Additional information
by William Granara (Translator), Jurji Zaidan (Author)
It is the year 732 AD. Ten years after the Arab conquest of Spain in 711AD, Emir Abd al-Rahman Governor of Spain, conquered and became Governor of southern France. He is moving northwards towards Poitiers to confront the Franks under Charles Martel and then overrun Rome and Constantinople and reach Damascus, the capital of the Islamic Empire. Will Europe be able to thwart the plan to bring Islam to the whole Mediterranean basin? As the armies of Abdel Rahman and Charles Martel confront each other at Poitiers, the future of Christendom in Europe depends on the outcome of this epic battle... Romance and intrigue provide the central plot of this historical novel that are woven into the events culminating in the Battle of Poitiers. The beautiful Maryam is a woman of extraordinary honor and great courage who has fought in many battles. She has many suitors: Hani, Captain of the Arab Cavalry and Bustam his rival and Chieftain of a Berber Tribe. Last but not least Emir 'Abd al-Rahman, is also enamored with her. A fast paced game of spies and counterspies is played out as the identity and true loyalties of many of the novel's main characters, straddling both the Christian and Muslim worlds, is revealed -- influencing the outcome of the Battle of Poitiers and the contest for Maryam's heart...
Author Biography
Jurji Zaidan, a prolific writer, was one of the leaders of the Arab Renaissance of the early twentieth century. The twenty two historical novels he wrote are as entertaining as they are educational. Their stories are set within historical events that span a period from pre-Islamic times to the Ottoman period. As popular in the Arabic speaking world as the novels of Walter Scott or Alexandre Dumas are in the western world, there have been some one hundred translations of these novels into over ten languages. This translation follows the translation into English and recent publication of the first of Zaidan'a historical novels, The Conquest of Andalusia. The Clarion Review had this to say of the first novel in this series: "Long famed in the Arab world as the father of the modern historical novel.. Zaidan's words carry meaning for a modern world that remains caught in the dramatic struggles begun over a millennium ago."
