The biography 'Madrid' by Luke Stegemann outlines the city's development from prehistoric beginnings to its emergence as the heart of a powerful empire. It examines the complex relationship between Madrid and Spain, highlighting how their histories intertwine. While Madrid played a minor role during the Middle Ages, this text is essential for understanding the city's transformation, particularly after it became the capital in 1561. Readers are encouraged to embrace the rich narrative of this vibrant city, even when it becomes overwhelming.
Despite being at the epicentre of the Iberian Peninsula, the history of Madrid is not the history of Spain. The relationship between the capital city and its nation is inevitably symbiotic, enduring, deeply complex, webbed and braided across the centuries.
During the earliest periods of Spanish history, Madrid is absent, for it had not yet come into being, other than an anonymous grouping of shepherds and traders dwelling on the central Iberian tableland.
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