The Conquest of Andalusia (Fath al-Andalus) first published in 1903. It is set in Spain immediately prior to and during the Arab conquest which resulted in an Arab presence that was to last almost eight centuries.About the Author: Jurji Zaidan (1861-1914) was a prolific and famous Christian Arab historian, linguist and journalist who wrote widely on social and cultural issues. He came to Egypt from Lebanon at the end of the nineteenth century and founded in Egypt what is still one of the largest publishing houses for periodicals in the Middle East, Dar-Al-Hilal. His objective and rational interpretations of Arab and Islamic history and the Arabic language allowed the propagation of progressive western ideas. As a prominent member of a progressive group of Arab thinkers, he shepherded a movement to modernize the Arab world.