Author: Charles River Editors
Narrator: Cathy Barnes
Unabridged: 3 hr 15 min
Format: Digital Audiobook
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Published: 05/09/2023
Genre: History - Europe
The term Moor is a historical rather than an ethnic name. It is an invention of European Christians for the Islamic inhabitants of Maghreb (North Africa), Andalusia (Spain), Sicily and Malta, and was sometimes use to designate all Muslims. It is derived from Mauri, the Latin name for the Berbers who lived in the Roman province of Mauretania, which ranged across modern Algeria and Morocco. Saracen was another European term used to designate Muslims, though it usually referred to the Arabic peoples of the Middle East and derives from an ancient name for the Arabs, Sarakenoi. The Muslims of those regions no more refer to themselves by that term than those of North Africa call themselves Moors. Maghreb, or al-Maghreb, is a historical term used by Arabic Muslims for the territory of coastal North Africa from Alexandria to the Atlantic Coast. It means “The West” and is used in opposition to Mashrek, “The East,” used to refer to the lands of Islam in the Middle East and north-eastern Africa. The Berbers refer to the region in their own language as Tamazgha. In a limited, precise sense it can also refer to the Kingdom of Morocco, the proper name of which is al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah, “Kingdom of the West.”
The history of the Spanish Peninsula is closely bound to that of the Moors. The term “Spain” was not in wide use until the region was united by the monarchs of Aragon and Castile, and the Moors called the lands they ruled in the Iberian Peninsula Al-Andalus, traditionally thought to be an Arabic transliteration of Vandal, the Germanic tribe which briefly ruled the region in the early fifth century. The English name Andalusia derives from the Spanish Andalucia, which is still used by Spain to name its southern region. Not surprisingly, three religions attempting to coexist during medieval times resulted in nearly incessant conflicts.
Few are those that have not heard of the fearsome Vikings and their daring exploits. These Northern seafarers, the scourge of the Middle Ages, left their mark on the world’s history in a grand fashion. Courageous, defiant, and driven by the de...
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Celts, then pay attention...Today, the word Celtic means so many things. To most of us, it means something related to Ireland. We think of intricately designed Irish crosses, four-leaf clovers, ...
The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift, and a book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patric...
A great nation needs a great leader. Just like a ship needs a capable captain, so does a proud and sovereign nation need a competent king to lead it through the tumultuous waves of history. Alas, history taught us that capable leaders are ...
Much can be said for a nation as proud and ancient as Wales. It is a nation that reaches far back into the shadows of history, from where it struggled to retain its freedom and proud culture. Of Celtic and Brittonic origins, the Welsh people were al...
The French Revolution of the late 1790s was one of the critical events in the history of Europe. It was the defining moment - a historic landslide that ushered the world into a new, completely different epoch. Alas, all such changes come at a great ...
About empty thrones, a lot can be said. Throughout history, both ancient and near modern, a lack of an heir and the sudden death of a beloved monarch always meant trouble. When the position of a king is up for grabs, a lot of eager hands come forwar...
Yeats is widely regarded as one of the most important English-language writers of the 20th century. A hero of the pen rather than the sword. A Nobel Prize winner for Literature and a two-term senator of the Irish Free State, Yeats lived a full, acti...
The history of the Scottish nation is full to the brim with glorious heroes and epic struggles. Throughout the centuries of its fight for independence, Scotland gave birth to some truly exceptional men and women, who went above and beyond the call o...