  In these expository notes, we give an introduction to $p$-adic $L$-functions
and the foundations of Iwasawa theory. Firstly, we give an (analytic)
measure-theoretic construction of Kubota and Leopoldt's $p$-adic interpolation
of the Riemann zeta function, a $p$-adic analytic encoding of Kummer's
congruences. Second, we give Coleman's (arithmetic) construction of the
$p$-adic Riemann zeta function via cyclotomic units. Finally, we describe
Iwasawa's (algebraic) construction via Galois modules over the Iwasawa algebra.
The Iwasawa Main conjecture, now a theorem due to Mazur and Wiles, says that
these constructions agree. We will state the conjecture precisely, and give a
proof when $p$ is a Vandiver prime (which conjecturally covers every prime).
Throughout, we try to indicate how the various constructions and arguments have
been generalised, and how they connect to more modern research topics.
