"This ... challenging and controversial account of the history of Spain in the eighth century. In it Roger Collins assesses the political and cultural impact on Spain of the first hundred years of Arab rule, focusing upon aspects of continuity and discontinuity with Visigoth Spain. He begins with a consideration of the background to Arab invasion, and explains how the Arab military occupation of Spain and the restoration of order was achieved. Throughout, events in Spain are set within the wider context of developments in France, North Africa and the Near East. "