A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain

One of the best books I have read to date illustrating the 3-faith religions in Medieval Spain. It is an absolute fabulous writing by Chris Lowney. Lowney's historical writing illustrates how important Spain and how the regions of Castile, Aragon and Al-Andalus were to humanities evolvement from the European Dark Ages to the Renaissance. The author interweaves with exciting precision stories from the fall of the Visigoth Kingdom due to the Muslim invasion of 711, to Charlemagne and the epic "Song of Roland,", to the rise of the Umayyad, Almoravid, Almohad and Nasrid Dynasties in building the great cities of Cordoba, Seville and Granada leading Al-Andaluz as one of the greatest and prosperous intellectual regions in Europe that has not been met since! The author illustrates Santiago as both a "peregrino" and a 'matamoros" and how this medieval pilgrimage became "Europe's busiest Highway" (Camino de Santiago), in the 12th century when the Order of Santiago was created. Legends of the great hero El Cid are told along with many of the philosophers in the three Golden Ages of Spain (The Islamic Golden Age, The Jewish Golden Age and The New World Age) such as Maimonides, Ibn Arabi, Moses de Leon, Ibn Tufayl along with the Kings of Spain whom fought Islam, and Judaism throughout the century to culminate the arrival of the Catholic Monarchs-Ferdinand and Isabella. This will be one of your favorite historical books that you will reference for years to come.

I read this book not as a scholar of Andalusia nor one of the history of monotheistic religions. I read this book becuase I was curious to learn more about about both the dynamic between Christians, Muslims and Jews in Spain during Moorish rule and how that might relate to how we can better understand the impact that fundamentalism in religion is having on our present-day inter-connected world.We all read books through the lens of our own life experiences, so I find it interesting to read the points of view expressed in other reivews. I found this book to a much more balanced take on what happened (and the context in which it happened) than the other books that I have read on this subject. He is neither an aplogist for the Muslims nor does he carry the torch of martydom for the Jews. He helps to put into context what is not so easy to do. He explores subjects in a way that both informs the reader but does not over-romanticize the subject matter. Yet, to me, it was a fascinating read. He succeeded in striking a balance between retelling the countless and at times mind-numbing military scirmishes that often define our sense of what history is and discussing how religious thought was influenced by such events. More importantly, he showed me the link between how such great minds as Maimonedes, Moses de Leon, Averroes, and El Cid hailed from the same soil and how each had such a profound influence on reason, religion and its practice and the relationship between the two.I recommend this book to anyone who has an intellectual curiosity to learn about religion, culture and history in Moorish Spain. I think we all would benefit from reading such books, particlularly ones that are so well written, organized and presented.

After the first chapter or two, one begins to get a bit tired of the homily. The moral of the story - or his moral for his story - at times seems a bit contrived. However, the book is very readable and a good introduction to Medieval Spain and the cross-fertilization of Islamic, Jewish and Christian cultures. However, let the reader beware, Spanish history is a bit more complicated. It is difficult to find a "non-biased" account of the time period - and this work is definitely not "non-biased" - and for all the good the author has attempted , the moral of his story seems to be to the detriment of real history. If I want a homily I can go to church (or mosque or synagogue - and yes I do go) - I just got a bit tired of the historical homily. Yes I know, I could have put the book down, no one forced me to read the book, nevertheless, I was hoping for something more.

I found this book enjoyable and easy to read. I was fascinated by the philosophies described, and what made the times unique for Spain and the surrounding world. It is a book that made me think deeply about religion, conflict, and reconciliation. I recommend "A Vanished World" very highly.

A little bit too intellectual. I was hoping for something more intimate, like verbatim dialog from a princely court, the diary of a town physician or a letter from a village priest. Instead, there is too much focus on literature, philosophy and the lives of a few great men.

The book arrived several days later than expected, but it's in PERFECT condition. I'm looking forward to reading it.

i ordered this book because my dining table wobbled a lot and often ruined family dinners. one of the legs was far shorter than the others and caused drinks to spill, and gravy to slide off of my mashed potatoes and directly into my salad. This book was the perfect height and width to place under the leg and we have enjoyed our meals ever since! i now put extra gravy on my mashed potatoes knowing my salad is completely safe

A wonderful account of the life in Iberia and and several important figures who have been left out of the history books. Very fascinating and in-depth. The author is also very witty, which makes the read very enjoyable even if you're doing it for a class.

I bought this for my daughter who was taking a trip and it was very useful to her.

to those ignorants that still believe that muslims had nothing to do with the European renaissance and taking the European out of the stone ages / dark ages must read this book ....this book is one of the many out there that highlight the amazing achievement that muslims gave the world and helped Europe ( Caucasians ) to become what it is now ......as we all know nothing comes from nothing in order for you to have a conclusion ( europe now ) you have to have an introduction ( muslims then)wake up and make sure you read the book with an open mind and not an arrogant one ......

Es gibt nur eine Handvoll guter Bücher zum Thema Spanien im Mittelalter, das gleich im (Unter)Titel zum Hauptanliegen kommt: Muslime, Christen und Juden im mittelalterlichen Spanien. Es behandelt die Geschichte vom vorislamischen Spanien bis zum Auftreten von Columbus. Die Koexistenz von islamischer Kultur, jüdisch-kabbalistischer Entfaltung und Konstruktivität christlicher Toleranz, etwa in Toledo unter der fruchtbaren Regentschaft von Alfons VI. stehen im Mittelpunkt. Ein solches Nebeneinander von Moscheen, Synagogen und Kirchen, die friedfertigen Berührungen von sufischer Mystik und spekulativer Kabbala hat es danach (1492) kaum wieder gegeben. In der Buchmitte befinden sich 18 Seiten mit Schwarz-Weiß-Bildtafeln zur visuellen Ergänzung. Ein kleiner Nebeneffekt: Gelegentlich neigt der Autor zu ereignisgeschichtlichen Wiederholungen. Gleichwohl verdient das Buch alle Punkte.

Episodic history of Spain in the time of the Moors. very well-informed autor who writes well and aims to please. His writing is factual and infmormative. It si ahrd to put down if youa re a hsitory buff!

Ein sehr gutes Buch. Es beschreibt was zwischen Kulturen und Religionen möglich war und was heute, in unserer aufgeklärten Zeit, wieder möglich sein sollte. Minarette sind nicht unbedingt von übel.