The Moors

<p><b>The high point of medieval Islamic expansion was the 700-year presence of the 'Moors' in Spain and Portugal.</b><br><br>The Arab and Berber conquest was followed by the establishment of a richly distinct culture in Andalusia, where for a while Muslim and Christian co-operated as often as they fought. The rise and fall of successive Islamic dynasties brought new invaders, fragmentation and disunity; and the growing Christian kingdoms to the north eventually doomed the amirate of Granada, the last Moorish bastion, which fell to the Castilians in 1492.<br><br>The colourful armies of Western Islam are described and illustrated here in fascinating detail.</p>