Description
Book SynopsisJoseph O'Callaghan offers the first full and authoritative history of the epic battle for control of the Strait of Gibraltar waged by Castile, Morocco, and Granada in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries-a major, but often overlooked chapter in the Christian reconquest of Spain.
Trade Review"Through a meticulous choice and interpretation of Arabic, Catalan, Castilian, English, and Latin chronicles and ecclesiastical, municipal, and royal notarial records, O'Callaghan lays out with consummate care and with great detail the story of the brutal struggle for control of the Strait of Gibraltar-a struggle that would ultimately seal the fate of Spanish Islam." *
The Medieval Review *
"[O'Callaghan] does a superb job of sifting through the chronicles of the Christian and Muslim rulers that provide the foundation for this entire narrative. . . . This very interesting book makes it abundantly clear that pragmatism and financial gain had as much to do with the correlation of forces as did religious practice." *
Journal of Military History *
"What truly makes this work a prominent addition to the field of Iberian reconquest lore are the Castilian, Latin, Arabic, and English sources O'Callaghan uses with proficient erudition to tell the story of this 'epic battle'-one that certainly needed to be told." *
Historian *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Genealogical Tables
Chapter 1. Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar
Chapter 2. Alfonso X's African Crusade
Chapter 3. The Crusade Against the Mudéjars
Chapter 4. The Crusade Against the Marinids
Chapter 5. Sancho IV and the Conquest of Tarifa
Chapter 6. The Crusades of Gibraltar, Almería, and Algeciras
Chapter 7. The Early Crusades of Alfonso XI's Reign
Chapter 8. The Loss of Gibraltar and the Crusade of Salado
Chapter 9. The Crusade of Algeciras and Gibraltar
Chapter 10. Waging the Crusade of Gibraltar
Chapter 11. The Aftermath: The Strait of Gibraltar to 1492
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
