The Court of the Caliphate of al-Andalus : Four Years in Umayyad Córdoba

Eduardo Manzano Moreno has written a gripping account of the court of one of the two most powerful rulers in tenth-century Europe – together with the Byzantine emperor – based on a detailed contemporary history. If you want to know how medieval government worked, this is a book you have to read. It’s all there, from financing war to the culture of urban processions. Manzano Moreno is a master of his field.