The Muslim conquest of Iberia in 711 unleashed a struggle for political control of the peninsula that endured for nearly eight centuries. The invaders' military strength immediately dominated the entire peninsula, but their political administration was less complete. Opposition to Muslim authority appeared just seven years later when a small band of Christian rebels in the northern mountains of Asturias established their own ruling class. These opposing forces would compete for political control until the Catholic Monarchs, Fernando and Isabel, established their supremacy in 1492.

In this study, the author introduces the general reader to the rulers who exercised authority over the peninsula during a very complex and sometimes confusing period. He guides the reader through the chronology of the rulers' ascendance, deposition, or demise as he narrates their contest for territorial exchange. This story synthesizes the latest work from the best of scholars and is supplemented by lists of rulers, nine maps, and twenty genealogical charts. The ambitious yet concise approach delivers a coherent, chronological narrative over a period of eight centuries.