The book didn't make the distinction between Al-Andalus and Spain. I'm not sure that it's all that critical to make it here. TR 21:26, March 4, 2010 (UTC)
- Hm, this was an issue before.
- I appreciate the work that went into the changes in the IHP article, but you spent a great deal more time talking about the the conquest than HT does. He sumed it up in a few clipped sentences. I don't see why an article dedicated to summarizing a work should take longer to say something than the work it summarizes does. Also, the Al-Andalus/Spain name thing probably should go into a Literary Comment. At no point did any character all it Al-Andalus, even if that would be the more "correct" name. TR 16:08, August 25, 2010 (UTC)
- It's often annoying when HT uses the wrong name, but if it's in canon there's nothing we can do about it. I fought the good fight for Kurt Waldhelm years ago but in the end I realized HT's nomenclature must trump. Turtle Fan 16:50, August 25, 2010 (UTC)
- The fact that Spain's Arabic name was Al-Andalus is so well established (the name is retained in Adalusia, the part of Spain which was longest under Muslim rule) that I think there can be no doubt this would be its name in this timeline. And I think that though the original Muslim conquest happaned before the Point of Deprature, a historian of this timeline would regard it differently than one in our timeline. The Christian attempt at "reconquista", which ultimately failed, would be regarded as an intelude in a predominatly Muslim history. I think that trying to emulate the point of view and perspective of a historian of the timeline itself is well within the parameters of this Wiki. The way this section was presented before I changed it - there was a Christian "Spain", it was devastated by the Black Deaths and that made it ripe for Muslim conquest - is not how it would look for somebody in that timeline. In that timeline, the perspective would be that there was a Muslim state, the Christians tried to conquer it but they failed becuase of the plagues. Blaise MacDuff, the Purple Dragon 17:29, August 25, 2010 (UTC)
- The policy of "writing as if you are a historian" was intended solely to emphasize in-universe format. It wasn't intended as an invitation to fill in gaps, especially when, as I said at the beginning, it involves examining the gap in far greater detail than Turtedove himself did. TR 18:33, August 25, 2010 (UTC)