Middle Eastern history Books

Book SynopsisLiterary sources suggest that Mt. Carmel was a sacred site for the pagans, for the veneration and worship of Ba’al, as practiced there since the 9th century BCE through the erection of altars and temples/shrines in his honour. According to Iamblichus, the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, on his way to Egypt, visited the mountain in the second half of the 6th century BCE and sought solitude in a temple, or perhaps in a temenos. In the days of the Achaemenid king of Persia Darius I (521-486 BCE), the mountain seems to have been sacred to Zeus. Artistic and epigraphic evidence suggest that Elijah’s Cave, on the western slope of Mt. Carmel, had been used as a pagan cultic place, possibly a shrine, devoted to Ba’al Carmel (identified with Zeus/Jupiter) as well as to Pan and Eros as secondary deities. The visual representation of the cult statue (idol) of Ba’al Carmel, a libation vessel (kylix?) and the presumed figure of the priest or, alternatively, the altar within the aedicula, strengthen the assumption that the Cave was used in the Roman period, and perhaps even earlier. In addition, one of the Greek inscriptions, dated to the Roman period, indicates the sacred nature of the Cave and the prohibition of its profanation. When Elijah’s Cave ceased to be used for pagan worship it continued to be regarded as a holy site and was dedicated to Prophet Elijah, presumably in the Early Byzantine period. Following the tradition linking Elijah (so-called el-Khader) with Mt. Carmel, it became sacred to the Prophet and was used by supplicants (Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze) to Elijah for aid, healing and salvation, a tradition that still persists to this day. There are no literary or historical sources which are recording the existence of Elijah’s Cave on Mt. Carmel prior to the 12th century. The earliest written testimony is that of the laconic description of the Russian Abbot Daniel, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1106-1107, followed by Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the Land of Israel in 1165. Any earlier written material must have been lost over time, since it is unlikely that the Cave and its surroundings were entirely ignored before the 12th century.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter I: Plan, Ornamentation and Surroundings (Asher Ovadiah) Chapter II: Mount Carmel and Elijah’s Cave: Context, Meaning and Function (Asher Ovadiah) Chapter III: Literary/Historical Sources (Asher Ovadiah) Chapter IV: The Inscriptions (Asher Ovadiah and Rosario Pierri) Epilogue (Asher Ovadiah and Rosario Pierri) Appendix I: Onomasticon of Masculine and Feminine Greek, Latin and Semitic Personal Names Appendix II: Hebrew Inscriptions (on the east wall, without continuation to the consecutive numbers of the inscriptions in Chapter IV) Appendix III: Formulae Appendix IV: Invocations Appendix V: Peculiar Expressions Appendix VI: Exclamations Abbreviations Bibliography Figures Index

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Book SynopsisShifting Sand is the journal of Julian Berry, then a 17-year-old archaeologist, written on-site during excavations in Deir Alla, Jordan, in 1964. The dig was organized by the University of Leiden and led by Dr Henk Franken who was looking to find a material context for Old Testament narratives, and to build a stratigraphic chronology to mark the transition from the Bronze through to the early Iron Ages based mainly around pottery finds. When the author was working on the site, three clay tablets were discovered from the late Bronze Age with early Canaanite inscriptions, that when translated in 1989 showed that Deir Alla was the Biblical Pethor, and that it had been attacked by Israelites from Pithom in Egypt. Later a wall inscription was found in Aramaic dating to 880-770BCE referencing the prophet Balaam. Berry was as much interested by what was going on above ground as below, and kept a detailed journal of the daily lives of the archaeologists and life in the camp. The dig also had many fascinating and famous archaeologists visiting, including Father Roland de Vaux, and Diana Kirkbride. During breaks from the dig Berry went on a number of journeys in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and he describes their cities, but also the very tranquil agricultural countryside that he found at that time. He discovered adventure when a drunk taxi driver tried to murder him as he resisted his advances; later he was caught up in a revolt against Hafez al-Assad in Homs, father of Bashir, and was asked by a taxi driver if he had come to Damascus to see the public hanging. Above all this book should be read as fascinating insight into the lives of archaeologists over 50 years ago, and the very close links between the European team, the Arab workmen, and the daily life in a simple mud-brick village.Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction; Diary Entries, 1964; Appendix; Postscript

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Book SynopsisThis collection of around twenty papers has its origins in a two-day seminar organised by the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE) in conjunction with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (RBGE), with additional support from Cornucopia magazine and the Turkish Consulate General, Edinburgh. This multi-disciplinary event formed part of the Ottoman Horizons festival held in Edinburgh in 2017 and attracted a wide range of participants from around the world, including several from Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. This splendidly illustrated book focuses on the botanical legacy of many parts of the former Ottoman Empire — including present-day Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, the Balkans, and the Arabian Peninsula — as seen and described by travellers both from within and from outside the region. The papers cover a wide variety of subjects, including Ottoman garden design and architecture; the flora of the region, especially bulbs and their cultural significance; literary, pictorial and photographic depictions of the botany and horticulture of the Ottoman lands; floral and related motifs in Ottoman art; culinary and medicinal aspects of the botanical heritage; and efforts related to conservation.Trade ReviewTravellers in Ottoman Lands is indeed a detailed academic book with a wealth of information. Overall, a wider public would also be interested in learning more about the Ottoman botany with this exceptionally informative collection. It gives an opportunity to those who enjoy the tulip and rose seasons, floral arts and decorations; and who like to learn about the living and preserved species, and their use for culinary, medical and display purposes. Each author’s long research period, exchange of ideas during the conference, and scholarly writing definitely make it a joy to navigate between the pages for a stimulating study on the botanical legacy of the Ottoman Empire. - Dr Özde Çeliktemel-Thomen (2020): TRT World Research CentreTable of ContentsForeword – by Semih Lütfü Turgut, Turkish Consul General in Edinburgh ; Preface – by Sabina Knees ; Introduction to Travellers in Ottoman Lands: The Botanical Legacy – by Paul Starkey ; Acknowledgements – by Paul Starkey ; THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ; 1 The Ottoman Empire: an introduction to its history and heritage – by Ines Aščerić-Todd ; THE OTTOMAN GARDEN ; 2 Presenting and re-presenting Ottoman imperial gardens in manuscript illustrations: the case of the Oxford Dilsūznāmah, dated AH 860/AD 1455–1456, Edirne – by Susan Scollay ; 3 Ottoman fruit cultivation as reflected in Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels 43 ; Priscilla Mary Işın ; 4 Gardens of Istanbul in Persian hajj travelogues (Güllü Yıldız) [Open Access: Download] ; 5 The public space of the Bakewell Ottoman Garden – by Radha Dalal ; BOTANIST-TRAVELLERS ; 6 Dioscorides’ legacy: a classical precursor to travellers in Ottoman lands (Alison Denham) [Open Access: Download] ; 7 Botanical explorations by Frederik Hasselquist (1749–1752) and Pehr Forsskål (1761–1763): Linné’s apostles in the Holy Land – by Tobias Mörike ; 8 From Ottoman Aleppo to Edinburgh: the botanical legacies of Adam Freer MD and his colleagues – by Janet Starkey ; 9 The botanist Carl Haussknecht (1838–1903) in the Ottoman Empire and Persia (1865 and 1866–1869): a biographical sketch and itinerary of his expeditions – by Frank H. Hellwig & Kristin Victor ; 10 In honour of Professor Asuman Baytop (1920–2015): a tribute | On Georges Vincent Aznavour, the last Ottoman plant collector and his herbarium held in the Robert College (Istanbul), Turkey – by Necmi Aksoy ; 11 Violet Dickson, Umm Saud, the last grande dame of Arabia – by Irene Linning† ; BULBS AND CONIFERS ; 12 Bulbs of the Holy Land: diversity, conservation, and cultivation – by Ori Fragman-Sapir ; 13 George Maw (1832–1912): his Crocus monograph, travels, and correspondents from the Ottoman Empire – by Alison Rix ; 14 Decline of the conifers in former Ottoman lands – by Martin Gardner & Sabina Knees ; 15 The cedars of Lebanon in literature and art – by Paul Starkey ; ART AND BOTANY ; 16 Botanical art in Turkey from past to present – by Gülnur Ekşi ; 17 The interpretation of Ottoman garden culture through miniatures – by Gürsan Ergil ; 18 Richly decorated textiles and Ottoman court dress – by Jennifer Scarce ; 19 Taking ‘stalk’ of Turkey red in Ottoman flora, fabric, and fibre – by Lara Mehling ; 20 Roses, carnations, and ‘Prophet’s eggs’: Turkish needle lace flowers between decoration and non-verbal communication – by Gérard J. Maizou & Kathrin Müller

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Book SynopsisThe double codes of law composed by R. Joseph Karo during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries mark a watershed in the history of Jewish Halakhah [law]. No further legal project was suggested in later generations. The books suggest a new reading beyond the aspects of positive law. R. Karo continued centuries- long traditions of Jewish erudition, in tandem with responding to global changes in history of law and legality both in Europe, and mainly in the Ottoman Empire. It is a global reading of Jewish Halakhah and modernization of Jewish culture in general.Trade Review “Roni Weinstein’s cross-denominational approach to Yossef Karo’s legal corpus is undoubtedly a turning point for scholars of Jewish and Ottoman legal traditions. This thorough book carefully maps out the Ottoman and broader Mediterranean contexts of Karo’s legal oeuvre, giving historians of Ottoman Islamic law much to consider.” – Guy Burak, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Librarian at NYU’s Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, USA.“Roni Weinstein’s thought-provoking book situates the codification of Jewish law and mystical-cum-legal thought of Rabbi Joseph Caro, the ‘Master’ of Talmudic scholars in sixteenth-century Ottoman Safed, into a global early modern Eurasian context increasingly attuned to the community-making capacity of law. By engaging closely with recent research in anthropology of law, early modern Jewish and European history, as well as Ottoman legal history, Weinstein provides a new, dialogic reading of Caro. The book points to legal history as a fertile ground on which to explore not only global early modern trends such as the search for a ‘strong center’ (legal, spatial, or otherwise) as the basis for community-building but also ways of integration of non-Muslims into Ottoman society.” – Tijana Krstic, historian of the early modern Ottoman Empire and professor at Central European University, Hungary. “In Joseph Karo and Shaping of Modern Jewish Law: The Early Modern Ottoman and Global Settings Roni Weinstein engages an impressive range of scholarship and source materials as he crafts a valuable comparative analysis that cuts across early modern Islamic, Jewish, and Christian history and society. This book advances our knowledge of numerous legal issues—from canonization, codification, the anthropology of law, comparative law, the role of law in the rise of the modern state, and the relationship between law and mysticism, to the impact of printing. Weinstein’s impressive scholarship deepens our understanding of the work and life of the towering figure of Joseph Karo and adds nuance to the examination of many core early modern topics.” – Dean Phillip Bell, President/CEO and Professor of Jewish History, Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, USA.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Methodology, Questions, and Scope; Chapter One The Importance of Being Canonized; Chapter Two The Preamble to Beit Yosef: Manifesto of a Jurist; Chapter Three “Maran” [Our Master] Joseph Karo; Chapter Four Semikhah Polemics in Safed: Establishing a Guild of Jurists; Chapter Five R. Karo in Safed: Establishing a Dominant Status; Chapter Six Law and Mysticism: An Envitable Encounter; Chapter Seven “Provide Me with the Reasoning for your Verdict”: The Prestige and Status of Jewish Courts; Chapter Eight Establishing an International Court of Law; Chapter Nine Summary: Scope and Perspectives; Bibliographical List; Index

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Book SynopsisThis essential work looks at the background to the HamasIsrael war and asks whether the international system can contain two simultaneous wars in Europe and the Levant.

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Book SynopsisIn war, there is no easy victory.When troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, most people expected an easy victory. Instead, the gamble we took was a grave mistake, and its ramifications continue to reverberate through the lives of millions, in Iraq and the West. As we gain more distance from those events, it can be argued that many of the issues facing us today – the rise of the Islamic State, increased Islamic terrorism, intensified violence in the Middle East, mass migration, and more – can be traced back to the decision to invade Iraq.In The Iraq War, award-winning documentary maker James Bluemel collects first-hand testimony from those who lived through the horrors of the invasion and whose actions were dictated by such extreme circumstances. It takes in all sides of the conflict – working class Iraqi families watching their country erupt into civil war; soldiers and journalists on the ground; American families dealing with the grief of losing their son or daughter; parents of a suicide bomber coming to terms with unfathomable events – to create the most in-depth and multi-faceted portrait of the Iraq War to date. Accompanying a major BBC series, James Bluemel’s book is an essential account of a conflict that continues to shape our world, and a startling reminder of the consequences of our past decisions.

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Book SynopsisFollowing the 1953 coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Mossadeq and restored the rule of the Shah in Iran, Mostafa Sho‘aiyan became a key figure on the country’s militant left. From a life underground he contributed significantly to the study of Iranian history and politics, and developed a unique theory of revolution. A Rebel’s Journey provides fascinating insights into the life and work of this singular theoretician. Peyman Vahabzadeh sets Sho‘aiyan’s thought in the context of his time and place, and explores how his revolutionary theory might contribute to today’s expanding movements for social justice and liberation.Trade Review‘Through a comprehensive study and analysis of Sho‘aiyan’s writings, Vahabzadeh seeks to revive his work, not merely by demonstrating his contributions to Iranian revolutionaries but by demonstrating his value as an international thinker with continued relevance. Vahabzadeh accomplishes this by engaging with Sho‘aiyan’s revolutionary theories – specifically his concepts of enlighteners, frontal politics, and rebellious thought – to suggest how they could be used by today’s Left in launching resistance against the capitalist world system.’ * Middle East Journal *‘An original intellectual, a prolific writer, a poet, a Marxist theorist, a revolutionary leader, a critical thinker, a visionary of a future that never was – what strange interpreter of dreams has Peyman Vahabzadeh unearthed from the forgotten layers of a people’s history. We once thought Mostafa Sho‘aiyan was a mirage – in this utterly brilliant work of revolutionary love you’ll learn he was for real.’ -- Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University‘This is an elegant and original account of the life, times, and intellectual and theoretical contributions of the Iranian revolutionary Mostafa Sho‘aiyan. It is, in particular, a timely work, emphasising Sho‘aiyan’s continuing relevance in an era of “savage, globalised capitalism”.’ -- Stephanie Cronin, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow, University of Oxford‘An elegiac meditation on one of the most sophisticated revolutionary political theorists of modern Iran. Meticulously researched, A Rebel’s Journey resituates Sho‘aiyan’s long-neglected oeuvre at the center of the Iranian intellectual history and the history of anti-colonial liberation struggles of the Global South.’ -- Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University‘Deeply informed and passionately engaged, this is an exceptional work of scholarship, reconstructing the life and thought of pre-revolutionary Iran’s most exceptional figure on the left… Vahabzadeh has done a wonderful job of intellectual restoration and remembering, while showing an intriguing path forward to the revolutionaries of our time.’ -- Afshin Matin-Asgari, Professor of Middle East History, California State University, Los Angeles‘An outstanding interpretive and critical overview of the vast body of Mostafa Sho‘aiyan’s writings. Peyman Vahabzadeh masterfully reveals Sho‘aiyan’s cosmopolitan and frontal theory of rebellion, and his singular and uncanonical leftism.’ -- Mojtaba Mahdavi, Professor of Political Science, University of AlbertaTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations for Sho‘aiyan’s Major Works Note on Translation and Transliteration Introduction: Reactivating Distorted Histories 1 The Making of a Singular Revolutionary 2 Experiences and Experiments in the 1960s 3 Facing the Fadaiyan 4 On Intellectuals 5 Frontal Politics, Frontal Thinking 6 Rebellious Essence, Rebellious Action Conclusion: The Twenty-First-Century Revolutionary Theory Appendix: The Question of the People Images Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn July 1988, the Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to bring an end to the brutal eight-year war with Iraq. Over the next two months, under the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, political prisoners around the country were secretly brought before a tribunal panel that would later become known as the Death Commission. They were not told what was happening and did not know that one ‘wrong’ answer concerning their faith or political affiliation would send them straight to the gallows. Thousands of men and women were condemned to death, many buried in mass graves in Khavaran Cemetery in the vicinity of Tehran. Through eyewitness accounts of survivors, research by scholars and memories of children and spouses of the deceased, Voices of a Massacre reconstructs the events of that bloody summer. Over thirty years later, the Iranian government has still not officially acknowledged that they ever took place.Trade Review‘Powerfully moving testimonies from prisoners who survived the brutal crackdowns in Tehran in 1988 by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini… A wrenching, important work of historical scholarship demanding justice for the victims.’ * Kirkus, starred review *‘A multifaceted record of state violence and its astounding impacts… Nasser Mohajer’s substantial compilation is a vital contribution to the record of this still-suppressed history.’ * World Literature Today *‘Voices of a Massacre is a unique and creative portrayal of [a] tragic reality… International promoters of human rights ought to be grateful to Nasser Mohajer for producing an insightful and invaluable testimony to prove that the Islamic Republic of Iran is guilty of committing crimes against humanity.’ * Mansour Farhang, Center for Human Rights in Iran *‘Once again the lesson must be learned that not all massacres are reported and acknowledged as the brutal and systematic killings that they are. What geopolitical reasons are there for having kept the history of the Great Massacre of 1988 in Iran from being told? This indispensable volume, Voices of a Massacre, takes the reader through that history, exposes the well-constructed oblivion to which this history has been consigned, and assembles the testimonies of political prisoners and those who mourn their losses. It documents the various arduous efforts to appeal to the government, the media, and international authorities to recognize and condemn this crime, and weaves together the acts of resistance among those who are fighting for this history to be told and known. This is an urgent and belated book that draws on multiple archives to establish the systematic death-dealing of the late 1980s in Iran, as well as the unforgivable and complicitous silence on this period of lethal violence. That history is established through many voices and genres, all of which constitute a living testimonial, a collective act of mourning, and a resounding call for justice.’ -- Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley, and author of Precarious Life and The Force of Nonviolence‘Nasser Mohajer writes for the same reasons as George Orwell—“desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and to store them up for the use of posterity”. This is an invaluable testimony to the shameful 1988 prison massacres that the authorities denied, regime historians tried to vaporize, and many others either minimized or glossed over its medieval essence. The Inquisition that oversaw the mass executions was not only horrific but also unprecedented in the whole of Iran’s long history.’ -- Ervand Abrahamian, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Iranian and Middle Eastern history and politics, Baruch College and Graduate Center, City University of New York, and author of A History of Modern Iran‘Voices of a Massacre is a testament to the human capacity to resist, survive, remember, and respond ethically to others—even at the very limit of what a person can bear. It is gut-wrenching and difficult to read, and that is precisely why we must read it, as slowly and carefully as necessary to absorb what has happened and to grasp what must be done. The book is a truly amazing achievement.’ -- Lisa Guenther, Queen’s National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, and author of Solitary Confinement: Social Death and Its Afterlives‘Voices of a Massacre is an unsparing account of Untold Stories of Life and Death, vital for understanding the cruelty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, yet unique in presenting human qualities of resistance, hope, despair, and fear under the condition of imprisonment. Through insightful narrations one can imagine and sense people’s desire for survival when pushed to life’s extremes. An agonizing, but not-to-be-evaded read.’ -- Shahrzad Mojab, Professor, University of Toronto, and author of Revolutionary Learning: Marxism, Feminism and Knowledge‘Voices of a Massacre is a valuable response to the “duty of memory”. Through both analysis and testimony, it provides a profound series of reflections on the shocking 1988 mass killing of political prisoners that continues to cast a long shadow on the people of Iran. By surfacing the historical truth, this unique collection helps confront the culture of denial and impunity that stands in the way of a better future built on the supremacy of human rights.’ -- Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law, McGill University, and author of In Search of a Better WorldTable of ContentsAcknowledgments A Note on Translation and Transliteration Foreword Preface Chapter One: In Hindsight The Great Massacre | Nasser Mohajer Chapter Two: Voices of Survival Testimonies (Women’s Prison) This Is a Warning: “We Plan to Kill You” | Mahnaz Saida Summer 1988 | Anahita Rahmani He Held His Head Up | Nazli Partovi A Taste of Mortadella: Reflections on Massacre and Resistance | Shokoufeh Sakhi Reynaldo Galindo Pohl’s Inspection of Evin Prison | Laleh Mastour Testimonies (Men’s Prison) Chronicle of a Crime | Iraj Mesdaghi Life-Bestowing Telephone Call | Mehdi Aslani Awaiting Our Fate | Nasser Kh. A Defining Moment | Mehrdad Neshati Melikiyans Chapter Three: The Massacre in the Provinces Still an Enigma | Fatemeh Jokar Interviewing Ms. Zaher Executions in the Provinces: Summer 1988 | Assad Saif Chapter Four: The Mothers of Khavaran Past and Present | Nasser Mohajer Anoush Brought Me Back to Life | Said Afshar Interviewing Forough Lotfi A Note on Two Letters | Nasser Mohajer Human Rights in Iran | Brigitte Behzadi To the UN Human Rights Commission | Brigitte Behzadi The Mothers of Khavaran: A Unique Movement | Nasser Mohajer Chapter Five: Sons and Daughters of the Perished Speak Out Home | Samad Kiani Thirty Years | Saiid Ismati Open Letter to My Father’s Hangmen | Lale Behzadi Testifying: A Journey into the Past Ahead of Us | Chowra Makaremi My Father, Ahmad Danesh | Stefan Parvis Töpelmann Chapter Six: A Call for Justice The Iran Tribunal: Justice in the Making | Shokoufeh Sakhi The Movement for Seeking Justice in Iran: Which Strategy? | Mojdeh Arasi and Homayoon Ivani Never Again | Jafar Behkish Appendix A: Unearthing a Crime Against Humanity in Bits and Pieces | Kaveh Yazdani Appendix B: Political Parties and Organizations of 1980s Iran Appendix C: Chronology of the Massacre | Fatemeh Jokar Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisOn 8 February 1971, Marxist revolutionaries attacked the gendarmerie outpost at the village of Siyahkal in Iran’s Gilan province. Barely two months later, the Iranian People’s Fada’i Guerrillas officially announced their existence and began a long, drawn-out urban guerrilla war against the Shah’s regime. In Call to Arms, Ali Rahnema provides a comprehensive history of the Fada’is, beginning by asking why so many of Iran’s best and brightest chose revolutionary Marxism in the face of absolutist rule. He traces how radicalised university students from different ideological backgrounds morphed into the Marxist Fada’is in 1971, and sheds light on their theory, practice and evolution. While the Fada’is failed to directly bring about the fall of the Shah, Rahnema shows they had a lasting impact on society and they ultimately saw their objective achieved.Trade Review‘A definitive history of the Iranian People’s Fada’i Guerrillas. Theoretical frameworks are interwoven with historical narrative, and riveting anecdotes are tempered by conceptual discussions. In one volume, Ali Rahnema has compiled a comprehensive guide to understanding the ideology, activities, and legacy of the Fada’is… He has masterfully told the Fada’is’ story, including their writings, their successes, and their failures, leaving readers with the impression of the Fada’is as serious, brave, influential, and ideologically driven patriots.’ * Iranian Studies *‘Ali Rahnema has produced the most comprehensive and deeply engaging narrative to date of the revolutionary left in Iran during the 1970s… A masterwork, a must-read!’ -- Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University‘Meticulous and riveting, this book works like a time-tunnel, taking us back to experience “first-hand” the dramatic heroics and painful tragedy of radical political opposition in 1960s–1970s Iran.’ * Afshin Matin-Asgari, author of Both Eastern and Western: An Intellectual History of Iranian Modernity *‘Delivers like a ray of hope… This book is an act of redemption, not just of the Iranian Marxist revolutionaries but of the spirit of the age that demanded armed uprising against tyranny.’ -- Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University‘Call to Arms is a significant study of Iran’s militant left in the 1960s and 1970s. By exploring a broad range of primary and secondary source material it closely examines the formation and operational dynamics of Iran’s radical opposition during the Cold War.’ -- Ali Gheissari, Professor of History, University of San Diego‘Rahnema has done the staggeringly difficult task of offering us a meticulously researched history of the life and times of the Fadaʾis in late-Pahlavi Iran.’ -- Roham Alvandi, Associate Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political ScienceTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Violence as a political option? Demonizing the armed opposition Why resort to political violence? The four Iranian Marxist theoreticians of armed struggle 2 Hasan Zia-Zarifi’s account of why armed struggle The culprit: Absolutist despotic monarchism Reflections from prison 3 Amir-Parviz Pouyan’s account of why armed struggle Literature in the service of politics Armed struggle: Rational or irrational? A necessary theoretical digression Pouyan on the necessity of armed struggle as a rational choice Refutation of the theory of survival Pouyan’s incisive impact 4 Masʿoud Ahmadzadeh’s accounts of why armed struggle Demystifying classical notions of how and when to take up arms The fruitful retreat The Debray factor: From Havana to Tehran via Mashhad Learning from the past Breaking with the old sacred cows Armed struggle by the revolutionary vanguard 5 Bijan Jazani’s accounts of why armed struggle Mysteries around What a Revolutionary Should Know To confront a monarchical military dictatorship Revolutionary intellectuals: The dynamite of the revolutionary movement Jazani’s paradoxical hints Revolutionary agents and the question of leadership in a despotic or democratic Iran 6 The Tudeh Party’s awkward tango with armed struggle Ideological rift over revolution-making Iranian students take sides The Tudeh Party’s reluctant approval of armed struggle The Tudeh Party pushes back against armed struggle Revolution means employing peaceful methods of struggle The Tudeh Party denounces armed struggle What did the revolutionary Marxists think of the Tudeh Party? 7 Monarchists, Maoists, and the Tudeh Party in unison: armed struggle is counterrevolutionary adventurism For Nikkhah the red revolution turned white Kourosh Lashaʾi’s rejection of romanticism and embrace of realism The Tudeh Party: We told you so 8 Armed struggle and Marxist canonists Historical determinism or revolutionary voluntarism? Marx and Engels: Wavering over the role of violence? Lenin on violence, unequivocal? Trotsky: Dissonance between intellectual revolutionary consciousness and backward economic conditions invites violence 9 Armed struggle and Marxist revolutionaries Mao Tse-tung’s revolutionary authority Che Guevara’s revolution-making to overthrow dictators Carlos Marighella: Unleashing violence to end dictatorial violence Marighella in Iran via Baghdad 10 Formative years of the Jazani group Jazani the entrepreneur Whence it came Student political activities First phase of the Jazani Group Jazani and The Message of University Students Second phase of the Jazani Group The political and propaganda branch The operational and military branch The military operation that should have happened but did not Ghafour Hasanpour’s networks: Recruiting behind the scenes 11 Jazani Group compromised First raids The remnants of the Jazani Group under siege Bank robberies The decision to leave the country The final nabs 12 The new Hasanpour, Ashraf, and Safaʾi-Farahani Group: Preparations and operations Picking up the broken pieces Organizing armed struggle: Three teams The first urban operations of the H-A-S Group 13 The Pouyan, Ahmadzadeh, and Meftahi Group The dissimilar but inseparable Pouyan and Ahmadzadeh Enter ʿAbbas Meftahi Pouyan’s circles at Mashhad and Tabriz Ahmadzadeh’s membership in Hirmanpour’s circle Meftahi’s Sari and Tehran circles The P-A-M Group’s military operations before Siyahkal An ethical digression: To press or not to press the trigger 14 Armed struggle in Iran: Rural or urban Theoretical positioning Ahmadzadeh gently parts with the Cuban model Jazani: Rural Iran not the ideal revolutionary base Jazani’s change of heart: Emphasis on rural/mountainous warfare 15 Merger discussions for “Iran’s revolutionary armed movement” The painful and slow process of negotiation Last hurdle: Convincing the P-A-M rank and file The mountain group’s five-month reconnaissance mission Postponements 16 The H-A-S Group hounded The beans are spilled The arrests begin The mountain team compromised 17 The Siyahkal operation Assault on the Siyahkal Gendarmerie Station on 19 Bahman The aftermath of the assault The nineteen-day odyssey of the retreating guerrillas 18 Assessing the Siyahkal strike Objectives of the Siyahkal strike: Ahmadzadeh, Ashraf, Safaʾi-Farahani Siyahkal as a military operation: Fumbles and blunders The regime’s first public response to the Siyahkal strike The Ranking Security Official’s spectacle 19 The Hamid Ashraf factor Schooling Ashraf in the eyes of fellow combatants Three years of guerrilla struggle in perspective Ashraf violent and authoritarian? 20 Hemming the guerrillas or cultivating a guerrilla culture? The Shah declares the end of terrorist activities in Iran The Golesorkhi affair Revolutionaries of the Film School of the Iranian National Television Slaying heroes: Fuel on fire 21 Jazani’s questioning of armed struggle Challenging the theory and practice of the Fadaʾis Looking for new forms of struggle Underlining the role of legal methods of struggle A matter of trade-off 22 Softly disarming armed struggle to regain the trust of the masses Step one: The correct stage in the movement Step two: Walking on two legs Step three: Iran’s paradoxical political condition, democratic and despotic Step four: The guerrillas’ conflicting remits, or unity of opposites Step five: Armed propaganda and the combined method of struggle Two interpretations of armed struggle The issue of objective conditions of revolution How long would it take the masses to join the movement? Saving the armed movement from the unhealthy leftist tendency 23 Jazani’s ideological offensive in prison Spreading the good word Open schism in prison Where did the original members of the Jazani Group stand? The secretive delinking of armed struggle from the movement The misunderstood or conflicted theoretician 24 The Fadaʾi interface, inside, outside prison Indirect interactions between Ashraf and Jazani in 1973 On the correct method of struggle: The Fadaʾis and the Star Group Summer 1974: Armed struggle as strategy and tactic has the upper hand Reading about the correct method of struggle in People’s Combat Familiarity with and reaction to Jazani’s works outside prisons 25 Fadaʾi leadership debating correct methods of struggle A discreet Jazani special issue of People’s Combat Growing a second leg? Political activities in 1976 discussions with the Marxist Mojahedin Does Ashraf take sides in May/June 1976? 26 Bird’s-eye view of armed struggle (1971–1976) The guerrillas’ persistent presence Guerrillas highlighted: Partial transparency The news blackout and the Fadaʾis’ rising success Changing tides: Expansion, exposure, and beleaguered The Fadaʾis’ relations with Libya, Palestinian groups, and the Soviet Union The shock of state terrorism Fadaʾis under attack The Fadaʾis without Ashraf 27 Guerrillas conducting the regime’s requiem Students at home beat on the drums of war University turmoil and campus guards Policy of zero tolerance The student backlash to the Golesorkhi affair Winds of change 28 The regime’s requiem: The players abroad Iranian students abroad rallying against the regime Iranian students abroad take their cue from the guerrillas Radical methods to put the Shah’s regime on the spot 29 Prelude to the Shah’s free fall The Western press reveals secrets Disdain for torture The grand anti-Shah conspiracy A last-ditch effort against the guerrilla–CISNU coalition Beating a fatal retreat Conclusion Chronology Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJordan’s diverse socioeconomic make-up encapsulates, like no other Middle Eastern state, both the array of pressing short-term problems facing the region, and the underlying challenges that Arab states will need to face once the current spate of civil conflicts is over: meaningful youth employment, female participation in politics, and integration of refugees into society. This book tells the story of Jordan through the lives of ordinary people, including a political cartoonist, a Syrian refugee, a Jihadist and a female parliamentarian. The raw voices and everyday struggles of these people shine a fresh light on the politics, religion, and society of a culture coming to terms with the harsh reality of modernisation and urbanisation at a time of regional upheaval. With her deep knowledge of Jordan’s landscape, language and culture, Rana Sweis sketches an intimate portrait of the intricacies and complexities of life in the Middle East. Rather than focusing on how individuals are affected by events in the region, she reveals a cast of characters shaping their own lives and times. Voices of Jordan shares those stories in all of their rich detail, offering a living, breathing social and political history.Trade Review'A delight to read because of the sensitivity, sincerity and pure grace with which Sweis describes the character, lifestyle, dreams and disappointments of those she interviewed.''An exquisite mosaic of personal lives, social commentary, political insight, and historical context. Sweis has brought Jordan to life with deep sensitivity and a world-class journalist's penchant for nuance. The result is a true masterpiece of story-telling.' -- Wendy Pearlman, author of 'We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria''With the Arab world in turmoil, the testimonies of ordinary men and women are rarely heard. In this beautifully written book, Sweis has given a powerful voice to those people who really matter.' -- Fabian Hamilton MP'In a sea of books on the Middle East, Voices of Jordan is a rare gem. Sweis builds on a formidable reputation as one of the best international reporters in the Middle East, with the sharpest eye for detail and an instinct for the human stories that really count.' -- Tim Sebastian, television journalist'To understand a society as rich, complex and important as Jordan's means understanding its people. This enlightening book allows a range of Jordanian voices to express themselves clearly, so that we can truly hear them.' -- Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of the British Council'A vivid, varied and revealing portrait of a country often ignored by Western media. All of the Arab world's pressures are here: unemployed youth, religious extremists, Syrian refugees, and a restive population competing to shape the future of Jordan.' -- Deborah Amos, international correspondent for NPR News

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Book SynopsisWhy is the Middle East a crisis factory, and how can it be fixed? What does the future look like for its 500 million people? And what role should the West play? Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash tell the story of the modern Middle East as a series of broken promises. They chart the entrenchment of tyranny, terrorism and foreign intervention, showing how these systems of oppression simultaneously feed off and battle each other. Exploring demographic, economic and social trends, the authors paint a picture of the region’s prospects that is alarming yet hopeful. Finally, they present ambitious and thoughtful ideas that reject both aggressive military intervention and cynical deals with dictators. This book, written by two children of the region, is about the failures of history, and the reasons for hope. The Middle East Crisis Factory offers a bold vision for those seeking peace and democracy in the Middle East.Trade Review‘[The Middle East Crisis Factory] is not a statement of despair, but one of defiance from the generation of the 2011 uprisings [and] offers many insights.’ -- Middle East Eye'Part guide, part manifesto, [The Middle East Crisis Factory] is a succinct, accessible, and even-handed introduction to the Middle East that emphasises how the problems of the region have global repercussions.' -- Business Post

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Book SynopsisKaroline Kan was born in 1989, the year of the Tiananmen Square massacre: her generation has always been caught between China's authoritarian politics and its hyper-modern technology and economic boom. In her quest to understand the shifting sands of global, connected China, Karoline turns to her family, who have survived Maoism and its legacy by breaking with tradition. Navigating a society beset by poverty and often violent political unrest, the Kans swapped rural villages for crowded city streets in search of a better way of life. Now a journalist, Kan recounts gripping tales of her grandmother, who struggled to help her family through the Great Famine; of her mother, who defied the One-Child Policy by giving birth to Karoline; and of her cousin, a factory worker scraping by on less than £1 per hour. An ambitious millennial pursuing her career and personal life in a time of dizzyingly rapid social change, Kan discovers her own story's roots in the China of previous generations.Trade Review'If you’re looking to understand the female millennial experience in China, Under Red Skies is your best bet.' -- The Mistress of the House of Books blog

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Book SynopsisThe Hazaras of Afghanistan have borne the brunt of many of the destructive forces unleashed by the establishment of the Afghan monarchy in 1747. The history of their relationship with the Afghan state has been punctuated by frequent episodes of ethnic cleansing, mass dispossession, forced displacement, enslavement and social and economic exclusion. Mostly Shia in a country dominated by Sunni Muslims, and identifiable because of their Asian features, the Hazaras became Afghanistan's internal 'Other'. They look different and practise a different school of Islam in a country that is prone to internal conflict and the machinations of external powers. The history of the Hazaras therefore offers a unique perspective into the deep contradictions of Afghanistan as a modern state, and how its ethnic and religious dynamics continue to undermine the post-2001 political process. This volume provides a fresh account of both the strategies and tactics of the Afghan state and how the Hazaras have responded to them, focusing on three key phenomena: Hazara rebellion and resistance to the intrusion of the Afghan state in the nineteenth century; the incorporation of the Hazara homeland into Afghanistan in the 1890s and their subsequent marginalisation and exclusion; and the Hazaras' ethnic mobilisation and struggle for recognition in recent decades.Trade Review'Ibrahimi's impressively detailed history helps us to make sense of the current political situation in Afghanistan ... throughout the book Ibrahimi adopts a healthy critical stance towards essentialist theories of ethnicity. He aptly shows that to get a full picture of Afghan politics it is necessary to both zoom out to the global and transnational level, and zoom in below the provincial level.' -- The Times Literary SupplementNiamatullah Ibrahimi's richly-textured account of Hazaras' relations with the Afghan state not only sheds light on the social and political complexities of a highly-vulnerable group; it also illuminates dimensions of the state building enterprise in Afghanistan in ways that highlight the challenges of internationally-supported state building more broadly. A pathbreaking book. -- William Maley, Professor of Diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University; author of 'What is a Refugee?' and 'Reconstructing Afghanistan: Civil-Military Experiences in Comparative Perspective''In this this sympathetic but nonpolemic book . . . Ibrahimi has undertaken field and archival research to trace the efforts of the Hazaras to protect their identity and patrimony and to find a legitimate place in the Afghan state.''An excellent forensic survey.'A work of great interest, which skilfully examines the link between nation-state formation since the late nineteenth century and the politicisation of ethnic identities. Focusing on the case of the Hazaras, Ibrahimi demonstrates how ethnicity, far from being a primordial form of social organisation, became an idiom of political mobilisation. -- Alessandro Monsutti, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; author of 'War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan'Ibrahimi vividly relates the history of the long persecuted Hazara minority, unravelling their relations with the Afghan state for over two centuries, their complex internal political rivalries, the role of foreign interventions, and their recent successes in an on-going struggle for recognition. It is a bloody, tragic, but often inspiring story. -- Richard Tapper, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology in the University of LondonIbrahimi evaluates the costs in the creation of modern nation-states in multiethnic societies by narrating the sufferings of one group, the Hazaras, in the making of Afghanistan. A must-read for political analysts, policy makers and those wishing to understand why failed multiethnic nation-states provoke politics of rage and extremism in the region. -- Nazif M. Shahrani, Professor of Anthropology, Central Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Indiana University

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Book SynopsisAfter the 1994 Oslo Accords, Palestinians were hopeful that an end to the Israeli occupation was within reach, and that a state would be theirs by 1999. With this promise, international powers became increasingly involved in Palestinian politics, and many shadows of statehood arose in the territories. Today, however, no state has emerged, and the occupation has become more entrenched. Concurrently, the Palestinian Authority has become increasingly authoritarian, and Palestinians ever more polarised and demobilised. Palestine is not unique in this: international involvement, and its disruptive effects, have been a constant across the contemporary Arab world. This book argues that internationally backed authoritarianism has an effect on society itself, not just on regime-level dynamics. It explains how the Oslo paradigm has demobilised Palestinians in a way that direct Israeli occupation, for many years, failed to do. Using a multi-method approach including interviews, historical analysis, and cutting-edge experimental data, Dana El Kurd reveals how international involvement has insulated Palestinian elites from the public, and strengthened their ability to engage in authoritarian practices. In turn, those practices have had profound effects on society, including crippling levels of polarisation and a weakened capacity for collective action.Trade Review‘A rigorous and impressively researched work, and a valuable and thought-provoking read for students of authoritarianism and Arab politics.’ -- CHOICE'A well-researched analysis of the disempowering legacy of the Oslo Accords... ['Polarized and Demobilized'] is also an engaging read that sheds light on the past, present and future of popular (non-PA sponsored) resistance to the occupation.' -- Morning Star‘Polarized and Demobilized provides such a sophisticated account that any sort of summary or short review would fail to do it justice. … Over and above, it is a truly enjoyable read: one of the very few academic works that combines theoretical sophistication with a smooth, seamless and beautifully articulated narrative.’ -- LSE Review of Books'Addresses an important question in a systematic and innovative way.''A strong and compelling book. El Kurd demonstrates how international involvement in Palestine has led to deeper polarization between the PA and its people, with serious implications for Palestinian society, the peace process and the future Palestinian state.' -- Amaney A. Jamal, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics, Princeton University'This critical volume explains the transnational origins behind political polarization and institutional weakness in post-Oslo Palestine. El Kurd's work is theoretically sophisticated and empirically innovative--a must-read for any observer of the region.' -- Sean Yom, Associate Professor of Political Science, Temple University'How did the PA manage to demobilize Palestinian society, when years of direct Israeli occupation failed to do so? El Kurd brings novel data to bear on this provocative question, highlighting how internationally backed, "indigenous" authoritarian regimes can be particularly detrimental for political cooperation and resistance.' -- Diana B. Greenwald, Assistant Professor of Political Science, The City College of New York, CUNY'Palestinians have complained over the last generation about increasing authoritarianism and declining solidarity and activism, even as international donors spoke of democratic institution-building. El Kurd's rigorous empirical research shows not only that such complaints are valid but also how and why.' -- Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science, George Washington University'A major contribution to understanding the dialectic between politically driven foreign aid and authoritarianism. El Kurd's rigorous and illuminating research shows a causal link between this process and social polarization, demobilization and the decline of collective action under the PA.' -- Azmi Bishara, General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

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Book SynopsisA contemporary overview and critical analysis of the Kurds quest for national identity and statehood from the end of the Ottoman Empire to the modern day.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first major study to comprehensively analyze the art and architecture of the archdiocese of Bari and Canosa during the Byzantine period and the upheaval of the Norman conquest. The book places Bari and Canosa in a Mediterranean context, arguing that international connections with the eastern Mediterranean were a continuous thread that shaped art and architecture throughout the Byzantine and Norman eras. Clare Vernon has examined a wide variety of media, including architecture, sculpture, metalwork, manuscripts, epigraphy and luxury portable objects, as well as patronage, to illustrate how cross-cultural encounters, the first crusade, slavery and continuities and disruptions in the relationship with Constantinople, shaped the visual culture of the archdiocese. From Byzantine to Norman Italy will appeal to students and scholars of Byzantine art, the medieval Mediterranean and the Italo-Norman world.Trade ReviewThis is a fascinating look at the important mid-sized port city of Bari during the pivotal centuries of the transition from Byzantine to Norman authority in the region. Vernon deftly shows us that Bari was a town attentive to its wide-ranging connections with important sites in both the contemporary and ancient Mediterranean world. Exploring these connections through the lens of Bari’s buildings and monuments, Vernon brings our focus to the town’s efforts to demonstrate its economic prowess and its participation in the papal reform movement, crusading, and cutting-edge artistic developments. -- Sarah Davis-Secord, Associate Professor of History * University of New Mexico, USA *

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The Cairo Genizah is considered one of the world’s greatest Hebrew manuscript treasures. Yet the story of how over a quarter of a million fragments hidden in Egypt were discovered and distributed around the world, before becoming collectively known as “The Cairo Genizah,” is far more convoluted and compelling than previously told. The full story involves an international cast of scholars, librarians, archaeologists, excavators, collectors, dealers and agents, operating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and all acting with varying motivations and intentions in a race for the spoils. Basing her research on a wealth of archival materials, Jefferson reconstructs how these protagonists used their various networks to create key alliances, or to blaze lone trails, each one on a quest to recover ancient manuscripts. Following in their footsteps, she takes the reader on a journey down into ancient caves and tombs, under medieval rubbish mounds, into hidden attic rooms, vaults, basements and wells, along labyrinthine souks, and behind the doors of private clubs and cloistered colleges. Along the way, the reader will also learn about the importance of establishing manuscript provenance and authenticity, and the impact to our understanding of the past when either factor is in doubt.

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Book SynopsisGiven the historical and cultural richness of countries in the Middle East region, as well as the economic development many have exhibited in recent years, tourism planning and development gains much significance for both scholars and practitioners. Turbulence, conflicts and crises exhibited in the area add further dimensions that need to be incorporated in tourism strategies and planning, and be taken into consideration by experts at an institutional, corporate and educational level. Furthermore, in order to effectively deal with aspects of sustainability, visions and strategies in the region need to build upon good practices. As a result, a greater understanding is required of the factors influencing decision-making on tourism matters as well as on the impacts and implications of sustainable tourism development.This book, written by an international team of experts, addresses the need to examine tourism development and planning in the Middle East from a sustainability perspective by embracing case studies and examples from the region. Through its collection of chapters, the book considers tourism planning and development from the economic, socio-cultural, environmental and regulatory perspectives of sustainability. Thus, the book advances understandings of the positive and negative impacts of tourism development as well as how turbulence, crisis, synergies and the top-down and bottom-up approaches to tourism development are connected to different problems and implications for local communities, the region and the relationship of the Middle East with the rest of the world.An essential resource for tourism practitioners, decision-makers in private and public organisations, government bodies and consultants, not only from the Middle East, but for all those who want an encompassing view of global tourism.

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Book SynopsisThis collection seeks to explore alternative definitions of bounded identities, facilitating new approaches to spatial and architectural forms. Taking as its starting point the emergence of a new sense of ‘boundary’ emerged from the post-19th century dissolution of large, heterogeneous empires into a mosaic of nation-states in the Islamic world. This new sense of boundaries has not only determined the ways in which we imagine and construct the idea of modern citizenship, but also redefines relationships between the nation, citizenship, cities and architecture. It brings critical perspectives to our understanding of the interrelation between the accumulated flows and the evolving concepts of boundary in predominantly Muslim societies and within the global Muslim diaspora. Essays in this book seeks to investigate how architecture mediates the creation and deployment of boundaries and boundedness that have been devised to define, enable, obstruct, accumulate and/or control flows able to disrupt bounded territories or identities. More generally, the book explores how architecture might be considered as a means to understand the relationship between flows and boundaries and its implication of defining modern self. The essays in this volume collectively address how the construction of self is primarily a spatial event and operated within the crucial nexus of power-knowledge-space. Contributors investigate how architecture mediates the creation and deployment of boundaries and boundedness, how architecture might be considered as a means to understand the relationship between flows and boundaries and its implications for how we define the modern self. Part of the Critical Studies in Architecture of the Middle East series. Table of ContentsList of Figures vii Acknowledgements xiii Introduction: Confining Contingency 1 Farhan Karim Chapter 1. Housing Others: Design and Identity in a Bedouin Village 21 Noam Shoked Chapter 2. Building for the Lost Lands: Ottoman Architects in Mandatory Palestine and the Case of Hassan Bey Mosque 51 Müjde Dila Gümüs¸ Chapter 3. The First Aussie Mosques: Mediating Boundaries despite the ‘White Australia’ Policy 77 Katharine Bartsch, Md. Mizanur Rashid, and Peter Scriver Chapter 4. Architecture of Exclusion: The Savujbulagh-i Mukri Garrison, Border-Making, and the Transformation of the Ottoman-Qajar Frontier 111 Nader Sayadi Chapter 5. Staging Baghdad as a Problem of Development 139 Huma Gupta Chapter 6. Tehran’s Decentralization Project and the Emergence of Modern Socio-Spatial Boundaries 167 Elmira Jafari and Carola Hein Chapter 7. Reconstructing the Muslim Self in Diaspora: Socio-Spatial Practices in Urban European Mosques 193 Elisabeth Becker Chapter 8. The Search for the Mosque of Florence: A Space of Negotiated Identities 219 Hanan Kataw Chapter 9. The Rome Mosque and Islamic Center: A Case of Diasporic Architecture in the Globalized Mediterranean 237 Theodore Van Loan and Eva-Maria Troelenberg Chapter 10. One House of Worship with Many Rooves: Imposing Architecture to Mediate Sunni, Alevi, and Gülenist Islam in Turkey 253 Angela Andersen Chapter 11. Architectural Modes of Collective Identity: The Case of Hizbullah’s ‘Mleeta Tourist Landmark of the Resistance’ in South Lebanon 277 Heike Delitz and Stefan Maneval Chapter 12. The Bangladesh Liberation War Museum and the Inconclusivity of Architecture 309 Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi Contributor Biographies 353 Index 359

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Book SynopsisKitāb al-ʾifādah wa al-ʾiʿtibār fī al-ʾumur al-mušāhadah wa al-ḥawādiṯ al-muʿāyanah bi-arḍ Miṣr, by ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baġdādī (1162-1231 AD) is a fascinating work; it represents one of the best known and most important manuscripts concerning Egypt during the period between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD. The author, through his gaze and with a clear and shrewd use of language and style, describes several characteristic aspects of the Nile country: the landscape, the animals, the plants, the monuments, the boats, the peculiar dishes, without forgetting the effects of the famine, or the misery caused by the ailments and hunger that hit the country between 1200 and 1202 AD. Translated into German (1790), Latin (1800), French (1810), and more recently into English (1965), there was, until now, still no translation into Italian of this masterful work. This omission prompted the authors to work over a period of several years on the present volume which, in addition to providing the first Italian translation (accompanied by the transcription of the original Arabic manuscript), provides essential and necessary commentary notes aimed at explaining different passages of the manuscript. Some preliminary chapters also attempt to focus on themes, the author and his philosophy in order to provide the reader with a wider image of the conceptions of the period in which he lived and what this description represented and still represents: a masterpiece of realism which continues to stir the imagination in the modern age.Table of ContentsRingraziamenti ; Presentazione ; Premessa ; Abbreviazioni e caratteri traslitterati ; 1. Introduzione ; 2. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Al-Baġdādī e il contesto del Kitāb al-ʾifādah wa al-ʾiʿtibār ; 3. Osservazioni circa il manoscritto, la sua trascrizione e la presente traduzione ; 4. Contenuti e modi del Racconto d’Egitto ; 5. Aristotele e ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baġdādī ; 6. Alcune note ulteriori ; 7. Trascrizione e traduzione del manoscritto Kitāb al-ʾifādah wa al-ʾiʿtibār ; 8. Appendici ; 9. Indici dei nomi, dei luoghi e delle cose notevoli ; Referenze bibliografiche ; Cartine

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Book SynopsisStudies of Jerusalem in the post-classical periods have traditionally centered, unsurprisingly, on the Old City, isolating it from the regional setting in which it operated on a daily basis. The agricultural hinterland of Jerusalem - comprising a network of smaller settlements, agricultural terraces, fields, cisterns, watch towers, and local marketplaces that together fed the city - have not been a focus of archaeological research until very recently. Life on the Farm in Late Medieval Jerusalem offers a rare glimpse into the daily life of a single rural household and its intimate, but ever-evolving, relationship with Jerusalem from the 14th through the early 20th centuries. It does so through a tightly integrated, multi-disciplinary study of the astonishingly well-preserved remains of a village in its agricultural setting, showing how both settlement and farmland developed together over time, and how these changes impacted the socio-economic development of Jerusalem during the Mamluk and Ottoman Sultanates. The life history of this place is thus written on the basis of archaeological, botanical, and geological data, all interpreted against a rich textual record of land sales, field development, conflict, and cooperation.

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Book SynopsisDuring the 1948 War, Israeli fighters and residents alike plundered Palestinian homes, shops, businesses, and farms. This bitter truth was then suppressed or forgotten over the coming years.Tens of thousands took part in the pillage of Palestinian property, stealing the belongings of their former neighbours. The implications of this mass looting go far beyond the personality or moral fibre of those who took part. Plundering served a political agenda by helping to empty the country of its Palestinian residents. In this context, it was part of the prevailing policy during the war - one designed to crush the Palestinian economy, destroy villages, and to confiscate and sometimes destroy crops and harvests remaining in the depopulated zones.The participating Jewish public became a stakeholder, motivated to prevent Palestinian residents from returning to the villages and cities they had left. These ordinary people were mobilized in the push for the segregation of Jews and Ara

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Book SynopsisDiary of a Crisis explores the past tumultuous and traumatic year in Israel-Palestine. The eminent historian Saul Friedländer began a diary of Israeli politics in January 2023 as the country was convulsed by protests against Netanyahu’s attempt to overhaul the judiciary. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against this threat to democracy. But the protests said nothing about the Palestinian question—the 'elephant in the room,' according to Friedländer, who resumed his diary after Hamas’s 7 October assault on southern Israel. Israel was facing one of the worst crises in its history, he observes, under the worst possible internal conditions.Friedländer weaves together profound reflections on a national history in which he has been an active participant. He describes how Prime Minister Golda Meir once flatly declared to him, 'There is no Palestinian people.' For Friedländer, on the other hand, the fight for democrac

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Book SynopsisOn 4 August 2020 a massive explosion in the port area obliterated parts of Beirut and damaged many others, bringing fresh international attention to a city already recovering from civil war and weakened by economic instability. This book contributes to the rediscovery of Beirut by inviting the visitor and reader to explore a city that is unique in the region for its multicultural heritage, where antiquity jostles with Ottoman and French colonial influence as well as with striking expressions of modernity. The history of Beirut, as with so many other cities, is multi-layered; but this is exceptionally conspicuous in the cultural, denominational and economic diversity of its neighbourhoods. These are best investigated slowly and on foot, a strategy both practicable and pleasurable despite a tyrannical car culture. Between 2019 and 2021, in the aftermath of the explosion, Beatrice Teissier walked through the city’s streets and recorded her impressions as a record of Beirut’s architectural fabric and turbulent recent history. Beirut: Scarred City offers twelve itineraries in parts of west, central and east Beirut, with a foray south, which take the reader to easily accessible areas of the city. From crumbling mansions to brutalist high-rises, from seascapes to inner-city parks and cemeteries, from ancient ruins to the latest reconstruction, from graffiti to international street art and contemporary art galleries, each area tells its story. The present crisis is not avoided, and the author discusses Lebanon’s economic crisis, the political problems that have beset the city since the civil war and the controversies surrounding reconstruction. References to contemporary Arab literature on Beirut and, more personally, private insights and conversations give voice to the spirit of the city and to the resilience and creativity of its citizens.

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Book SynopsisThe 1948 Palestine War is known to Israelis as 'the War of Independence'. But for Palestinians, the war is forever the Nakba, the 'catastrophe'. The war led to the creation of the State of Israel and the destruction of much of Palestininan society by the Zionist forces. For all Palestinians, the Nakba has become central to history, memory and identity. This book focuses on Palestinian internal refugees in Israel and internally displaced Palestinians across the Green LIne. It uses oral history and interviews to examine Palestinian identity and memory, indigenous rights, international protection, the 'right of return', and a just solution in Palestine/Israel. Contributors include several distinguished authors and scholars such as William Dalrymple, Prof. Naseer Aruri, Dr. Ilan Pappe, Prof. Isma'il Abu Sa'ad and Dr. Nur Masalha.Trade Review'In this remarkable book, twelve writers brilliantly evoke the spirit of Edward Said to tell the unvarnished truth about Palestine and Israel.' John Pilger 'This is a work of enormous significance by distinguished scholars of singular courage and integrity. The spirit and legacy of Edward Said are embodied in these papers that seek to rectify grave historical omissions and distortions pertaining to the plight and rights of the Palestinians, particularly in their displacement and exile.' Hanan Ashrawi 'A valuable source to construct a clearer picture of what actually happened to the Palestinian people in the chaotic years of 1947-9.' Political Studies Review 'A wide-ranging collection of invariably interesting essays... the lesson of Catastrophe Remembered is that no two-state solution will be enough to give Palestinians in Israel the dignity denied to them for so long.' Tom Hill, Tribune 'An excellent reader on the subject, bringing together as it does a wide range of essays... Israel's arguments against its critics often include the claim that it is the Middle East's only democracy. This book illustrates why that claim is so shallow, based as it is on a situation which denies full rights to a significant portion of Israeli citizens, denying them everything from adequate water supplies to the validity of their memories and history.' Peace News 'Catastrophe Remembered makes a timely and useful contribution to an important and unfinished discussion.' Neil Caplan, Midwest Jewish Studies AssociationTable of Contents Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Forward: Edward W. Said, Scholar-Activist - Naseer H. Aruri Introduction - Nur Masalha Part I: Evolving Israeli Policies and Indigenous Resistance 1. Present Absentees and Indigenous Resistance - Nur Masalha 2. The State of Israel Versus the Palestinian Internal Refugees - Hillel Cohen 3. Patterns of Internal Displacement, Social Adjustment and the Challenge of Return- Nihad Boqai' 4. Forced Sedentarisation, Land Rights and Indigenous Struggle: The Palestinian Bedouin in the Negev - Isma'el Abu Sa'ad Part II: Palestinian Oral History and Memory 5. "A Muted Sort of Grief": Tales of Refuge in Nazareth (1948-2005) - Isabelle Humphries 6. Kafr Bir'im - William Dalrymple 7. The Nakba, Oral History and the Palestinian Peasantry: The Case of Lubya - Mahmoud 'Issa 8. Unrecognised Villages: Indigenous 'Ayn Hawd Versus Artists' Colony 'Ein Hod - Jonathan Cook 9. The Nakba in Hebrew: Israeli-Jewish Awareness of the Palestinian Catastrophe and Internal Refugees - Eitan Bronstein Part III: Human Rights and International Protection 10. The Real Roadmap to Peace: International Dimensions of the Internal Refugee Question - Ilan Pappé 11. International Protection and Durable Solutions - Terry Rempel Index

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Book SynopsisIn 'Israel's History and the History of Israel' one of the world's foremost experts on antiquity addresses the birth of Israel and its historic reality. Many stories have been told of the founding of ancient Israel, all rely on the biblical story in its narrative scheme, despite its historic unreliability. Drawing on the literary and archaeological record, this book completely rewrites the history of Israel. The study traces the textual material to the times of its creation, reconstructs the evolution of political and religious ideologies, and firmly inserts the history of Israel into its ancient-oriental context.Trade Review"Liverani charts a sinuous and expert path through the minefield that has come to mark the discussion over how to reconstruct ancient Israelite history. No one will come away from reading him without being challenged, indeed exhilarated by the depth of his insights and the breadth of his vision." – Peter Machinist, Harvard University"Liverani's intentions in offering an account of the biblical transformation of Israel's past 'from trivial event to significant re-elaboration' are to be commended. His book is an appropriate and exciting alternative to the biblical narrative." – Times Literary Supplement"The work is stimulating, original in all its parts, and contains many original insights that will no doubt fertilize all future discussions about the Bible as a source for the history of ancient Israel." –Review of Biblical LiteratureTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements 1. Palestine in the Late Bronze Age (14th - 13th Centuries) Part One: A Normal History 2. The Transition (12th Century) 3. The New Society (c. 1150-1050) 4. The Formative Process (c. 1050-930) 5. The Kingdom of Israel (c. 930 -740) 6. The Kingdom of Judah (c. 930-720) 7. The Impact of the Assyrian Empire (c. 740-640) 8. Pause between Two Empires (c. 640-610) 9. The Impact of the Babylonian Empire (c.610-585) Intermezzo 10. The Axial Age 11. The Diaspora 12. The Abandoned Landscape Part Two: An Invented History 13. Returnees and 'Remainees': The Invention of the Patriarchs 14. Returnees and Aliens: The Invention of the Conquest 15. A Nation without a King: The Invention of the Judges 16. The Royal Option: The Invention of the United Monarchy 17. The Priestly Option: The Invention of the Solomonic Temple 18. Self-Identification: The Invention of the Law Epilogue 19. Local History and Universal Values Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFor troops in the desert, Cairo meant fleshpots or brass hats. For well-connected officers, it meant polo at the Gezira Club and drinks at Shepheard's. For the irregular warriors, Cairo was a city to throw legendary parties before the next mission behind enemy lines. For countless refugees, it was a stopping place in the long struggle home. The political scene was dominated by the British Ambassador Sir Miles Lampson. In February 1942 he surrounded the Abdin Palace with tanks and attempted to depose King Farouk. Five months later it looked as if the British would be thrown out of Egypt for good. Rommel's forces were only sixty miles from Alexandria - but the Germans were pushed back and Cairo life went on. Meanwhile, in the Egyptian Army, a handful of young officers were thinking dangerous thoughts.Trade Review'As hard to put down as good fiction. The research is wide, detailed and scrupulous. It is hard to think, on finishing, how this demanding book could have been handled better, more lucidly or more entertaining' * Patrick Leigh Fermor, Times Literary Supplement *'This informative and enjoyable book puts political history side-by-side with the personal sub-history of the characters who determined it . . . a mine of entertaining anecdotes' * Rana Kabbani, Observer *'What lifts it out of the ordinary is the sparkle of the writing and its command of the background' * P. H. Newby, Sunday Telegraph *'Much more than a lively and amusing social history. With enormous skill she has shaped it into a gripping account of the progress of the war itself and of the fortunes of its major protagonists. The result is bracing and salutary and very readable indeed' * Charles Allen, Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisFeatures photographs that capture the fear and powerlessness of the Lebanese population in the face of the ceaseless Israeli air strikes, revealing the terror and despair of families and friends witnessing the deaths of their loved ones, whilst around them their homes were destroyed.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating exploration through the renowned Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, a cornerstone source that remains unrivalled nearly a century after its creation by John Gordon Lorimer in 1908. Officially published in 1915, this Gazetteer remained classified until 1953, shared among a select few?political agents, military planners, and diplomats?serving in the British and Indian Governments. It allowed the British to assert control over the region?s historical narrative for over 35 years and even then, remained under tight control until 1970.John Gordon Lorimer steps into the light in this groundbreaking historical triumph?a rare figure from the early 20th century whose life remained untouched by biographical dispute, despite his pivotal role in documenting the Gulf''s history.In this unprecedented study, Dillon unveils previously unseen political, societal, and economic landscapes and sheds light on a valuable artefact that moulded history despite its biases and subjectivity. Lorimer unfolds as a compelling investigation of historical impact, enriched by an indispensable Gazetteer index?never before published. This book is an undeniable revelation that should not be overlooked.

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Book SynopsisDays before his country signed a deal to normalise ties with Israel, the Emirati Ambassador to the US penned an article in Hebrew, directly addressing Israelis. Israel, he argued, faced a choice between engagement with the rest of the region, or isolation. His words struck a chord then, and will continue to ring true in the decades to come. Michael A. Horowitz tells the unfolding story of this decision: of tension between the hope ushered in by the normalisation agreements, and the enduring despair both Israelis and Palestinians feel about the waning prospects of peace. Rather than examining the past, Horowitz looks to Israel's futureone marked by new opportunities, but also tremendous challenges, as the country tries to find its place in a region trying to find itself. Israel is a ship in a storm, navigating a new' Middle East where unfinished revolutions, regional competition, perceived US disengagement and an unstable but menacing Iran all warrant caution. I

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Book SynopsisKingdom of Football explores how and why Saudi Arabia burst onto the landscape of world football in 2023, and examines what the speed and scale of Saudi engagementas investor, owner, sponsor, host and competitormight mean for the Kingdom and for football Writing as both a football fan and a Gulf specialist, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen offers historical and comparative contexts for Saudi Arabia's startling emergence as a world football hub in the 2020s, exploring both previous Saudi investment in the game, in the 1970s, and national attempts elsewhere to kickstart the sport, as in the United States, Japan and China. Going beyond popular media labels such as sportswashing', this fascinating book examines what drives Saudi policymaking, connecting the move into football with domestic economic and social developments, as well as external and foreign policy considerations. It also examines how Riyadh's foray into world football both builds upon and yet differs from the approaches taken by other Gulf States, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Finally,Coates Ulrichsen assesses the sustainability and durability of the Kingdom's engagement with the sport in the decade-long countdown to the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is set to host.

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Book SynopsisA powerful personal testimony and an urgent call for Israel to change direction, from an unexpected source: the former director of the internal security service, Shin Bet. Raised on a kibbutz by parents who had fled the Holocaust, Ami Ayalon’s life exemplified the Zionist dream. His commitment to his country propelled a meteoric career, culminating in being named commander of the navy and receiving the Medal of Valour, Israel’s highest military decoration. All the time, he remained a staunch supporter of his country’s policies. Then he was appointed director of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, and the unexpected happened. Forced to try and understand the lives and motivations of Palestinians for the first time, he gained empathy for ‘the enemy’ and learned that when Israel carries out anti-terrorist operations in a political context of hopelessness, the Palestinian public will support violence, because they have nothing to lose. He came to understand that his patriotic life had blinded him to the self-defeating nature of policies that have undermined Israel’s civil society while heaping humiliation upon its neighbours. In this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspectives from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own, and draws radical conclusions about what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security.Trade Review‘How can a staunch Zionist who was raised on one of Israel’s earliest settlements and trained as a kill-or-be-killed elite commando spearhead a campaign for peace with his enemies? The answer, in Ami Ayalon’s captivating narrative, is an eye-opener for Palestinians and Israelis alike.’ -- Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: a Palestinian life, former president of the Al-Quds University and former Palestinian National Authority representative in Jerusalem‘Remarkable.’ -- Andrew Mueller * Monocle *‘Fascinating and well-written.’ -- Ahron Bregman * Jewish Chronicle *‘[Friendly Fire] is a personal, intellectual and philosophical journey.’ -- Yossi Melman * Haaretz *‘[Ayalon’s] aims and accomplishments are … undeniably impressive … Hope finds a prominent presence in what so many think is a hopeless, endless conflict.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Ami Ayalon discusses how he came to see a two-state solution with the Palestinians as the best way to ensure Israel's security, not just through analysing numbers and statistics, but through a humanistic approach. He discusses … how his humanist paradigm not only allowed him to see how the Palestinians’ grievances and aspirations are intertwined with Israel’s security, but also how he still acknowledges and sympathises with the narratives of those in Israel whom he may disagree with.’ -- Jonah Naghi * The Times of Israel *‘Friendly Fire is not simply a critique, but a strong mandate for a complete overhaul of Israel's policy toward countering Palestinian terrorism — with clear lessons for counterterrorism policy far beyond the region … [A] powerful critique of the Israeli politicians on both the left and right … [A] story of immense bravery: bravery to speak truth to power; bravery to speak out against injustice — even when it is committed on one’s behalf and in one's name; bravery to acknowledge one’s own participation in and responsibility for such injustice; and, finally, bravery to demand accountability from oneself and from others.’ -- Molly Ellenberg, Modern War Institute‘Friendly Fire is full of fascinating anecdotes from a life lived on the sidelines of some of the most momentous events in the recent history of the Middle East.’ -- TJ Collins * Dubbo Mailbox Shopper *‘[A] compact, compelling memoir … [S]moothly written … [A]fter Ayalon retired as head of Shin Bet he decided almost everything he had done as a soldier and a supervisor of secret agents had actually reduced the prospects for peace and security.’ -- Charles Kaiser * The Guardian *‘[A]n idealistic, yet sober and realistic, vision of what is needed to advance the prospects of peace.’ -- Sheldon Kirshner * The Times of Israel *‘Reading Ayalon’s revealing book, one can see that he has come a long way. Perhaps his most commendable conclusion is that Israel will never achieve peace until “we change the narrative about the past and admit to ourselves that the Palestinians have a right to their own country alongside Israel, and on land we claim as ours”.’ -- Raja Shehadeh * The Nation *

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Book SynopsisGerman Jerusalem is a story of a culturally distinctive community, and a fascinating biography of those who lived and worked in Jerusalem since the beginning of 1920.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne from multiple historical, economic, and social perspectives. The last of the post-World War One peace settlements, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne departed from methods used in the Treaty of Versailles and took on a new peace-making initiative: a forced population exchange that affected one and a half million people. Like its German and Austro-Hungarian allies, the defeated Ottoman Empire had initially been presented with a dictated peace in 1920. In just two years, however, the Kemalist insurgency enabled Turkey to become the first sovereign state in the Middle East, while the Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Egyptians, Kurds, and other communities previously under the Ottoman Empire sought their own forms of sovereignty. Featuring historical analysis from multiple perspectives, They All Made Peace, What is Peace? considers the Lausanne Treaty and its legacy. Chapters investigate British, Turkish, and Soviet designs in the post-Ottoman world, situate th

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Book SynopsisMiddle East and Counter-Terrorism expert Anthony Paice uses research and analysis to trace the underlying causes of the Iraqi takeover of Kuwait in 1990, adding his own personal experiences of the events. He reveals how neither London nor Washington had their eyes on the ball in the months leading up to the invasion and missed opportunities to prevent it. The successful liberation of Kuwait, he contends, allowed American and British authorities to bury mistakes and hide behind bland denials – including that a special operation had compromised BA flight 149, leading to the detention of hundreds of passengers. This book explores this position and goes on to show how Western miscalculations have led to further sorry situations in the Middle East, culminating in the precipitate withdrawal of forces from Kabul in August 2021 and the disgraceful betrayal of the Afghan people.

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Book SynopsisOne of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books for 2023 A correspondent who has spent thirty years in Israel presents a rich, wide-ranging portrait of the Israeli people at a critical juncture in their country’s history. Despite Israel’s determined staying power in a hostile environment, its military might, and the innovation it fosters in businesses globally, the country is more divided than ever. The old guard — socialist secular elites and idealists — are a dying breed, and the state’s democratic foundations are being challenged. A dynamic and exuberant country of nine million, Israel now largely comprises native-born Hebrew speakers, and yet any permanent sense of security and normalcy is elusive. In The Land of Hope and Fear, we meet Israelis — Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Eastern and Western, liberals and zealots — plagued by perennial conflict and existential threats. Its citizens remain deeply polarised politically, socially, and ideologically, even as they undergo generational change and redefine what it is to be an Israeli. Who are these people, and to what do they aspire? In moving narratives and with on-the-ground reporting, Isabel Kershner reveals the core of what holds Israel together and the forces that threaten its future through the lens of real people, laying bare the question, Who is an Israeli?Trade Review‘A masterly and poignant portrait.’ -- Lloyd Green * The Guardian *‘Isabel Kershner’s comprehensive mapping of the challenges facing the Zionist Dream creates a bold and compelling portrait of modern-day Israel — its complexities and polarising passions and commitments — and does it with great empathy and deep concern.’ -- Dorit Rabinyan, author of All the Rivers‘For all those looking for a book that provides an understanding of what Israel has become as it approaches its 75th year, this is it! The Land of Hope and Fear is a rich and wondrous tale told through the agonising and uplifting stories of Israel’s many tribes ... Isabel Kershner brings a keen eye and a vivid style to her unique portrait of the Sabra nation.’ -- Martin Indyk, author of Master of the Game, and former US ambassador to Israel‘Once I started reading The Land of Hope and Fear I couldn’t put it down until I finished. For someone living in this country it felt nonetheless as if I was learning about it for the first time. With masterful style, Isabel Kershner peels off all the outer layers of society’s multifaceted aspects as these are seen by an onlooker, revealing them through the personal stories and eyes of the individuals themselves hidden behind their typologies. Whether one sympathises or not, one understands more. Israel in its tumultuous eighth decade is laid bare, its inner strengths and weaknesses enmeshed in a vibrant dynamic that both promises and forewarns.’ -- Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country‘One might not think that another book about Israel needed to be written. And yet Isabel Kershner has written one that needs to be read. For anyone trying to understand the reality of Israel today, its remarkable dynamism and its political, social, religious, and ‘tribal’ differences, The Land of Hope and Fear provides extraordinary insight.’ -- Dennis Ross, former US envoy to the Middle East and the author of Doomed to Succeed‘[The Land of Hope and Fear] delivers an in-depth look at the tribes that compete and clash within the Promised Land. Painstakingly researched, the book is the product of scores of interviews coupled with living on the ground for more than three decades. Kershner knows of what she writes.’ -- Lloyd Green * The Guardian *‘The Land of Hope and Fear details the bitter civil war for the future of Israel’s soul. Seventy-five years after the birth of modern Israel, Isabel Kershner’s book illustrates how the political and social conflicts that shaped the nation’s founding have persisted, if not deepened … In a crowded landscape of writing about Israel, Kershner’s new book is an essential contribution … it will spark critical conversation about the history and future of Israel.’ -- Alex Katz, Natan Notable Books judge‘Kershner reflects on both the history and future of the state of Israel by delving into the present and illuminating what is and always has been the soul of Israel: its people … Kershner uses her many years as a journalist to bring out the stories that shape the Israeli narrative.’‘This excellent book … paints a realistic, nuanced picture of Israel, exploring the Jewish state’s spirit of innovation, its identity politics, its culture wars and its inability to agree a border with the Palestinians … Kershner’s comprehensive, accessible book should be compulsory reading before any trip to Israel.’ -- Colin Schindler * The Jewish Chronicle *‘Compelling … [The Land of Hope and Fear] offers an insightful overview of Israel’s complex struggles … A well-reported study of Israel’s rapidly shifting cultural and religious environment.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘With the sharp eye of an experienced reporter, a profound understanding of Israel, its internal conflicts, weaknesses and strengths, and with a great love for the country and its people, Isabel Kershner went on a fascinating journey into the minds and souls of current Israelis, Jews, and Arabs. Seventy-five years after its birth, the Jewish state is still struggling over its identity. The Land of Hope and Fear is a must-read book for people who wish to understand why and how.’ -- Nahum Barnea * Yedioth Ahronoth *‘Masterful … Kershner enriches her analysis of the forces roiling modern Israel through incisive conversations with individual Israelis … Nuanced and persuasive, this is a valuable dispatch from a country in turmoil.’ -- Publishers Weekly, starred review‘Through outstanding writing, [Kershner] introduces us to a diverse cast of characters … The book provides tantalising historical nuggets… Her narrative makes clear that the splits in Israeli society and politics aren’t new, but go back to its earliest days.’ -- Alan D. Abbey * Hadassah Magazine *‘The New York Times correspondent’s compelling history identifies the issues that have polarised a country now split by far-right extremists.’ -- Matthew Reisz * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisAltar and Church: Principles of Liturgy from Early Christianity is the first English edition of a book (Altar und Kirche: Prinzipien christlicher Liturgie) first published very successfully in German in 2019. It is a translation of the revised third German edition. The central themes of Stefan Heid’s book are the early Christian altar and the building of churches. It is about the beginnings of the Christian liturgy; but it is also about the principles behind the liturgy. In his Preface, the author states that the book is concerned with “those things that are so fundamental and important for Christian worship that up to the Middle Ages they were found in all churches and to this day continue to exert an influence, especially in the communities of the East. In many cases, however, the praxis has meanwhile diverged a long way from what it once was and is now increasingly subject to ideological decisions.” Whether or not what Christians use during service today is considered to be an altar is a point of contention between the denominations. However, since the liturgical reform of the Vatican Council 2, the altar has been at the centre of many redesigns of Catholic church spaces, with the early Church frequently taken as the model. But how can this be reconciled with the widespread opinion that Christianity initially knew no cult and no sacrifices? It was not until later, from the time of Emperor Constantine, that a real state-supported cult with sacrifices, altars and magnificent sacred spaces developed; the Church suffers from this historical burden to this day. This volume carves a few paths through the liturgucal jungle and arrives at results that are as surprising as they are stimulating.Trade Review“Stefan Heid challenges widely held assumptions about early Christianity and offers a fresh look at the foundations of Christian liturgy.” Fr Uwe Michael Lang, St Mary’s University Twickenham. “This work will occupy an important place in the study of ancient liturgy. With impressive command of archaeological and textual sources, Heid challenges some of the commonly assumed narratives about the early Eucharist.” Daniel Cardó, St John Vianney Seminary, Denver.

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Book SynopsisSephardic Trajectories brings together scholars of Ottoman history and Jewish studies to discuss how family heirlooms, papers, and memorabilia help us conceptualize the complex process of migration from the Ottoman Empire to the United States. To consider the shared significance of family archives in both the United States and in Ottoman lands, the volume takes as starting point the formation of the Sephardic Studies Digital Collection at the University of Washington, a community-led archive and the world’s first major digital repository of archival documents and recordings related to the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean world. Contributors reflect on the role of private collections and material objects in studying the Sephardi past, presenting case studies of Sephardic music and literature alongside discussions of the role of new media, digitization projects, investigative podcasts, and family memorabilia in preserving Ottoman Sephardic culture. Trade Review"Sephardic Trajectories is a landmark demonstration of international collaboration between Turkey and the United States, advancing Jewish historiography by integrating the latest digital technology to copy, itemize, and disseminate Ladino literature. Sephardic Trajectories is not a sole beneficiary of state or foundational backing, but a collective labor of love involving over 80 community members from organizations as diverse as Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) in downtown Istanbul and the Sephardic congregation of Bikur Holim in Seattle. The collections of Sephardic material, largely originating from printers and manufacturers in the Ottoman Empire, currently housed at the University of Washington, exemplifies the potential of community-led archives." * Tablet *"Sephardic Trajectories represents an exemplary mix of sources and creative thematic structure....there is no doubt that this volume and the novel sources that it introduces will inspire future works in Sephardic studies. Researchers who are interested in the Sephardim will certainly find value in this book. The large swath of materials from the UWSSC and the revisionist approaches of the authors will become an invaluable tool for Sephardic scholars, in general, and historians of Ottoman Jews, in particular." * Sephardic Horizons *Table of ContentsIntroduction (Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, UPenn; Kerem Tinaz, Koç University) Part I Histories: The Formation of a Community-Led Archive Ottoman Imprints and Erasures among Seattle’s Sephardic Jews (Devin Naar, UW) “The Seeds for a New Judaeo-Spanish Culture on the Shores of Puget Sound?” (Ty Alhadeff, UW) Part II Studies: Reading the Past through the Seattle Sephardic Studies Collection From the Aegean to the Pacific: Ottoman Legacies in Seattle Sephardi Synagogues (Maureen Jackson) Walking Through a Library: Notes on the Ladino Novel and Some Other Books (Laurent Mignon, Oxford U.) Sephardic Soldiers in the Late Ottoman Army (Özgür Özkan, UW) Part III Reflections: Ottoman Pasts, Private Collections, and Family Memories Artifacts and their Aftermath: The Imperial and Post-Imperial Trajectories of Late Ottoman Material Objects (Benjamin Fortna, U. Arizona) Deporting Ottoman Americans (Chris Gratien, UVA; Sam Negri) Amid Galanti’s Private Documents: Reflections on the Legacy, Trajectory, and Preservation of a Sephardi Intellectual’s Past (Kerem Tinaz, Koç U.) Galante’s Daughter: Crafting an Archival Family Memoir (Hannah Pressman)

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Book SynopsisEssays illuminate the lives of ordinary people who lived in the Ottoman era. Drawing from centuries-old court records, The Other Faces of Empire traces the lives of “outstage” people in vast empire lands. Each essay in the collection tells the story of an ordinary person navigating the Ottoman Empire. On this journey, we meet colorful and quite extraordinary figures: Deli Şaban, “naughty and haramzade” with his unsuccessful suicide attempts; Divane Hamza, who harassed the people in the village of Evciler in Bursa; Mâryem of Konya, who killed her husbands and buried them in the floor of a room of her house; Alaeddin from Skopje, who was captured by pirates; Nicolò Algarotti, a Venetian broker; and many others. The volume’s micro-historical perspective strengthens its place in historiography, and moreover, it updates the historical record by sharing the overlooked stories of “ordinary” people and recording their names in the Ottoman historical literature one by one. Table of ContentsForewordFirat YasaIntroductionSuraiya FaroqhiSECTION IACCESSING PEOPLE THROUGH THEIR CRIMESChapter 1Sitting in a Stable yet Singing Songs of the Palace: On Horse Ownership as Self-Display Nurcan Abaci Chapter 2An ill-behaved, illegitimate son, a Tattling, Restless Soul: The Suicide Attempts of Deli Saban with Nine LivesZeynep Do¨rtok Abaci Chapter 3From the Marshes to the Qadi’s Court: The Trials and Tribulations of a Village with Divane Hamza Firat Yas¸a Chapter 4:The Guiles of Men Outsmart Ma^ryem: Prostitution, Murder and Social Control in 18th Century Konya Cemal C¸etin Chapter 5Partnership in Mischief in the 16th century: An Entire Family of Thieves Saadet Maydaer Chapter 6The Case of Gülpasa of the Gurbet Crew at Bor in the 16th Century Emine Dingec¸ Chapter 7Have Some Mercy, Sir!: The Suffering of Selim the Slave Zu¨beyde Gu¨nes¸ Yag?ci SECTION IIThe Operations of Ottoman Bureaucracy: Helpful or not?Chapter 8Alaeddin from Üsküp: From Captivity to Mülazemet Yasemin Beyazit Chapter 9Voting and Election Practices of the Greek Community in the Ottoman Classical Period: The Demogerontia ElectionsFiliz Yas¸ar Chapter 10Two Steps Forward, One Step Backward: A Grand Melee in the Ottoman Provinces O¨zlem Bas¸arir Chapter 11Are we not Ottomans? The Struggle of Shi’i Nureddin and Ibrahim in Returning from Exile Faruk Yaslic¸imen Chapter 12Why did Su¨reyya, Vasfi, Mehmed and Idris become Runaways?Thoughts on the Ottoman Education System by way of a Case of Truancy Ismail Yas¸ayanlar SECTION IIIOut of Category: The Adventures of a Dubious Broker Chapter 13Nicolo` Algarotti: A Life Shaped at the Borders of ConversionBuket Kalayci ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisThis illustrated book is the culmination of a project to document and conserve the tomb of Menna, one of the most beautiful and complex painted tombs of the ancient Egyptian necropolis at Luxor. Through conservation, the tomb, which previously lay open to environmental influence, was brought back to its former glory. Aided by non-invasive methods of scientific analysis, the historical and cultural importance of Menna’s paintings can now be viewed and studied and enjoyed by a worldwide audience. High-definition photography and drawings complement specialist essays by scholars, scientists, and technicians, who discuss the artistic and cultural significance of the paintings, their architectural context, and scientific importance. Directed by Dr. Hartwig and administered by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) as part of its Egyptian Antiquities Conservation Project, the project was funded by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sponsored by Georgia State University, and carried out in collaboration with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.Trade Review"Gorgeous tomb. Gorgeous book. If only all ancient Egyptian tombs were published like this."—Kara Cooney, UCLATable of ContentsContributors List of Illustrations and Tables Foreword Gerry Scott III Acknowledgments Introduction: The Significance of the Tomb Chapel of Menna (TT 69) Melinda Hartwigˆ Abbreviations of Locations in TT69 5 Part 1: The Tomb Chapel of Menna (TT 69) 1: The Tomb of Menna and Its Owner Melinda Hartwig 2: Scenes and Texts in the Tomb Chapel of Menna Melinda Hartwig Part 2: Methods of Analysis, Conservation, and Documentation 3: Archaeometry Research on the Wall Paintings in the Tomb Chapel of Menna Renata García-Moreno, François-Philippe Hocquet, François Mathis, Elsa Van Elslande, David Strivay, and Peter Vandenabeele 4: Conservation of the Tomb Chapel of Menna Bianca Madden, Cristina Beretta, Greg Howarth, Sasa Kosinova, Mark Perry, Doug Thorp, and Melinda Hartwig 5: Photographic and Digital Survey of the Tomb Chapel of Menna Katy Doyle and Pieter Collet 6: Visual and Archaeometric Analysis of the Paintings I: Visual Analysis of the Paintings Melinda Hartwig and Kerstin Leterme II. Archaeometric Analysis of the Paintings Melinda Hartwig Part 3: The Tomb Chapel of Menna in Context 7: The Tomb Chapel of Menna in Historical, Religious, and Artistic Context Melinda Hartwig List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories tells the story of how cartoonist Asaf Hanuka illustrates both universal and particular narratives. Through close readings of Hanuka’s entire catalogue of comics and graphic narratives, Hanuka’s work is situated within the broader story of his own experiences of being an insider (as a Jew and Israeli) and an outsider (as a Mizrahi, or Judeo-Arab) in Israeli society. By moving chronologically through Hanuka’s works, the book traces how Hanuka navigates these disparate particular identities alongside more universal concerns about how to be a present partner to his spouse and to his children.Trade Review“Asaf Hanuka has long been one of Israel’s most provocative cartoonists and voices of dissent, and in these pages Matt Reingold’s terrifically incisive criticism illuminates compelling dimensions of Hanuka’s eclectic artistry, whether commemorating the Shoah, the insider-outsider identity of Mizrahi Israelis, anxieties about Israel’s faltering democracy, militarism, and human rights record, or the perils of fatherhood and masculinity. Hanuka’s vibrant graphic storytelling ranges from the fantastical and grotesque to the mundane, and Reingold captures all of it splendidly, demonstrating why Hanuka’s edgy work resonates both in Israel and internationally. An indispensable, captivating guide for both scholars and the classroom to a brilliant artist at the forefront of contemporary visual culture.”— Ranen Omer-Sherman, Editor of Amos Oz: The Legacy of a Writer in Israel and Beyond“The Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories significantly contributes to contemporary scholarship on the diversity of Israeli identities in visual media by providing the first thorough examination of the cartoons, comics, and graphic narratives of the award-winning Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka. Reingold’s compelling book captures how Hanuka’s oeuvre spanning over two decades has offered an increasingly nuanced and sharp critique of contemporary Israeli society, especially the erosion of democracy and the unfair treatment of its minorities, one which mirrors the evolution of the artist’s understanding of his own intersectional Israeli, Mizrachi, Jewish, and gendered identities. This is an indispensable book for everyone interested in the evolution of Israeli comics and identity issues.”— Dana Mihăilescu, University of Bucharest“This fascinating in-depth study of the work of Asaf Hanuka fluidly demonstrates the political, social, cultural, and artistic range of the cartoonist’s vision. Drawing upon Hanuka's hybrid background, Reingold shows the ways in which constructs of identity shape his richly figured comics. This is an important book that situates Hanuka’s comics in a narrative of social and political critique and speaks to the significant and enduring influence of this groundbreaking cartoonist.”— Victoria Aarons, O.R. & Eva Mitchell Distinguished Professor of Literature, Trinity University“This is a robust, layered reading that helps the reader understand Hanuka’s work in its Israeli context and helps to reveal what is truly groundbreaking about it. I enjoyed it immensely.”— Kevin Haworth, author of The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets“Matt Reingold’s close examination of Eisner Award winning cartoonist Asaf Hanuka's entire body of work adeptly analyzes the artist-writer’s diverse subjects and styles. Expanding our understanding of the comics’ landscape, this penetrating study fleshes out the many dimensions of Israeli society, Jewish identity, and Mizrahi heritage through Hanuka’s artistic navigation of that complex universe.”— Samantha Baskind, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Cleveland State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Collaborating on Projects and Developing an Artistic Voice2. Autographics in The Realist3. Responsible Adulting in The Divine4. Narrating the Near and Distant Past in Hayehudi Haʿaravi5. Concluding The Realist and Pursuing New ProjectsBibliography

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