Rating: 
Summary: Ludicrous Historical Fiction
Review: First off, this book holds some entertainment value, but it has no basis in reality. Just about every bit of information is distorted beyond belief; talk about rewriting history...Secondly, in response to Mr. Lowe's review, "Othello" was a FICTIONAL character. It is extremely doubtful that Shakespeare ever set eyes on anyone of Black African extraction, and his Othello character was based essentially on myth. In Elizabethan times the term "black" was used to describe anyone who had very dark skin, negros or someone black in CHARACTER which AFFECTED his appearance and made him SEEM black. In otherwords, Othello, given the essence of the play, could have been an Arab, Negro, Mulatto, Turk, Greek... In other words, anyone from Morocco (and south of the Sahara) to the Arabian Peninsula. The truth is that Black Africans were hardly known in the British Isles until sometime late in the 16th century, when the horrid transatlantic slave trade led to the establishment of slave markets in Liverpool, Manchester and several other cities. At that time significant black slave communities began forming in these towns. Unfortunately, blacks made no cultural contributions in Iberia. Negros in Spaniard and Lusitanian lands, and in other parts of Europe, were slaves and servants, in great part. That is the sad truth. "Moor" was (and is still today) a very ambiguous term used to describe a number of different peoples, but, predominantly North African types-Berber or Arab. Groups that are Caucasoid/Semetic/Hametic-essentially whites of non-European origin. Of course, the "Moors" did contain negro elements. In the Arab/Berber invasion of Visigothic Iberia (711), there were very small groups of black slaves and servants along with some freedmen. Later on, during the Almoravid advance in the 11th century, blacks from southern Morocco and Senegal were incorported into the fighting force, either as converts to Islam or mercenaries. It must be said that the Almoravid period in Iberia was the lowest point of Muslim history in the Peninsula. The Almoravids occupied large parts of Southern Iberia but, in the 50 odd years they were present, never really controlled considerable territory. There was great territorial flux due to endless conflict with Christians and Arabs alike. The Almoravids were fanatical Islamic "purists" who twisted religion to suit their pursuit of power (much like the Taliban). These people were extermely repressive and responsible for numerous social and cultural abuses/atrocities. So feared and hated were the Almoravids that some of the Arab califs actually joined forces with Christian kingdoms to defeat them. A good example of the level of hatred for the Almoravids is found in the town of Tomar in Portugal,a Knights Templar. In the aftermath of an early 10th century town siege the Christian knights captured approximately 6,000 Almoravid troops and beheaded them all in the city's main square. The point of all this is to clarify a little bit of Iberian history with respect to the Moors. The clear fact is that the Moors were NOT black/negroid...hardly. Yes, Islamic blacks fought alongside Moors but they were completely different ethnically. The bottom line is that Moorish cultural contributions in Spain and Portugal came from the Arabs, and, to a much lesser extent, Berbers...Enough already with absurd fantasies!
Rating:
Summary: Ludicrous Historical Fiction
Review: First off, this book holds some entertainment value, but it has no basis in reality. Just about every bit of information is distorted beyond belief; talk about rewriting history... Secondly, in response to Mr. Lowe's review, "Othello" was a FICTIONAL character. It is extremely doubtful that Shakespeare ever set eyes on anyone of Black African extraction, and his Othello character was based essentially on myth. In Elizabethan times the term "black" was used to describe anyone who had very dark skin, negros or someone black in CHARACTER which AFFECTED his appearance and made him SEEM black. In otherwords, Othello, given the essence of the play, could have been an Arab, Negro, Mulatto, Turk, Greek... In other words, anyone from Morocco (and south of the Sahara) to the Arabian Peninsula. The truth is that Black Africans were hardly known in the British Isles until sometime late in the 16th century, when the horrid transatlantic slave trade led to the establishment of slave markets in Liverpool, Manchester and several other cities. At that time significant black slave communities began forming in these towns. Unfortunately, blacks made no cultural contributions in Iberia. Negros in Spaniard and Lusitanian lands, and in other parts of Europe, were slaves and servants, in great part. That is the sad truth. "Moor" was (and is still today) a very ambiguous term used to describe a number of different peoples, but, predominantly North African types-Berber or Arab. Groups that are Caucasoid/Semetic/Hametic-essentially whites of non-European origin. Of course, the "Moors" did contain negro elements. In the Arab/Berber invasion of Visigothic Iberia (711), there were very small groups of black slaves and servants along with some freedmen. Later on, during the Almoravid advance in the 11th century, blacks from southern Morocco and Senegal were incorported into the fighting force, either as converts to Islam or mercenaries. It must be said that the Almoravid period in Iberia was the lowest point of Muslim history in the Peninsula. The Almoravids occupied large parts of Southern Iberia but, in the 50 odd years they were present, never really controlled considerable territory. There was great territorial flux due to endless conflict with Christians and Arabs alike. The Almoravids were fanatical Islamic "purists" who twisted religion to suit their pursuit of power (much like the Taliban). These people were extermely repressive and responsible for numerous social and cultural abuses/atrocities. So feared and hated were the Almoravids that some of the Arab califs actually joined forces with Christian kingdoms to defeat them. A good example of the level of hatred for the Almoravids is found in the town of Tomar in Portugal,a Knights Templar. In the aftermath of an early 10th century town siege the Christian knights captured approximately 6,000 Almoravid troops and beheaded them all in the city's main square. The point of all this is to clarify a little bit of Iberian history with respect to the Moors. The clear fact is that the Moors were NOT black/negroid...hardly. Yes, Islamic blacks fought alongside Moors but they were completely different ethnically. The bottom line is that Moorish cultural contributions in Spain and Portugal came from the Arabs, and, to a much lesser extent, Berbers...Enough already with absurd fantasies!
Rating: 
Summary: the truth shall set u free!
Review: I Am also anthropologist..
i challege any one on here in genetics and recent founding on the so called moors.. have any of you seen the painting in europe
of the moors . i have 15 of them even mexico
Rating: 
Summary: TOTALLY WRONG .. I AM FROM MAURAITINA
Review: I Am also anthropologist..
i challege any one on here in genetics and recent founding on the so called moors.. have any of you seen the painting in europe
of the moors . i have 15 of them even mexico
Rating:
Summary: the truth has been revealed
Review: i am glad the author has the capacity and open mindness to tell the truth about who the moors really were. lets look at the moors historically. the first time we here about the moors they are a group of africans called numidians, maros or mauri. those terms are greek and roman terms which ment scorched. these were north african soldiers fighting against the romans with the carthagians. we later hear about the moors as being mercenary troops for the roman empire. then we later hear about the moors as a group of northwest africans fighting against the arabs for the control of northwest africa in the 7th century as the arabs invade the continent. One well know even though she is not talked about in our history books beacause she is african is dahia al-kahina which means prophetess or priestess. she is a moorish woman from mauritania. who is leading african forces against the arabs. she held the arabs at bay for along time. in studying historical documents it seems to indicate that she was very dark in complextion with dredlocks. her army however fragmented and they are eventually were drastically defeated. she told her sons and soldiers to adopt islam and make common causes with the arabs. one account says kahina was beheaded another says she killed herself. ultimatly these men participated in the invasion and the conquest of spain. the spanish christians often reffered to these men. as black, black as night, black as tar, black as a cooking pot. one account states that these men are very dark, the only thing white about them is their teeth. also twon prominent figures in moorish history that shows who the moors truly were, are st. maurice who has a statue made in his honor and its in a museum in england, which shows that he was black. also sir morien, a black knight in midevil europe who is also depicted as black. i am glad the author can show true history without racism, distortion and bias intentions regarding race.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless classic
Review: I have read this book several times,and it has been a valuable history lesson for me. For those who ahve a problem with the Moors being called "Black" and calling this "Afrocentic", Mr.Lane-Poole really pulled off a feat, because he was neither black, nor did he live to even imagine Black people at a stage to where the term would even be considered.By the way, if anyone doubts the race of the Moors, read first hand descriptions in J.A. Rogers "Nature Knows No Color Line" or "Sex and Race".And tell me,who was Othello???..
Rating: 
Summary: Ethnocentric Fiction
Review: Lane Pool's classic is very innacurate but a fun read, from a travelog perspective. However, what Jackson projects in his introduction is incredibly distorted. The reality of Muslim Iberia is quite simple: Arab armies (mainly from Syria) along with Berber tribes from what is now Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia invaded Iberia in 711. These people were Muslims but overwhelmingly white. A small number of blacks came to Spain as slaves or servants of the Arabs and Berbers. Moors, a confusing term because it has been so misinterpreted throughout history, were NOT Negroes at all. Rather, they were Arabs and Berbers. The Muslim Arabs/Berbers in Spain (and Portugal) made clear racial and ethnic distinctions between themselves and Black Africans. Black African cultural contributions in Iberia were/are, for all intents and purposes, non-existent. That is the plain truth Mr.Jackson, not the "truth" as YOU would like to see it.
Rating:
Summary: the truth shall set u free!
Review: More outcrys of afrocentricity, well, for one, the past precedes its inheritors, so to say that the moors were mostly arabs that had black slaves is laughable at best, especially when there is so much proof of who these ppl were despite any religion one might find themselves a part of through invasion and intergrouping. Now if u trace the arabs ancestors and the berbers ancestors then u will come to the conclusion that they were all originally negroid in features ( Black Africans!), most Africans still possess most of the features that are found in other so called races, just look at most of the dogons who have not mated with someone of a different race,indeed, blacks are the only ppl that are not a race for that matter and the features of ppl who are not black such as arabs, asians, indians, etc, is the result of albinoism and these ppl who rejoined and mated with the black Africans through war and alliances that have been goin on for centuries, but indeed blacks are the originals. But even in the presence of proof the best a bunch of insecure bigots can do is make up lies about what the pictures and other artifacts were portraying, oh no! thats not a black man that is just someone who was painted black lmao! good one! grow up ppl biophysics speaks in high volume, black was first, as it will be last when u depart your body. So arabs, berbers, asians, euroasians, and indians all have ancestors who were from Africa and were very negroid and black! so lets just say no to the antiblack hype!yawn! Besides Mr. Poole doesnt need approval from a bunch of armchair scholors, (pun intended!) lmao!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a reprint
Review: Readers should be aware that this is a merely reprint of a book published in the last century. The date on the book is the date of the reprinting. It hardly represents the latest scholarship! If you really want to learn something about the moors, I suggest looking elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a reprint
Review: Readers should be aware that this is a merely reprint of a book published in the last century. The date on the book is the date of the reprinting. It hardly represents the latest scholarship! If you really want to learn something about the moors, I suggest looking elsewhere.
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