In a convincing reinterpretation of early Islamic history, Wilferd Madelung examines the conflict that developed after the death of Muhammad for control of the Muslim community. He demonstrates how this conflict, which marked the demise of the first four caliphs, resulted in the…
European and Arab versions of the Crusades have little in common. For Arabs, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. Under Saladin, an unstoppable Muslim army inspired by prophets and po…
Examines the history of the great Islamic expansion, reveals how the Arab armies were able to overcome almost everything in their path, and brings to light the unique characteristics of Islamic settlement in new lands and the conversion to Islam of vast populations.
A panoramic chronicle of the rise of Islam traces the rapid evolution of Arabic culture over a period of decades during which it triumphed against formidable odds and the period's most powerful empire.
The remarkable story of an imperial civilization that endures as perhaps the only one to have survived from antiquity into the present day. No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of t…
In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on, and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelled, in …
Hourani covers not only political history, but also culture, society, economy and thought. This edition includes events such as the crisis in Iraq, the civil war in Algeria and the aftermath of September 11th. "Upon its publication in 1991, Albert Hourani's masterwork was haile…
Hourani covers not only political history, but also culture, society, economy and thought. This edition includes events such as the crisis in Iraq, the civil war in Algeria and the aftermath of September 11th. "Upon its publication in 1991, Albert Hourani's masterwork was haile…
"The remarkable story of an imperial civilization that endures as perhaps the only one to have survived from antiquity into the present day. No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of …
No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. Just like the Romans, the Arabs came…
"The remarkable story of an imperial civilization that endures as perhaps the only one to have survived from antiquity into the present day. No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of …
Examines the history of the great Islamic expansion, reveals how the Arab armies were able to overcome almost everything in their path, and brings to light the unique characteristics of Islamic settlement in new lands and the conversion to Islam of vast populations.