"One of the reasons for the flowering of Andalus may have been the mixture of peoples, languages and cultures. At least five languages were used there. Two were colloquial, the distinctive Andalusian Arabic and the Romance dialect which was later to develop into Spanish; both of these were used in varying degrees by Muslims, Christians and Jews. There were also three written languages: classical Arabic, Latin, and Hebrew; Muslims used Arabic, Christians Latin, Jews both Arabic and Hebrew. Jews who wrote on philosophy or science used mainly Arabic, but poets used Hebrew in a new way. For almost the first time, poetry in Hebrew was used for other than liturgical purposes; under the patronage of wealthy and powerful Jews who played an important part in the life of courts and cities, poets adopted forms of Arabic poetry such as the qasida and muwashshah, and used them for secular as well as liturgical purposes." History of the Arab Peoples at 194.
The above excerpt illustrates the power of Albert Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples. Hourani captures the magical qualities of the lost realm of Al Andalus, which vanished in 1492 when the Spanish conqured the last remaining Arab kingdom on the Iberian peninsula. Rich in detail, the book also conveys the sweep of Arab history, illustrates its key role in mediating between the West and the Far East, and explains more recent history that has shaped the Arab nations role in the world today. It is particularly valuable as an overview of Arab (and Muslim) intellectual history, as it outlines in broad strokes the development of Sunni, Shia, and Sufi thought and their institutional and social roles in Arab history.