Synopses & Reviews
This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of "al-Andalus, " the kingdom in medieval Spain where, for more than seven centuries, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and literature, science, and the arts flourished.
- A Washington Post bestseller.
- A work of history that resonates powerfully in our own time--a reminder of the possibility for peaceful coexistence among Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
- A book that will fascinate those readers who propelled Karen Armstrong's A History of God, Thomas Cahill's The Gifts of the Jews, Robert Lacey's The Year 1000, et al., onto paperback bestseller lists.
- Reading groups will find much to discuss in THE ORNAMENT OF THE WORLD.
Synopsis
This classic bestseller -- the inspiration for the PBS series -- is an "illuminating and even inspiring" portrait of medieval Spain that explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance (Los Angeles Times). This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where for more than seven centuries Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and where literature, science, and the arts flourished.
"It is no exaggeration to say that what we presumptuously call 'Western' culture is owed in large measure to the Andalusian enlightenment...This book partly restores a world we have lost." --Christopher Hitchens, The Nation
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [284]-292) and index.
Table of Contents
Beginnings -- A brief history of a first-rate place -- The palaces of memory -- The mosque and the palm tree: Cordoba 786 -- Mother tongues: Cordoba, 855 -- A grand vizier, a grand city: Cordoba, 949 -- The gardens of memory: Madinat al-Zahra, south of Cordoba, 1009 -- Victorious in exile: The battlefield at Argona, between Cordoba and granada, 1041 -- Love and its songs: Niebla, just west of Seville, on the road to Huelva, August 1064; Barbastro, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, on the road to Saragossa, August 1064 -- The church at the top of the hill: Toledo, 1085 -- An Andalusian in London: Huesca, 1106 -- Sailing away, riding away: Alexandria, 1140 -- The abbot and the Quran: Cluny, 1142 -- Gifts: Sicily, 1236; Cordoba, 1236; Granada, 1236 -- Banned in Paris: Paris, 1277 -- Visions of other worlds: Avila, 1305 -- Foreign dignitaries at the courts of Castile: Seville, 1364; Toledo, 1364 -- In the Alhambra: Granada, 1492 -- Somewhere in La Mancha: 1605 -- Epilogue: Andalusian shards -- A reading group guide.