The celebrated Puente de Alcantara, as it exists to-day, must be regarded as the work of the Christians. It took the place of a structure, built or restored by the Musulmans, and regarded by the writers of their time and nation as one of the wonders of Spain. According to an inscription on the bridge tower, the work dated from the year 997 A.D., and was built by “Alif, son of Mohammed Al Ameri, Governor of Toledo, under the great Wizir, Al Mansûr.” With it, no doubt, were incorporated the remains of previous Gothic and Roman constructions. It was almost entirely swept away in a great flood in the year 1258, after having already undergone extensive repairs and restorations since the Reconquest. Thus we may conclude that there can be few if any traces of the Moorish bridge in the actual Puente de Alcantara. On the other side of the town there was probably a wooden bridge or bridge of boats, where the Puente de San Martin now spans the river. A little below it is a brick tower, with open arches, the horseshoe curve of which, and other features, bespeak its Moorish origin. Legend places here the incident of the Bath of Florinda. In later times the work was believed to be the remains of a bridge. But an Arabic inscription, recently redeciphered and translated, goes to prove that the tower formed part of a very different monument: “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Oh, men, believe that the promises of God are certain and let not yourselves be seduced by the flattery of the world, nor be lured away from God by the deceits of the Evil One! This is the tomb of Hosàm (?)-ben-Abd ... [He confessed that there is no other God but] God. He died [may God have mercy on him] ... the year eight ... and four hundred.” The Baños de la Cava may now be safely regarded as a Musulman sepulchral monument of the fifth century after the Hegira. We have now briefly considered the only monuments of interest to any but the most ardent archæologists that can be ascribed, so far as their general structure is concerned, to the Moslem lords of Toledo. Admitting that the most important buildings of that time have long since disappeared, it remains clear that the city could never have presented the Oriental aspect of the Andalusian seats of Islam. The history of the city as an independent State is soon told. Under Ismail and his son Al Mamûn, Toledo became the most powerful Musulman State in Spain. The lesser principalities having been disposed of, a fierce struggle for supremacy was waged between Al Mamûn and the Amir of Seville. A desperate battle before the walls of Murcia decided the issue in favour of the Toledan, and gave Valencia into his hands. But, as is often the case with men of all ranks, Al Mamûn’s strength and wisdom were undone and rendered unavailing by his fatal trait of magnanimity.