Middle Eastern history Books

Book SynopsisAt a time when a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis seems virtually unattainable, understanding the roots of the longest-running conflict in the Middle East is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, examines the Palestinian’s struggle for statehood, presenting a succinct and insightful history of the people and their leadership throughout the twentieth century. Ranging from the Palestinian struggle against colonial rule and the establishment of the State of Israel to the current rivalry between Hamas and Fatah, this is an unflinching and sobering critique of the Palestinian failure to achieve statehood, as well as a balanced account of the odds ranged against them. Lucid yet challenging, Rashid Khalidi’s engrossing narrative of this tortuous history is required reading for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.Trade Review"A work of forceful historical analysis written in a spirit of self-examination . . . 'The Iron Cage' compels us to reflect more deeply on the problems that continue to bedevil the Palistinain movement." * The Nation *"the book will delight everyone sick to death of following the minutiae of the "peace process" and the inevitable apportioning of blame for its failure. Equally, it is a godsend for those new to the subject, as it presents a strong analysis within a frameworkd that is comparable across colonized peoples." * International History Review *"'The Iron Cage' is a patient and eloquent work, ranging over the whole of modern Palestinian history from World War I to the death of Yasser Arafat. Reorienting the Palestinain narrative around the attitudes and tactics of the Palestinians themselves, Khalidi lends a remarkable illumination to a story so wearily familiar it is often hard to believe anything new can be found within." Jonathan Shainin * Salon *"Khalidi asks crucial questions regarding the state of Palestinian identity and viability that no other historians or political analysts have covered with such depth." Alejandra Ju * Political Affairs *"Khalidi's book is no exercise in victimology. He is tough on the British, the Israelis, and the Americans, but she is scarcely less hard-hitting in appraising the Palestinians. The final chapter provides an excellent critique of the Palestine Liberation Organization's labored moves toward the recognition of Israel and the idea, increasingly bruited, that a two-state solution is no longer feasible." L. Carl Brown * Foreign Affairs *"A must-read historical and political study of the national Palestinian movement . . . Supporters of the Palestinians and of Israel will read this book in different ways and with different eyes, but both will find Khalidi's presentation richly illuminating." Neil Caplan * The Middle East Journal *"[Khalidi's] most accomplished effort to date . . . Magesterial in scope, meticulous in its attention to detail, and decidedly dispassionate in its analysis, 'The Iron Cage' is destined to be a benchmark of its genre." Joel Schalit * Tikkun *"A first-rate and up-to-date historical and political analaysis of the Palestinian predicament." * Publishers Weekly *"A lucid and compelling examination of the Palestinian dilemma by 'arguably the foremost US historian of the modern Middle East'." Warren I. Cohen * Los Angeles Times Book Review *"Khalidi, tackling ‘historical amnesia,’ brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . Khalidi restores the Palestinians to something more than victims, acknowledging that for all their disadvantages, they have played their role and can (and must) still do so to determine their own fate." * The Guardian *"Khalid [has] done much to provide a Palestinian narrative rooted in personal histories but disciplined by the standards of Western scholarship." * The New York Times *"Khalidi, tackling ‘historical amnesia,’ brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . restor[ing] the Palestinians to something more than victims." * The Guardian *"Khalidi [has] done much to provide a Palestinian narrative rooted in personal histories but disciplined by the standards of Western scholarship." * The New York Times *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Writing Middle Eastern History in a Time of Historical Amnesia 1. Arab Society in Mandatory Palestine 2. The Palestinians and the British Mandate 3. A Failure of Leadership 4. The Revolt, 1948, and Afterwards 5. Fateh, the PLO, and the PA: The Palestinian Para-State 6. Stateless in Palestine

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Book SynopsisThe rapid expansion of the early Islamic world is conventionally ascribed to a combination of perceptive military leadership and religious fervour. By looking at the administration and taxation which would be implemented by political rulers, Abd al-Aziz Duri demonstrates how these leaders were able to provide for growth, development and durability in a turbulent time, as well as efficient mechanisms for taxation and tax collection. Drawing on original research into the fiscal policies of this period, especially land tax and the tax on non-Muslim populations, Duri shows how different models evolved and renewed themselves. He examines the political systems that accompanied these fiscal regimes, and attitudes towards them. He also scrutinises the institutions which supported this remarkably coherent mode of governance, offering a new perspective on the relationship between politics and Islam in this formative period. By looking at these early Islamic institutions, Duri makes the argument that due to persistence of such organization, from the early Muslim conquests and the later Umayyad era to the end of ‘Abbasid rule, the leaders of the time can be seen to be particularly politically and organizationally skilled. Duri’s work makes a major contribution to our understanding of how Islam established itself and flourished as a lasting major force in the development of world history. Abd al-Aziz Duri (1919-2010) was Professor of History at the University of Jordan, having previously served as President of Baghdad University from 1963 to 1968. Among the most influential of his books on early Islam are The Economic History of Iraq in the Fourth Century AH (1948), An Introduction to the History of the Dawn of Islam (1949), and The Early Abbasid Period (1988), as well as treatises on Arab nationalism such as The Historical Roots of Arab Nationalism (1960) and The Historical Formation of the Arab nation: A Study in Identity and Consciousness (1987).Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Origins of the Political Systems: al-nuzum al-siyasiyah Chapter 2: Fiscal Systsems: al-nuzum al-maliyah Chapter 3: Administrative Systems

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Book SynopsisThe Eastern Mediterranean is one of the world's most vibrant and vital commercial centres and for centuries the region's cities and ports have been at the heart of East-West trade. Taking a full and comprehensive look at the region as a whole rather than isolating individual cities or distinct cultures, Cities of the Mediterranean offers a fresh and original portrait of the entire region, from the 16th century to the present. In this ambitious inter-disciplinary study, the authors examine the relationships between the Eastern Mediterranean port cities and their hinterlands as well as inland and provincial cities from many different perspectives - political, economic, international and ecological - without prioritising either Ottoman Anatolia, or the Ottoman Balkans, or the Arab provinces in order to think of the Eastern Mediterranean world as a coherent whole. Wide-ranging in scope, Cities of the Mediterranean explores diverse topics, weaving together history, sociology, geography, cartography, politics and economics. Early chapters examine the impact of the 'Little Ice Age'; the global economy's shift from the Mediterranean to Antwerp and Amsterdam; early European perceptions of the Eastern Mediterranean; 19th-century harbour building practices and their impact on the cities; and the connections between Alexandria, Izmir and Thessalonica and their vast and diverse hinterlands. The book also explores political radicalism in Turkey and elsewhere as well as the illegal trade networks that linked the Balkans and Adriatic with the Mediterranean and the introduction of new technologies that led to the faster transport of people, goods and information. Through its penetrating analysis of the various networks that connected the ports and towns of the Mediterranean and their inhabitants throughout the Ottoman period, Cities of the Mediterranean presents the region as a unified and dynamic community and paves the way for a new understanding of the subject.Trade Review'the complexities of modernity and modernization in the Mediterranean emerge clearly in this exciting collection.' Journal of European StudiesTable of ContentsCONTENTS Mapping Out the Eastern Mediterranean: Toward a Cartography of Cities of Commerce, Biray Kolluoglu Kirli and Meltem Toksöz Port-cities in the Belle Epoque, Çaglar Keyder Economic and Ecological Change in the Eastern Mediterranean, c. 1550-1850, Faruk Tabak Maps and Wars: Charting the Mediterranean in the Sixteenth Century, Carla Keyvanian Geographic Theatres, Port Landscapes and Architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean: Thessaloniki, Alexandria, Izmir, Cristina Pallini The Cartography of Harbor Construction in Eastern Mediterranean Cities: Technical and Urban Modernization in the Late Nineteenth Century, Vilma Hastaoglou-Martinidis Mental Maps: The Mediterranean Worlds of Two Palestinian Newspapers in the Late Ottoman Period, Johann Büssow Adding New Scales of History to the Eastern Mediterranean: Illicit Trade and the Albanian, Isa Blumi Educating the Nation: Migration and Acculturation on the two Shores of the Aegean at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Vangelis Kechriotis Global Networks, Regional Hegemony, and Seaport Modernization on the Lower Danube, Constantin Iordachi Competition as Rivalry: Izmir during the Great Depression, Eyüp Özveren and Erkan Gürpinar The Deep Structures of Mediterranean Modernity, Edmund Burke III Notes List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisAli Shariati is, for many, the ideological father of the Iranian revolution. A charismatic leader and teacher, his radical blend of Islam and Marxism mobilized a whole generation of young Iranians. Now available in paperback, this full-length political biography looks at Ali Shariati's life and thought in the context of the complex and contradictory cultural, social and political conditions of the Iranian society that shaped him.Trade ReviewThis is an outstanding book for its erudition, balance and perception, and a worthy study of an outstanding intellectual figure. Professor Vanessa Martin, Bulletin of SOAS - Rahnema's excellent study deserves the attention of every student of modern Iran. Professor Ali. M. Ansari, The University of St Andrews 'Ali Rahnema's excellent political biography of the radical Iranian intellectual Ali .Shari 'ati...follows the development of his thought skillfully - Rahnema is to be thanked for providing such a readable account of this complex and important man.' Charles Tripp, Times Literary Supplement Ali Rahnema balances sympathy for his subject with scholarly objectivity. He writes with a fluency and charm rare in academic books, sweeping the reader along with his enthusiasm and energy.' Shusha Guppy, Times Higher Educational SupplementTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments The Political and Religious setting The Tudeh Party The Kasravi Tendency 2.Mohammad Taqi Shari’ati: Father and Teacher The Centre for the Propagation of Islamic Truths The Centre and the Oil Nationalization Movement The Influence of the Centre 3.The Movement of God-Worshipping Socialists The Split The Homespun Ideology 4.From Child to Adult Ali’s Primary School Secondary School The Adult Child Contradictory Moods Ali and his Books 5.The Young Intellectual and Political Activitst The League for the Freedom of Iranian People The Political Agitator Translations The Median Schools of Islam Khorasan 6.The University Years Political Discontent New Sparks, Friends, Teachers A Patron of Modern Poetry Imprisonment, Marriage and Graduation 7.Paris Observation, Introspection and Adjustment Political Revival and Radicalization (1960-1964) Discrete Presence Penmanship The Congress of the World Federation of Iranian Students 8.Looking to the Future The Pen Socio-political activities The death of Ali’s mother Beyond the National Front Iran-e-Azad The Lausanne Congress 9.Schooling in Paris A Classical Education The Genuine Foundation of Knowledge Massignon Gurvitch Berque Fanon Sartre Theoretical Bridge-building The Islamic Alternative 10.Homeward Bound Salman-e-Pak A Guide to Khorasan Applying to Mashhad University 11.Mystical Murmers Shari’ati’s retreat The Need for God Shari’ati’s Gnosticism Mystical Experiences Annihilation and Assimilation of God Gnosticism and Politics 12.Fictive Mind Shari’ati, Sham, Chandel Chandel and Chapelle Shari’ati and Solange Solange’s death and resurrection Three epids of the fictive mind 13.At Mashhad University The Jacobins The Medium A Patron of Cultural Activities The Relief Worker A Diversion : Shari’ati and Jalal-e Al-e Ahmad 14.Shari’ati’s Audience and Discourse at the University of Masshad Eslamshenasi The intellectual left and Shari’ati The revolutionary left and Shari’ati The religious establishment reacts 15.A Cat and Mouse Game Interrogations The ban on public lectures A mind under pressure 16.Hosseiniyeh Ershad The First Phase The Second Phase The Hejazi Affair Shari’ati’s first taste of Ershad The return to Ershad 17.Ershad A Disturbing Iconoclast The Backlash The struggle for Ershad An unexpected reinstatement 18.Restoration The Nascent Iranian Guerrilla Movement Shari’ati’s Ershad The clerical opposition to Shari’ati Mosaddeqist Criticism The challenges of the revolutionaries 19.The Word Educational lectures: The History and Mastery of Religions A Radical Islamic Ideology 20.Insurrectionary Discourse Religious subversion Political subversion The complete Shi’i party 21.Cultivating Martyrs Ershad: the revolutionary beehive The closer of Ershad 22.Imprisonment The Komiteh Prison A New Day Freedom and Confusion Revisionism: by choice or freedom? 23.The Curtain Falls Rationalization or radicalization? Hejira and Death Epiloguse Notes Select Bibliograhy Index

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Book SynopsisArguably, trade is the engine of history, and the acceleration in what you mightcall ‘globalism’ from the beginning of the last millennium has been driven by communities interacting with each other through commerce and exchange. The Ottoman empire was a trading partner for the rest of the world, and therefore the key link between the west and the middle east in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. much academic attention has been given to the east india Company, but less well known is the Levant Company, which had the exclusive right to trade with the Ottoman empire from 1581 to 1825. The Levant Company exported British manufacturing, colonial goods and raw materials, and imported silk, cotton, spices, currants and other Levantine goods. it set up ‘factories’ (trading establishments) across Ottoman lands and hired consuls, company employees and agents from among its members, as well as foreign tradesmen and locals. here, despina vlami outlines the relationship between the Ottoman empire and the Levant Company, and traces the company’s last glimpses of prosperity combined with slump periods and tension, as both the Ottoman and the British empire faced significant change and war. she points out that the growth of ‘free’ trade and the end of protectionism coincided with modernisation and reforms, and while doing so, provides a new lens through which to view the decline of the Ottoman world.Trade ReviewDrawing on a careful and systematic analysis of the english Levant Company's substantial archive, vlami underscores the increasing demand for the abandonment of protective measures under which British trade had operated in the eighteenth century. This is a work that will surely interest economic and cultural historians, and specialists in the Ottoman empire and the eastern mediterranean - in short, this is a book that, thanks to its author's intelligence and sensitivity, makes an excellent scholarly contribution to our understanding of an important moment in the history of the european economy when Britain emerged as the world's dominant economic force.' Anthony Molho Emeritus Professor of History, The European University institute and Brown University' Despina Vlami dresses scholarship in enjoyable style. she shows well how the transition from monopoly to free trade marks the destiny of the Levant Company. its structure, interwoven with the people working for or against it, comes out in the text as an intricate web of human relations, of ambition and action, of success or failure. entrepreneurial strategies blend with lively descriptions of the actors' social identity and everyday life. a good piece of historical writing. Georges Dertilis, Directeur d'etudes, Ecole des hautes Etudes en sciences socialesTable of ContentsList of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1 Foundation- Organisation-Dissolution Part 2 Corporate and Individual Strategies: The Transition from Monopoly to Free Trade Part3 Entrepreneurial form and Strategy Part 4 Business, Social Identity and Everyday Life Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe geopolitical importance of the Gulf region is a source both of great interest and great tension. David Commins here provides an in-depth narrative of the modern political history of the Gulf States, providing a comprehensive and accessible account of their recent development and strategic importance. Focusing primarily on economic, cultural, religious and social themes from the 14th century to the present, The Gulf States covers key topics of the region's history, from the influence of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Arab dynasties, to oil wealth, modern prosperity and the formation of the Gulf States as we know them today. With the importance and influence of the Gulf States continuing to increase, this book is an invaluable source of information on the Gulf region's development for researchers and students alike.Table of Contents1. Introduction to the Gulf 2. Pre-Modern Historical Patterns to 1500 3. Muslim and European Empires 1500-1720 4. An Era of Political Turbulence 1720-1820 5. The Era of British Supremacy 1820-1920 6. The Formation of Modern States 1918-1956 7. The Gulf in the Era of Arab Nationalism 1956-1971 8. Affluence, Revolution and War 1971-1991 9. American Intervention: A New Era or a Transitional Phase?

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