The setting of this volume is the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, where Christianity and Islam co-existed side by side as the official religions of Muslim al-Andalus on the one hand, and the Christian kingdoms in the north of the peninsula on the other. Its purpose is to examine the meaning of the word 'Mozarab' and the history and nature of the people called by that name; it represents a synthesis of the author's many years of research and publication in this field. Richard Hitchcock first sets out to explain what being a non-Muslim meant in al-Andalus, both in the higher echelons of society and at a humbler level. The terms used by Arab chroniclers, when examined carefully, suggest a lesser preoccupation with purely religious values than hitherto appreciated. Mozarabism in LeA(3)n and Toledo, two notably distinct phenomena, are then considered at length, and there are two chapters exploring the issues that arose, firstly when Mozarabs were relocated in twelfth-century AragA(3)n, and secondly, in sixteenth-century Toledo, when they were striving to retain their identity.

Questions asked by Greek philosophy and science - how do we come to be? How do we grow? When are we recognizably human? - are addressed with new intensity today. Modern embryology has changed the methods of enquiry and given new knowledge. Public interest and concern are high because medical applications of new knowledge offer benefits and yet awaken ancestral fears. The law and politics are called upon to secure the benefits without realizing the fears. Philosophers and theologians are involved once again. In this volume some of the world's authorities on the subject trace the tradition of enquiry over two and a half thousand years. The answers given in related cultures - Greek, Latin, Jewish, Arabian, Islamic, Christian - reflected the purposes to be served at different times, in medical practice, penitential discipline, canon law, common law, human feeling. But the terms in which the questions were discussed were those set down by the Greeks and transmitted through the Arabic authors to medieval Europe.

A comprehensive survey of Muslim Spain from 711-1492. This introduction to Muslim Spain covers the period from 711 to1492, giving readers a substantial overview of what it was that made it a unique and successful society, and of its powerful legacy in the formation of modern Spain. Using a chronological framework and pushing the main historical developments to the forefront, the author keeps in view the shifting social patterns caused by the changing balance between town and country, major and minor dynasties, foreign groupings and repeated invasions from North Africa. He also includes discussion of topics such as inter-faith relations, multi-ethnic competing groups, and how intellectual life was enriched by pluralism and influence from abroad.

Jose Antonio Conde's classic 3 volume work is a pioneering history of the Arabs in Spain (700-1500). It was under Arab rule that the Iberian peninsular experienced a golden era that saw a blossoming of artistic, scientific and intellectual pursuits. Conde was concerned that the history of this period was available only through works that were unreliable and prejudiced against the Arabs and his aim was to provide an accurate account of what was an important period in the history of Europe and of Islam. War and the passage of time had destroyed many of the important libraries but Conde undertook extensive research to locate and make use of original Arabic manuscripts and he was the first person to use them for a coherent history of the period. The three volumes represent an important milestone in Hispano-Arabic studies and they have had a lasting influence. Their re-issue will be welcomed by scholars and all with an interest in this fertile and formative period. The new Introduction by Professor Richard Hitchcock, a leading scholar of Hispano -Arabic studies, provides an important a re-appraisal of Conde, whose role in unearthing the history of al-Andalus, he feels, has been much undervalued.

What made Muslim Spain a unique and successful society? Richard Hitchcock explores the background to its powerful legacy in the formation of modern Spain, using a chronological framework while constantly keeping in view the shifting social patterns caused by the changing balance between town and country, major and minor dynasties, foreign groupings and repeated invasions from North Africa. You'll learn about the main historical developments in depth, such as the self-defeating independence of the Taifas, the so-called 'Party Kings', and the prolonged colonisation of the Muslim subject population under the increasingly severe dominance of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. You'll also find wide-ranging discussion of important topics such as inter-faith relations, multi-ethnic competing groups and how intellectual life was enriched by pluralism and influences from abroad.