The Islamic World From Classical To Modern Times

Bernard Lewis's work has covered all periods, and most countries, of the Islamic Middle East. This festschrift, written by some of his numerous colleagues, friends, and former students, includes some of the most distinguished orientalists, historians, and social scientists of our time and is a fitting tribute to Professor Lewis's scholarship. The contributions range, geographically, from "On Chinese Rhubarb" to "The Jewish Courtier Class in Late Eighteenth-Century Morocco" and, topically, from "The Concept of Authority in Islamic Thought" to "A Forgotten Ottoman Romance" and "Safety in Numbers: Reflections on the Middle Eastern Balance of Power". Taken together, the fifty-two essays constitute a variegated collection of studies on a many-sided and important civilisation. The collections are assembled under three major headings: The Classical and Medieval Islamic World; Ottoman Studies and The Modern Middle East.

The Book in the Islamic World brings together serious studies on the book as an intellectual entity and as a vehicle of cultural development. Written by a group of distinguished scholars, it examines and reflects upon this unique tool of communication not as a physical artifact but as a manifestation of the aspirations, values, and wisdom of Arabs and Muslims in general. The Islamic system of book production differed from that of the West. This volume shows the peculiarities of book making and the intellectual principles that governed a book's inner structure, mysteries, and impact on culture. Investigated and explained are the issues involved in printing; the compilation of the Koran, the most important book in Islam; attitudes toward books; the oral versus the written tradition; metaphors of the book in literature; biographical dictionaries, an important genre of Islamic books; the grammatical tradition; women's contribution to calligraphy; scientific manuscripts; the transition from scribal to print culture; publishing in the modern Arab World; and the new electronic media, a non-book vehicle of communication, and its impact on education.

A History of the Islamic World, 600–1800 supplies a fresh and unique survey of the formation of the Islamic world and the key developments that characterize this broad region’s history from late antiquity up to the beginning of the modern era. Containing two chronological parts and fourteen chapters, this impressive overview explains how different tides in Islamic history washed ashore diverse sets of leadership groups, multiple practices of power and authority, and dynamic imperial and dynastic discourses in a theocratic age. A text that transcends many of today’s popular stereotypes of the premodern Islamic past, the volume takes a holistically and theoretically informed approach for understanding, interpreting, and teaching premodern history of Islamic West-Asia. Jo Van Steenbergen identifies the Asian connectedness of the sociocultural landscapes between the Nile in the southwest to the Bosporus in the northwest, and the Oxus (Amu Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr Darya) in the northeast to the Indus in the southeast. This abundantly illustrated book also offers maps and dynastic tables, enabling students to gain an informed understanding of this broad region of the world. This book is an essential text for undergraduate classes on Islamic History, Medieval and Early Modern History, Middle East Studies, and Religious History.

"Beginning in the twelfth century, the migration of various Turkic peoples over a four-century period greatly influenced the political and cultural organization of the Islamic world. This book assesses various factors, including the Mongol incursions and the Crusades, during the period of expansion and renewal leading up to Ottoman rule. Also covered are the impacts of colonialism, decolonization, and globalization on Islamic societies. This in-depth, academic guide's exploration of the history of Islam through the present gives readers the tools they need to understand the politics and culture of, and the problems faced by, the Islamic world today."

Considering the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia, Somalia, and Bosnia, Schulze (Islamic studies, U of Berne) charts their histories during the 20th century. Rather than taking each one in turn, he narrates chronologically the political changes throughout the world where Islam is the dominant cultural force. He begins with the impact of colonialism and ends with struggle between Islamic culture and civil society in the 1990s. He includes several maps. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A revealing portrait of Medieval Arab notions of physical difference, this book uses close analysis of primary sources to bring to light cultural views and lived experiences of disability and difference.

A comprehensive reference work covering all figures of the earliest period of philosophy in the Islamic world. Both major and minor thinkers are covered, with details of biography and doctrine as well as detailed lists and summaries of each author’s works.