The Middle EastRenowned historian Bernard Lewis charts the history of the Middle East over the last 2,000 years—from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it. Drawing on material from a multitude of sources, including the work of archaeologists and scholars, Lewis chronologically traces the political, economical, social, and cultural development of the Middle East, from Hellenization in antiquity to the impact of westernization on Islamic culture. Meticulously researched, this enlightening narrative explores the patterns of history that have repeated themselves in the Middle East. From the ancient conflicts to the current geographical and religious disputes between the Arabs and the Israelis, Lewis examines the ability of this region to unite and solve its problems and asks if, in the future, these unresolved conflicts will ultimately lead to the ethnic and cultural factionalism that tore apart the former Yugoslavia. Elegantly written, scholarly yet accessible, this is the most comprehensive single volume history of the region ever written from the world’s foremost authority on the Middle East. |
Contents
Before Islam | |
The Dawn and Noon of Islam | |
Origins | |
The Abbasid Caliphate | |
The Economy | |
The Elites | |
The Commonalty | |
Religion and | |
Culture | |
The Challenge of Modernity | |
Challenge | |
Change | |
The Coming of the Steppe Peoples | |
The Mongol Aftermath | |
The Gunpowder Empires | |
CrossSections | |
The State | |
Response and Reaction | |
New Ideas | |
From War to | |
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Abbasid Anatolia ancient Arab Arabia Armenians armies authority Baghdad became began British bureaucratic Byzantine caliph Christian civilization conquered conquest countries culture defeat devshirme domination dynasty early economic Egypt Egyptian emperor established Europe European faith Fatimid forces French frontier God’s Greek historians Holy Law imperial important independence India Iran Iranian Iraq Islamic world Istanbul janissaries Jewish Jews jihd known lands language later major Mamluk medieval Middle East Middle Eastern military modern Mongol mosque Muhammad Muslim nineteenth century nonMuslim North Africa Ottoman Empire Palestine Pasha period Persian Persian Empire poets political population preIslamic Prophet provinces Qurn regime region religion religious revolution Roman rule rulers Russian Sasanid Seljuk Shah Shite sixteenth century slaves social society sometimes struggle Süleyman the Magnificent Sunni Sunni Islam survived Syria territories trade tradition treaty Turkey Turkish Turks ulema Umayyad victory wazr West Western Yemen Zoroastrian