The Power of Cities : The Iberian Peninsula From Late Antiquity to the Early Modern Period

"The Power of Cities focuses on Iberian cities during the lengthy transition from the late Roman to the early modern period, with a particular interest in the change from early Christianity to the Islamic period, and on to the restoration of Christianity. Drawing on case studies from cities such as Toledo, Cordoba, and Seville, it collects for the first time recent research in urban studies using both archaeological and historical sources. Against the common portrayal of these cities characterized by discontinuities due to decadence, decline and invasions, it is instead continuity -- that is, a gradual transformation -- which emerges as the defining characteristic. The volume argues for a fresh interpretation of Iberian cities across this period, seen as a continuum of structural changes across time, and proposes a new history of the Iberian Peninsula, written from the perspective of the cities. Contributors are Javier Arce, María Asenjo González, Antonio Irigoyen López, Alberto León Muñoz, Matthias Maser, Sabine Panzram, Gisela Ripoll, Torsten dos Santos Arnold, Isabel Toral-Niehoff, Fernando Valdés Fernández, and Klaus Weber" -- Provided by publisher "The Power of Cities focuses on Iberian cities during the lengthy transition from the late Roman to the early modern period, with a particular interest in the change from early Christianity, to the Islamic period, and on to the restoration of Christianity. Drawing on case studies from cities such as Toledo, Cordoba, and Seville, it brings together for the first time recent research in urban studies that includes both archaeological and historical sources. Against the common portrayal of these cities characterised by discontinuities due to decadence, decline and invasions, it is instead a continuity, a so-called slow change, transformation, that can be regarded as the defining marker. Sabine Panzram and the volume contributors provide available data sufficient to arrive at a new interpretation, understanding the history of cities as a continuum of structural changes, and suggesting to rewrite the history of the Iberian Peninsula from their perspective. Contributors are Javier Arce, María Asenjo González, Antonio Irigoyen López, Alberto León Muñoz, Matthias Maser, Sabine Panzram, Gisela Ripoll, Torsten dos Santos Arnold, Isabel Toral-Niehoff, Fernando Valdés Fernández, and Klaus Weber"-- Provided by publisher Contents Preface and Acknowledgments List of Maps and Figures Notes on Contributors Maps Urban History on the Iberian Peninsula—Current Perspectives Part 1 The City in Spania (4th to 7th Centuries) . 1 The Transformation of the City in Hispania between the 4th and the 6th Centuries 2 The Late Antique City in Spania—Toledo and Recópolis Part 2 The City in al-Andalus (8th to 11th Centuries) . 3 Ornament of the World: Urban Change in Early Islamic Qur.uba 4 The Impact of the Arab Conquest on the Planning of the Iberian Cities: Toledo inside Walls Part 3 The City in the Territories of the “Reconquista” (11th to 15th Centuries) . 5 Conquered Cities: Continuity and Transformation of Urban Structures in the Castilian “Reconquista” Territories (11th–14th Centuries) —Toledo and Seville 6 The City in the Image/Images of the City: The Lost Tapestry of Valladolid Part 4 The City in the Hispaniae (15th to 18th Centuries) . 7 Characteristics of Castilian Cities in the 16th and 17th Centuries 8 Ports to “New Worlds”: Lisbon, Seville, Cádiz (15th–18th Centuries) The Power of Cities—Rewriting the History of the Iberian Peninsula Index of Places, Names and Subjects The Power of Cities is an interdisciplinary, cultural-comparative volume on Iberian urban studies. It is the first attempt to bring together recent research on the transformation of Iberian cities from Late Antiquity to the 18th century combining archaeological and historical sources.