The Story of the Moors in Spain is a history of the Moorish Empire in Andalusia, chronicling the rise and fall of the Islamic empire, and with it the stymie of a “civilized and enlightened State.” Author Stanley Lane-Poole catalogues the art, architecture, religion, science, and industry that flourished with the establishment of the Muslim regime in Spain. A rare non-Christian history from the 19th century, students and researchers alike should cherish this classic text, included here with original illustrations. Born in 1854 in London, England, STANLEY LANE-POOLE was a British historian, orientalist, and archaeologist. Lane-Poole worked in the British Museum from 1874 to 1892, thereafter researching Egyptian archaeology in Egypt. From 1897 to 1904 he was a professor of Arabic studies at Dublin University. Before his death in 1931, Lane-Poole authored dozens of books, including the first book of the Arabic-English Lexicon started by his uncle, E.W. Lane. Scholar, John G. Jackson, gave the introduction to Stanley Lane Poole’s , in the Book The Story of the Moors in Spain, he quoted Dr. Bertram Thomas, former Prime Minister of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman”This scarce book was originally published in 1896.
Its 301 pages contain 14 detailed chapters that cover the history of Islamic Spain. It is a comprehensive and informative look at the subject by an industrious and scrupulous author. Contents Include: The Last of the Goths; The Wave of Conquest; The People of Andalusia; A Young Pretender; The Christian Martyrs; The Great Khalif; The Holy War; The City of the Khalif; The Prime Minister; The Berbers in Power; My Cid the Challenger; The Kingdom of Granada; The Fall of Granada; Bearing the Cross; Index.”
“Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.” “the course of time two big migrations of fair-skinned peoples came from the north, one of them the mongoloids, to break through and transform the dark belt of man beyond India, and the other, the caucasoids, to drive a wedge between India and Africa. (p. 339)
“In ancient times, Africans in general were called Ethiopians; in medieval times most Africans were called Moors; in modern times some Africans were called Negroes. The Ethiopians were named by the Greeks.” “The word Ethiopia means “burntface,” from the Greek names ethios + face. This description referred to the dark complexion of these Africans, which the Greeks attributed to sunburn. In the literature on Africa, Africans are commonly identified in two groups: one progressive, the other, backward. The progressive peoples are called Hamites, Kushites, Moors, etc., whereas the backward ones are called Negroes.”
“The word Negro comes from the Latin word niger, meaning black. Hamites, Kushites, and Moors were also black, but they have been inducted into the white race. The word Negro was manufactured during the Atlantic Slave Trade; or to put it another way, there are many species of small fish in the ocean; when put into cans they are called sardines.”
“Scientific progress in astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geography, and philosophy flourished in Moorish Spain. Scholars, scientists, and artists formed learned societies, and scientific congresses were organized to promote research and to facilitate the spread of knowledge. A brisk intellectual life flourished in all Islamic dominions, since both caliphs of East and West were as a rule, enlightened patrons of learning…”
“Education was universal in Moorish Spain, available to the most humble, while in Christian Europe ninety-nine percent of the populace were illiterate, and even kings could neither read nor write. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, public libraries in Europe were nonexistent, while Moorish Spain could boast of more than seventy, of which the one in Cordova housed six hundred thousand manuscripts. Christian Europe contained only two universities of any value, while in Moorish Spain there were seventeen great universities.”
“The finest of these were located in Almeria, Cordova, Granada, Juen, Malaga, Seville, and Toledo. Scientific progress in astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geography, and philosophy flourished in Moorish Spain. Scholars, scientists, and artists formed learned societies, and scientific congresses were organized to promote research and to facilitate the spread of knowledge. A brisk intellectual life flourished in all Islamic dominions,….”