic catalogues and studies of Egypt and Saladin shaped his chronology, sources, and sympathetic attention to institutions and culture. Readers of Iberian and Islamic history will find this classic an incisive entry point into al-Andalus: narrative yet learned, animated by primary sources. Approach it alongside recent social histories to balance its Victorian lens; the storytelling and synthesis still richly reward.
Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.