This handbook offers an overview of the main issues regarding the political, economic, social, religious, intellectual and artistic history of the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Muslim rule (eighth-fifteenth centuries). A comprehensive list of primary and secondary sources attests the vitality of the academic study of al-Andalus (= Muslim Iberia) and its place in present-day discussions about the past and the present.

The contributors are all specialists with diverse backgrounds providing different perspectives and approaches. The volume includes chapters dealing with the destiny of the Muslim population after the Christian conquest and with the posterity of al-Andalus in art, literature and different historiographical traditions. The chapters are organised in the following sections:

• Political history, concentrating on rulers and armies
• Social, religious and economic groups
• Intellectual and cultural developments
• Legacy and memory of al-Andalus

Offering a synthetic and updated academic treatment of the history and society of Muslim Iberia, this comprehensive and up-to-date collection provides an authoritative and interdisciplinary guide. It is a valuable resource for both specialists and the general public interested in the history of the Iberian Peninsula, Islamic and Medieval studies.

About the Author

Maribel Fierro is a research professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Instituto de Lenguas y Culturas del Mediterraneo-CSIC), Spain. Her research focuses on the political, religious and intellectual history of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, Islamic law, the construction of orthodoxy and the persecution of heresies, and violence and its representation in Medieval Arabic sources. Among her publications: The Almohad Revolution. Politics and religion in the Islamic West during the twelfth-thirteenth centuries (2012), and Abd al-Rahman III: The first Cordoban caliph (2005). She has been the recipient of the Anneliese Maier Award 2014 of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Reviews

"The Routledge Handbook of Muslim Iberia is a collection of essays written by thirty authors and serves as a guide to al-Andalus, defined geographically as the territory in the Iberian peninsula under Islamic rule between 711 and 1492. The volume also includes North African kingdoms that ruled over Iberian territories, and Andalusi populations and their descendants who came under the authority of Iberian Christian rulers beginning in the late eleventh century. The Handbook is directed toward both nonspecialist readers interested in exploring aspects of the Andalusi past, including poetry, art, and architecture, and researchers interested in an introduction to the themes of current and past scholarship and the main written and material sources for studying aspects of the politics, society, and culture of al-Andalus.

"[The book] is designed to be picked up for reference and encourage further exploration of topics and themes in Andalusi history. The chapters are well conceived and authoritative. The book may also be read from beginning to end for an effective, multivocal overview of what scholars ask and think about al-Andalus."

Janina Safran, Journal of the American Oriental Society 143.4 (2023)

Book Information
ISBN 9781032236490
Author Maribel Fierro
Format Paperback
Page Count 840
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 1480g