Middle Eastern history Books

Book SynopsisRaises questions about the roots of Israel-Palestine conflict. This book tells the story of Arabs who, from the very beginning of the Arab-Israeli encounter, sided with the Zionists and aided them politically, economically, and in security matters.Trade Review"[An] important book... The picture presented is thorough and fair and persuasive." -- Benny Morris New Republic "Groundbreaking... Riveting... Eloquent." The Nation "An important academic work that is accessible to general readers." Jerusalem Post "Written in ... honorable revisionist spirit." Books & Culture: A Christian Rvw "An important academic work that is accessible to general readers." Spero NewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction I. TWO NATIONALISMS MEET, 1917--1935 1. Utopia and Its Collapse 2. Who Is a Traitor? 3. We, the Collaborators II. REBELS AND TRAITORS, 1936--1939 4. Old Collaborators, New Traitors 5. Unity Ends 6. The "Traitors" Counterattack III. WAR IN EUROPE, WAR AT HOME 7. World War, Local Calm 8. Prelude to War 9. Treason and Defeat: The 1948 War Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Persian Gulf state of Qatar has fewer than 2 million inhabitants, virtually no potable water, and has been an independent nation only since 1971. Yet its enormous oil and gas wealth has permitted the ruling al Thani family to exert a disproportionately large influence on regional and even international politics. Qatar is, as Mehran Kamrava explains in this knowledgeable and incisive account of the emirate, a tiny giant: although severely lacking in most measures of state power, it is highly influential in diplomatic, cultural, and economic spheres.Kamrava presents Qatar as an experimental country, building a new society while exerting what he calls subtle power. It is both the headquarters of the global media network Al Jazeera and the site of the U.S. Central Command''s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center. Qatar has been a major player during the European financial crisis, it has become a showplace for renowned architects, several U.S. universitieTrade Review"Mehran Kamrava, a well-known expert on the middle East and the Persian Gulf, continues to contribute immensely to the intellectual life of Doha where he has been working since the establishment of Centre for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Forgein Service in Qatar. Therefore, his book entitled Qatar: Small State, Big Politics came as no surprise and indeed is very much welcome." -- Erdem Tunçe * Perceptions: Jounral of International Affairs *"Kamrava’s work is one of the first full-scale investigations of the intersections of Qatar’s foreign and domestic policies. This book is an important read for those who want to understand more about a crucial, but relatively understudied, country, as well as for scholars in the fields of rentier theory, state building, and international relations." -- Jocelyn Sage Mitchell, Northwestern University in Qatar * Democratization *"In this impressive book, Mehran Kamrava addresses the remarkable phenomenon of tiny Qatar and whether or not it is likely to become a major regional force. Crucially, he sets Qatar apart from its other resource-rich monarchical neighbors by placing necessary emphasis on its emerging foreign policy." -- Christopher M. Davidson, Durham University, author of After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies"Mehran Kamrava, who is an established authority on the Persian Gulf, has generated the most readable and analytically rich studies of this subregion with great consistency. It is good to see him turn his sharp eye toward the subregion's most interesting state actor today—namely Qatar. In his brilliant new book on this small but economically dynamic Gulf state, Kamrava provides the reader with a comprehensive analysis of this country's power pyramid and the policy imperatives of its modernizing elite alongside a full analysis of the essence of its 'subtle power,’ indeed 'soft power,’ as he maps what he calls Doha’s `hyperactive’ diplomacy and regional conduct. This book will excite even the keenest observer of the Gulf for its ability to delve deep while also painting the most intricate conceptual canvass for Qatar’s `moment in history.’ Honestly, I read it cover to cover and enjoyed learning something new from its every page! Kamrava never fails to deliver." -- Anoush Ehteshami, author of Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf: Political Economy, War and Revolution"This very well-written book uses Qatar as a vehicle to discuss big ideas like the nature of power, state autonomy, and high modernism." -- F. Gregory Gause, University of Vermont, author of Oil MonarchiesTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Setting the Stage2. The Subtle Powers of a Small State3. Foreign Policy and Power Projection4. The Stability of Royal Autocracy5. State Capacity and High Modernism6. Qatar's Moment in HistoryNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisFocuses on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a clash of civilizations between the Muslim world and Europe. This title describes this shared history and reveals encounters between Europe and Islam.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013 "[T]his is serious history and, as such, seriously worthwhile."--Robert Irwin, Literary Review "[Europe and the Islamic World] is an important contribution to an ever more urgent debate. By providing a wealth of inconvenient detail that fails to fit in to the simplistic stereotypes, it challenges the very notion that humanity can be divided into separate 'civilisations', however bitter at times the conflict between them."--Jonathan Harris, History Today "The comprehensive coverage of the subject matter makes this work the new standard in the field."--Choice "Europe and the Islamic World is a major antidote of this dangerous myopic worldview, offering a critical and balanced assessment of a historic encounter marked not only by religious competition and conflict but also by coexistence and cooperation in domestic politics and foreign relations, trade and commerce, science and culture."--Lisa Kaaki, Arab News "As provocative as it is groundbreaking, this book describes this shared history in all its richness and diversity, revealing how ongoing encounters between Europe and Islam have profoundly shaped both."--World Book Industry "This book is a solid scholarly work on the current and ongoing debate on the relations between Europe and the Islamic world. It differs from previous works on two major grounds: it offers a detailed narrative of key neglected aspects of this history and it refutes the notion of the 'clash of civilizations.'"--Adel Manai, Canadian Journal of History "Tolan clearly shows how to approach the history of Islam and Christianity during the medieval era in a much more sensitive manner, paying respect to here to fore often suppressed or muted voices on both sides."--Albrecht Classen, Mediaevistik "The status of non-Muslims in Muslim lands is a major theme in the book and it is dealt with effectively by each author... [T]his book achieves its purpose well."--David Abulafia, English Historical Review "[T]his book is an extremely detailed, learned and informative account of the history of the two regions."--Alex Mallett, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations "[G]randly ambitious ... [R]eaders will come away from the book profoundly suspicious of simplistic narratives about Muslim aggression and endless jihad."--Philip Jenkin, The Christian CenturyTable of ContentsForeword by John L. Esposito vii General Introduction 1 Part I: Saracens and Ifranj: Rivalries,Emulation, and Convergences By John Tolan *1. The Geographers' World: From Arabia Felix to the Balad al-Ifranj (Land of the Franks) 11 *2. Conquest and Its Justifications: Jihad, Crusade, Reconquista 27 *3. The Social Inferiority of Religious Minorities: Dhimmis and Mudejars 49 *4. In Search of Egyptian Gold: Traders in the Mediterranean 70 *5. On the Shoulders of Giants: Transmission and Exchange of Knowledge 87 Part II: The Great Turk and Europe By Gilles Veinstein *Introduction to Part II: Continuity and Change in Geopolitics 111 *6. The Ottoman Conquest in Europe 120 *7. Ottoman Europe: An Ancient Fracture 149 *8. Antagonistic Figures 163 *9. The Islamic-Christian Border in Europe 186 *10. Breaches in the Conflict 206 Part III: Europe and the Muslim World in the Contemporary Period By Henry Laurens *Introduction to Part III 257 *11. The Eighteenth Century as Turning Point 259 *12. Civilization or Conquest? 277 *13. The Age of Reform 295 *14. The Age of Empire 322 *15. The First Blows to European Domination 338 *16. The Great War and the Beginning of Emancipation 360 *17. Contemporary Issues 387 Notes 405 Selected Bibliography 439 Index 445

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Book SynopsisThere is a growing recognition that philosophy isn't unique to the West, that it didn't begin only with the classical Greeks, and that Greek philosophy was influenced by Near Eastern traditions. Yet even today there is a widespread assumption that what came before the Greeks was before philosophy. In Philosophy before the Greeks, Marc Van De MierTrade Review"Van De Mieroop is a highly respected Assyriologist, and his book provides a broad introduction to the intellectual principles which informed the long-lived and steady literary culture of 'Babylonia.'"--D. L. Dusenbury, Times Literary Supplement "Were this book a live performance, I would stand and applaud with vigor... I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in ancient history and philosophy. The clarity with which Van De Mieroop establishes his ideas result in a detailed, well-explained, and absolutely intriguing pioneer study on Babylonian epistemology and philosophy... For such ... a well-written, critical examination of what constitutes Babylonian philosophy, one would be foolish not to purchase and read it."--Biblical ReviewTable of ContentsPreface vii PART I AN ESSAY IN BABYLONIAN EPISTEMOLOGY Chapter 1: At the Time of Creation 3 PART II THE ORDER OF THINGS (LES MOTS ET LES CHOSES) Chapter 2: Word Lists: A Very Short History 35 Chapter 3: Constructing Reality 59 PART III WRITINGS OF THE GODS Chapter 4: Omen Lists in Babylonian Culture 87 Chapter 5: The Structure of Knowledge of the Universe 113 PART IV THE WORD OF THE LAW Chapter 6: Of Ancient Codes 143 Chapter 7: The Philosopher-King 156 PART V A BABYLONIAN EPISTEMOLOGY Chapter 8: Babylonian Epistemology in History 185 Chapter 9: The Conceptual Autonomy of Babylonian Epistemology 216 Notes 225 Bibliography 257 Index 291

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Book SynopsisDavid A. McDonald presents an ethnographic study of the role of music and musicians in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.Trade Review"David A. McDonald has written a singular, ambitious, and much-needed book that explores a very important dimension of the Palestinian-Israeli question. He provides an invaluable historical overview of Palestinian resistance music since the 1930s and an ethnography of music and musicians during the second intifada and its aftermath."—Ted Swedenburg, coeditor of Palestine, Israel, and the Politics of Popular Culture"This book is highly original, well researched, and extremely engaging. Through strong social analysis and sharp historical insights, David A. McDonald connects music, poetry, performance, and political life among the Palestinian people."—Virginia Danielson, author of The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthūm, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century“The volume, and the fieldwork from which it is written… do much to demystify Palestinian politics and political expression for western readers; for this reason among the other strengths of the work,My Voice is My Weapon will prove a valuable tool for students, educators and the general public in years to come.” -- Rayya S. El Zein * Ethnomusicology Forum *“There are at least two and possibly three different books co-existing within David McDonald’s comprehensive and impressively researched study of music in Palestinian society and its role in shaping national identity within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . . . a compelling and monumental study.” * Songlines *"By including Palestinians living in the Palestinian Territories, in Israel, and in exile as well as a plethora of musical genres, McDonald shows the diversity of history, experience, and meaning of Palestinian identity." -- KD * Middle East Journal *“David A. McDonald’s study of Palestinian music is . . . an acute, nuanced account of Palestinian history and identity as it is sung, danced, and performed by Palestinians. What emerges is neither a simple counter-narrative nor an essentialized, sugarcoated tale of Palestinian resistance and resilience. Instead, it is an incisive and thoughtful examination of a multilayered narrative as it has emerged over time and been variously interpreted and experienced by Palestinians in Israel, the occupied territories, and the diaspora. McDonald’s work is significant if simply for the fact that it is the first English-language monograph to substantially engage with Palestinian music as it relates to the shaping and formation of Palestinian identity.” -- Sylvia A. Alajaji * Journal of Popular Music Studies *"In My Voice Is My Weapon David A. McDonald rigorously examines Palestinian exile, occupation, and dispossession through an ethnographic history of Palestinian protest music.... Through rigorous analysis of musical repertoire, performers, and historical context, McDonald clearly illustrates the multiplicity of Palestinian resistance strategies and competing visions of nationhood, thus encouraging scholars to reconsider the making of modern national consciousness.... This study of Palestinian protest music richly reveals how repertoire binds together disparate experiences of Palestinian national identity into a musical landscape." -- Shayna M. Silverstein * PoLAR *"My Voice is My Weapon is remarkable, well researched and presented.... Although those involved with Middle Eastern studies will no doubt find this book to be of significance, due to its musical subject matter and ethnohistorical approach My Voice is My Weapon is a must-read for any cultural anthropologists, folklorists, and especially ethnomusicologists with an interest in the topic." -- Lisa Urkevich * Notes *“Literature on Palestinian music is scarce. This makes David McDonald’s My Voice Is My Weapon, which includes a substantial amount of overviews and details information on Palestinian music, a much-needed addition to the current research. What is more, the book is valuable as a piece of well-done research.” -- Stig-Magnus Thorsén * World of Music *"...this is a fascinating, well- researched and compelling study that will find appreciative audiences among students and scholars of the Middle East, popular culture, and music. It should be required reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on popular culture, ethnomusicology, and Middle Eastern Studies, not only for its rich historical and ethnographic material and excellent online archive, but for its methodological insights and conclusions." -- Jonathan Shannon * Ethnomusicology *Table of ContentsIllustrations viii Note on Transliterations xi Note on Accessing Performance Videos xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 1. Nationalism, Belonging, and the Performativity of Resistance 17 2. Poets, Singers, and Songs: Voices in the Resistance Movement (1917–1967) 34 3. Al-Naksa and the Emergence of Political Song (1967–1987) 78 4. The First Intifada and the Generation of Stones (1987–2000) 116 5. Revivals and New Arrivals: The al-Aqsa Intifada (2000–2010) 144 6. "My Songs Can Reach the Whole Nation": Baladna and Protest Song in Jordan 163 7. Imprisonment and Exile: Negotiating Power and Resistance in Palestinian Protest Song 199 8. New Directions and New Modalities: Palestinian Hip-Hop in Israel 231 9. "Carrying Words Like Weapons": DAM Brings Hip-Hop to the West Bank 262 Epilogue 283 Appendix: Song Lyric Transliterations 287 Notes 305 Bibliography 321 Index 329

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Book Synopsis“Of all the crimes to which Palestinians have been subjected through a century of bitter tragedy, perhaps none are more cruel than the silencing of their voices. The suffering has been most extreme, criminal, and grotesque in Gaza, where Ghada Ageel was one of the victims from childhood. This collection of essays is a poignant cry for justice, far too long delayed.” —Noam Chomsky There are more than two sides to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. There are millions. Millions of lives, voices, and stories behind the enduring struggle in Israel and Palestine. Yet, the easy binary of Palestine vs. Israel on which the media so often relies for context effectively silences the lived experiences of people affected by the strife. Ghada Ageel sought leading experts—Palestinian and Israeli, academic and activist—to gather stories that humanize the historic processes of occupation, displacement, colonization, and, most controversially, apartheid. Historians, scholars and students of colonialism and Israel-Palestine studies, and anyone interested in more nuanced debate, will want to read this book. Foreword by Richard Falk. Contributors: Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Ghada Ageel, Huwaida Arraf, Abigail B. Bakan, Ramzy Baroud, Samar El-Bekai, James Cairns, Edward C. Corrigan, Susan Ferguson, Keith Hammond, Rela Mazali, Sherene Razack, Tali Shapiro, Reem Skeik, Rafeef Ziadah.Trade Review"Apartheid in Palestine is an anthology of analytical writings sharply critical of Israel's treatment of its Palestinian Arab population. Contributors include Palestinians who voice their frustrations and decry human rights abuses; Jewish Israeli citizens who openly criticize the government's ongoing policies; academics; activists; and more. An index rounds out this thought-provoking testimonial, recommended for scholars, historians, students and anyone interested in reviewing anti-occupation perspectives on the Israel-Palestinian debate." * The International Studies Shelf, Library Bookwatch *"Apartheid in Palestine is a collection of essays that both humanize and analyze issues of occupation, displacement, colonization, and apartheid.... However, far from being inflammatory, these stories of struggle are balanced in their presentations, including authors that are Palestinian, Israeli, activists, academics, and people who have lived in the region and witnessed that which they seek to tell the world. Ageel herself is a third-generation Palestinian refugee, born and raised in the Khan Younis Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip.... Regardless of what position you hold with regard to Israel and Palestine, this is an important and challenging read that presents perspectives worthy of study and discussion." [Full post athttp://www.iheartedmonton.org/2016/05/review-apartheid-in-palestine-hard-laws.html] -- Paula E. Kirman“In the book Apartheid in Palestine, Ghada Ageel has gathered a group of essays about Israel’s policy of occupation. The authors are Jewish, Christian and Muslim. They are of various nationalities—American, Canadian, Israeli and Palestinian. Some are the descendants of families who have been displaced by Israeli policies. They shed much light on what is now taking place in the occupied territories and whether ‘apartheid’ is an appropriate term to describe the current situation…. Those who seek to make sense of what is certain to be a continuing discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would do well to read [this book].” [http://jewishcurrents.org/is-the-israeli-occupation-moving-towards-apartheid/] -- Allan C. Brownfeld * Jewish currents *Table of ContentsForeword // Richard Falk Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Part I Indigenous Voices 1 | Beit Daras Once upon a Land // Ghada Ageel 2 | I am from there, I am from here // Reem Skeik 3 | Palestine Via Dolorosa // Samar El-Bekai 4 | The Man with the White Beard Uniting the Palestinian Narrative // Ramzy Baroud Part II Activist Views 5 | International Solidarity and the Palestinian Freedom Struggle // Huwaida Arraf 6 | Palestine Calling Notes on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement // Rafeef Ziadah 7 | Culture of Resistance Why We Need You to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel // Tali Shapiro 8 | Complicit Dissent, Dissenting Complicity A Story and Its Context // Rela Mazali Part III Academic and Expert Insights 9 | Israel’s Legitimacy? Time for a European Moratorium // Keith Hammond 10 | Israeli Apartheid, Canada, and Freedom of Expression // Abigail B. Bakan & Yasmeen Abu-Laban 11 | Political Truths The Case of Pro-Palestine Discourse in Canada // James Cairns & Susan Ferguson 12 | A Hole in the Wall, A Rose at a Checkpoint The Spatiality of Occupied Palestine // Sherene Razack 13 | Israel and Apartheid A Framework for Legal Analysis // Edward C. Corrigan Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisIndispensable to the Western observer for a full understanding of the complexities of the conflicts in the Middle East, this study analyzes and documents the historical, social, and spiritual realities of the dhimmi peoples_ the non-Arab and non-Muslim communities subjected to Muslim domination after the conquest of their territories by Arabs.

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Book SynopsisChristophe Picard recounts the adventures of Muslim sailors who competed with Greek and Latin seamen for control of the 7th-century Mediterranean. By the time Christian powers took over trade routes in the 13th century, a Muslim identity that operated within, and in opposition to, Europe had been shaped by encounters across the sea of the caliphs.Trade Review[Picard is] the leading scholar of Islamic maritime history…This will surely become the standard work on Islam and the sea in the early Middle Ages. -- David Abulafia * Times Literary Supplement *A leading authority on medieval Islamic history, Picard analyzes the involvement in and approach to the Mediterranean Sea by Muslims and their principalities from the dawn of Islam to the twelfth century, when the balance of power tilted in favor of Latin Christendom. Going beyond internal developments, he examines relations both collaborative and conflictive with Byzantium, the Latin world, and Berber nations. As a history of the Mediterranean, this book is unique in placing the Islamic world at the center. -- Brian A. Catlos, University of ColoradoBy shining a light on this obscure period, Christophe Picard brings a new dimension to Braudel’s Mediterranean, as a place where the voices of Latins, Byzantines, and Muslims are integrated. * Livres Hebdo *In Sea of the Caliphs, Picard shows that the Mediterranean, long considered marginal to Islam, even reduced to a clichéd playground for pirates, was in reality a major site for the development of Muslim societies between the seventh and twelfth centuries. He recasts the traditional view of Fernand Braudel by making Islam the dominant actor in this space for several centuries, not only as a military power but also as a commercial and intellectual force. * Le Monde *A masterful revision of the common view of Arabs and Muslims as primarily pirates in medieval Mediterranean history. -- B. Weinstein * Choice *A comprehensive account of the various ways that medieval Islam’s highest political authorities—its caliphs, whether Sunni or Shi’ite—used naval warfare on the Mediterranean Sea to defend and expand the borders of their territories. -- Sarah Davis-Secord * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisTraces the origins and development of mathematics in the ancient Middle East, from its earliest beginnings in the fourth millennium BCE to the end of indigenous intellectual culture in the second century BCE when cuneiform writing was gradually abandoned.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2011 Pfizer Award for Best Scholarly Book, History of Science Society One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009 Honourable Mention in the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies 2009, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies "[F]ascinating."--Edward Rothstein, New York Times "Robson brings both a profound erudition in cuneiform and a nondogmatic constructionist view of mathematics to tell the history of Mesopotamian mathematics over the three millennia before the Common Era, connecting as she does the mathematical accomplishments to the cultural and societal norms of the day... A magisterial work, lucidly written, certain to endure."--M. Schiff, Choice "Author Robson deals admirably with an enormous scope (more than 3,000 years, with roughly equal space devoted to each 500-year epoch); numerous sources (950 published clay tablets, all of which are available at a simple Website); and the cultural context (social history, an ethnomathematical approach)."--Mathematics Magazine "Robson's book is a wonderful summary of what we know so far, and will be the standard for this generation, but the potential is there for far more research to teach us even more about mathematics in ancient Iraq."--Victor J. Katz, Mathematical Reviews "For archaeologists and archaeologically-minded historians ... Robson provide[s] significant new insights into the mathematics of ancient civilisations, while challenging us to consider how language, material culture, and socio-technical practices are integrated, not only in mathematics, but in many domains."--Stephen Chrisomalis, Antiquity "The wealth of detail and breadth of scope make this an excellent resource for a wide variety of readership. It can be read as one great narrative sweep, or one can bear down on a particular facet. The work is a huge advance in the presentation of modern scholarship on ancient mathematics to interested readers, specialist and non-specialist alike."--Duncan J. Melville, Historia Mathematica "Nothing comparable has been done before, and it has been a great pleasure to read the book, from which I have learned much."--Jens Hoyrup, Mathematical Intelligencer "Eleanor Robson's book Mathematics in Ancient Iraq is presently unique and will surely become a classic in the history of early mathematics. Despite the meticulous and detailed presentation of a representative selection of available sources, the book is very readable and captures the attention of the interested reader from the first to the last page. I recommend it to anyone who would like to learn something about the fascinating story of the development of mathematical activities in Mesopotamia."--Peter Damerow, Notices of the AMS "[Mathematics in Ancient Iraq] is argued passionately, persuasively and, I am pleased to add, enjoyably."--Bob Berghout, Australian Mathematical Society Gazette "Mathematics in Ancient Iraq fills a gap that has existed for a very long time."--Annette Imhausen, British Society for the History of Maths "Robson displays a confidence, familiarity, and breadth of scholarship that is impressive and inspiring. She epitomizes a new wave of research in the history of mathematics. She provides context, setting, and interpretative themes for generations of scholars to come, whether they will embrace them or resist them. Indeed, Robson's work is more than just a social history--it is emblematic of a new approach to this discipline. The details will excite specialists, the generalities will delight the uninitiated. 'Sparkling' indeed, this work is guaranteed to be an influential and foundational reference book, indispensable to the collections of the many disciplines it draws from."--Clemency Montelle, Journal of the American Oriental Society "Robson, as a professional assyriologist, is preeminently well positioned to write a history that situates Mesopotamian mathematics in its ancient social and intellectual context; and whether or not one always agrees with her interpretations of the mathematics, her competence in these aspects is nowhere in doubt."--Alexander Jones, British Journal for the History of Science "[T]he book is a very significant contribution to the history of mathematics. It is well written, solidly founded and argued, and easy to understand. It is a fine and important addition to the literature on Babylonian mathematics, and it will be very useful to readers from both inside and outside the field. The book is warmly recommended to everyone who is interested in mathematics and its history, in ancient cultures, or in science seen as an integrated part of culture, and to the broader public of historians of early science or Mesopotamian culture."--Lis Brack-Bernsen, Journal of World History "The book contains numerous charts, tables, images and databases that help us understand the issues addressed. It is excellently documented and it contains a comprehensive and up to date bibliography. Eleanor Robson is a scholar who commands the field that she investigates."--Piedad Yuste, Metascience "[T]he publication of a book of this kind is very welcome. Nothing like it has been published before, and it is going to be immensely helpful to both writers and readers of future articles and books about the subject."--Joran Friberg, Archive Fur OrientforschungTable of ContentsList of Figures xi List of Tables xvii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxv Chapter One: Scope, Methods, Sources 1 1.1 The Subject: Ancient Iraq and Its Mathematics 1 1.2 The Artefacts: Assyriological and Mathematical Analysis 8 1.3 The Contexts: Textuality, Materiality, and Social History 17 Chapter Two: Before the Mid-Third Millennium 27 2.1 Background and Evidence 28 2.2 Quantitative Management and Emerging Statehood 33 2.3 Enumeration and Abstraction 40 2.4 Symmetry, Geometry, and Visual Culture 45 2.5 Conclusions 51 Chapter Three: The Later Third Millennium 54 3.1 Background and Evidence 55 3.2 Maps, Plans, and Itineraries: Visual and Textual Representations of Spatial Relationships 60 3.3 Accounting for Time and Labour: Approximation, Standardisation, Prediction 67 3.4 The Development of the Sexagesimal Place Value System (SPVS) 75 3.5 Conclusions 83 Chapter Four: The Early Second Millennium 85 4.1 Background and Evidence 86 4.2 Metrology, Multiplication, Memorisation: Elementary Mathematics Education 97 4.3 Words and Pictures, Reciprocals and Squares 106 4.4 Measurement, Justice, and the Ideology of Kingship 115 4.5 Conclusions 123 Chapter Five: Assyria 125 5.1 Background and Evidence 126 5.2 Palatial and Mercantile Numeracy in Early Assyria 129 5.3 Counting Heads, Marking Time: Quantifi cations in Royal Inscriptions and Records 136 5.4 Aru: Number Manipulation in Neo-Assyrian Scholarship 143 5.5 Conclusions 149 Chapter Six: The Later Second Millennium 151 6.1 Background and Evidence 151 6.2 Tabular Accounting in Southern Babylonia 157 6.3 Land Surveyors and Their Records in Northern Babylonia 166 6.4 Quantifi cation as Literary Device in the Epic of Gilgames 177 6.5 Conclusions 181 Chapter Seven: The Early First Millennium 183 7.1 Background and Evidence 184 7.2 Libraries and Schools: The Formalisation of the First-Millennium Scribal Curriculum 192 7.3 Home Economics: Numeracy in a Mid-First-Millennium Urban Household 198 7.4 Measuring Houses, Maintaining Professionalism 206 7.5 Conclusions 212 Chapter Eight: The Later First Millennium 214 8.1 Background and Evidence 215 8.2 Babylon: Mathematics in the Service of Astronomy? 220 8.3 Achaemenid Uruk: The Sangu-Ninurta and Ekur-z?kir Families 227 8.4 Seleucid Uruk: The Hunzu and Sin-leqi-unninni Families 240 8.5 Conclusions 260 Chapter Nine: Epilogue 263 9.1 The Big Picture: Three Millennia of Mathematics in Ancient Iraq 263 9.2 Ancient Mathematics in the Modern World 268 9.3 Inside Ancient Mathematics: Translation, Representation, Interpretation 274 9.4 The Worlds of Ancient Mathematics: History, Society, Community 284 9.5 Conclusions 288 Appendix A: Metrological Systems 291 Appendix B: Published Mathematical Tablets 299 Notes 345 Bibliography 373 Index of Tablets 409 Subject Index 425

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Book SynopsisAt the turn of the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire straddled three continents and encompassed extraordinary ethnic and cultural diversity among the estimated thirty million people living within its borders. This title offers a history of the late empire between 1789 and 1918, which were turbulent years marked by incredible social change.Trade Review"There are many fine insights in this short book. It is no surprise that many relate to political hypocrisy, since Hanioglu is well known for his studies of the Young Turk political movement. But he also offers often-illuminating discussions of cultural changes, mainly those of the Ottoman official and middle strata."--Choice "[T]his book raises a series of new questions and calls for developing new approaches and ideas to analyze the last Ottoman century and understand better the rise of national states in the Balkans and the Middle East, especially Turkey... In short, this is a thought-provoking book and I recommend it highly."--Kemal H. Karpat, American Historical Review "Forgoing 'the worn-out paradigms of modernization and Westernization,' Hanioglu opts instead for a consideration of Ottoman responses to the challenge of modernity... [This book] is a pleasure to read."--Kate Fleet, Journal of Islamic Studies "The Ottoman Empire was the longest-lived regional regime in the Middle East since antiquity; it was also the most recent, and left enduring traces. ?ukru Hanio?lu's A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire is a major contribution to the better understanding of the region. His account is based on intimate knowledge of the Ottoman archives, as well as of many other sources, both internal and external. Concerned with trends more than events, this book illuminates the ideas and movements that shaped the course of history."--Bernard Lewis, Middle East Strategy at Harvard "This timely history is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the legacy left in the ruins of the empire--a legacy the world still grapples with today."--Turkish Daily News "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the legacy left in this empire's ruins--a legacy the world still grapples with today."--Spartacus Educational "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire deserves only unqualified praise. It is well written and comprehensive in its coverage--with diplomatic, economic and intellectual history interacting."--Peter Clark, Asian Affairs "In all, this is a fine effort well worth reading for its valuable background to WWI, to the politics of modern Turkey and the other Ottoman successor states. Its maps are particularly useful."--Len Shurtleff, Listening Post "[T]o readers familiar with the Ottoman Empire through the Balkans, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire is especially commendable as a fresh introduction to a bygone view from Istanbul."--Seth C. Elder, Balkanalysis "Hanioglu's seminal work presents a true spring of ideas not only for the late Ottoman history but also for the search of some earlier East Roman and Byzantine interplays of structures and identities."--Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, Sehepunkte "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire is a recommendable book to the specialist and novice alike. It would also appeal to public readership as a fine sample of international history."--Nur Bilge Criss, Turkish Studies "The strength of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire is its view of the late Ottoman Empire both from the imperial inside as well as from a reflective and inspiring historical distance. This concise book is very appropriate for general history classes."--Hans-Lukas Kieser, H-Net Reviews "Without a doubt or reservation, this brief history is must reading for scholars and students of Ottoman history, and the author is to be commended for his excellent approach to the study of this period, for this reviewer cannot think of any other scholar better equipped intellectually to analyze and place it in the proper perspective for a meaningful understanding of this critical phase of an empire on the verge of disintegration."--Caesar E. Farah, Historian "Historians and general readers embarking on an introduction to the Ottoman Empire could do far worse than to start with M. Sukru Hanio?lu's A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Concise, well-written, and narrative, it nonetheless successfully revises decades of misconceptions about the Ottoman Empire, creating a new model for our understanding of this long-lived system. The author presents several key arguments worth presenting. He encourages his readers to move beyond previous interpretations of Ottoman history, including the perception of the empire as a decrepit and dynastic straitjacket for nationalisms."--Wayne H. Bowen, Canadian Journal of HistoryTable of ContentsList of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Note on Transliteration, Place Names, and Dates xiii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Ottoman Empire at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century 6 Chapter 2: Initial Ottoman Responses to the Challenge of Modernity 42 Chapter 3: The Dawn of the Age of Reform 55 Chapter 4: The Tanzimat Era 72 Chapter 5: The Twilight of the Tanzimat and the Hamidian Regime 109 Chapter 6: From Revolution to Imperial Collapse: The Longest Decade of the Late Ottoman Empire 150 Conclusion 203 Further Reading in Major European Languages 213 Bibliography 217 Index 231

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Book SynopsisTrade Review2017 Gold Medal Winner in Current Events (Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs), Independent Publisher Book Awards Honorable Mention for the 2017 PROSE Award in Government and Politics, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 One of Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of 2016 in Current Affairs A CNN Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week, August 7, 2016 "Well-researched and lucidly argued."--Malise Ruthven, New York Review of Books "A specific, timely, well-rendered exegesis of the unfolding global threat."--Kirkus (starred review) "This timely history gives a clear-sighted account of the ascent of the so-called Islamic State (IS)--one with far-reaching implications. The book's findings and conclusions have profound relevance not just for the future of IS in Iraq and Syria, but also for salafi jihadism, regional security in the Middle East and North Africa and international peace and security... Written and edited with pellucid clarity, ISIS: A History is an important book that will have broad appeal beyond academic, diplomatic and policymaking circles."--Chris Harmer, LSE Review of Books "[Written] with energy and clarity, and out of uncommonly extensive knowledge."--Robert Fulford, National Post "Impressively detailed... His argument is all at once persuasive, deeply depressing, yet hopeful. For all the years of sclerosis in the Middle East, political systems can be rejuvenated. The revolutions of the Arab Spring marked an attempt to do just that, and while hope has been hijacked by extremists, the opportunity to try again and again can never be taken away."--Daniel Flitton, Sydney Morning Herald "Perhaps the most informative, clearly expressed, sober book on the subject."--William Armstrong, Hurriyet Daily News "[Gerges's] book is one of the most coherent, comprehensive and persuasive histories of ISIS to date and deserves to be widely read."--Richard Cockett, Literary Review "[The book's] strength stems from the sheer breadth of the survey offered by Gerges."--Shiraz Maher, New Statesman "Gerges is clear, and it is here that the book excels, that Isis cannot be explained in isolation but must be examined in the larger sociopolitical context in which it emerged... ISIS: A History makes a welcome contribution to the debate, and will be of interest to both general readers and specialists."--Christina Hellmich, Times Higher Education "This is quite simply the definitive book on the group by a very smart, well-informed guide to the region, superbly researched, well-written and intelligent throughout. Everyone opining about ISIS should be required to read this book first."--Fareed Zakaria "The achievement of Fawaz Gerges ... in his compelling, insightful book is to highlight the social and sectarian pressures that led so many Iraqi and Syrian Sunnis to turn to Isis as protectors."--Michael Burleigh, The Times "Terrific."--Michael Brull, New Matilda "This is a comprehensive account of how ISIS emerged in the Middle East, triggered by the US invasion of Iraq, Syria's civil war, the collapse of the Arab Spring, and sectarian Sunni-Shi'a struggles. Gerges systematically details the complex social and political dynamics leading to ISIS's prominence among the Salafi-jihadist family of rivals... This authoritative, empirically rich study based on primary Arabic sources should be must reading for policy makers, strategists, scholars, journalists, students, and anyone seriously concerned about the human condition."--Choice "A remarkably clear and detailed taxonomy of ISIS."--Jerome Donnelly, America "Written and argued with admirable clarity, ISIS: A History is a significant book with clear appeal beyond academic, diplomatic, and policy-making circles. This is a highly recommended volume and one that sets the standard for those interested in understanding the phenomenon we have come to know as ISIS."--Colin Wight, Australian Book Review "This hugely important study is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the powerful political, sectarian and religious forces currently convulsing the Arab Middle East."--P. D. Smith, The GuardianTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Down the Rabbit Hole and into the History of ISIS 1 1 The World According to ISIS 23 2 Where ISIS Came From: Zarqawi to Baghdadi 50 3 How Broken Iraqi Politics Fueled the Revival of ISIS 98 4 Baghdadi's Evolution: From Invisible to Infamous 129 5 Baathists and ISIS Jihadists: Who Converted Whom? 144 6 How the Syrian War Empowered ISIS 170 7 Misappropriating the Arab Spring Uprisings 202 8 ISIS versus Al Qaeda: Redefi ning Jihad and the Transition from the Global to the Local 222 Conclusion: The Future of ISIS 260 Notes 295 Index 353

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Book SynopsisDrawing on the unfamiliar genre of the death liturgy, the author arrives at a remarkably comprehensive view of the religion of death in ancient Egypt.Trade ReviewDeath and Salvation in Ancient Egypt serves as a compendious introduction to how ancient Egyptians approached their mortality as well as their impending immortality. Throughout, Assmann continues to build upon his vast store of important publications, yet again bringing to his work a deep background in theoretical literature, especially anthropology and philosophy. This gives his work a decidedly comparative flair, citing parallels or contrasts with cultures ancient or modern, Near Eastern or otherwise. Much of Assmann's Egyptological work has become required reading, and Death and Salvation will be no exception. Controversial, insightful, incredibly informed, and in constant contact with the primary textual material, this volume will continue to inspire discussion for years to come. * Journal of Near Eastern Studies *Assmann astounds the reader with his deep knowledge of religious texts from all periods of Egyptian civilization and from the Greeks and Romans too. He is equally familiar with evidence from art and architecture.... He leads the reader through the maddeningly opaque pronouncements of Egyptian intellectuals about the nature of death, its origin, its meaning, its importance. Every page shines a fresh light on a topic that fascinates us all, but leaves us puzzled. Assmann's book will take its place as classic study and shows again why he is justly regarded as one of the great Egyptologists writing today. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsTranslator's NoteIntroduction: Death and CulturePart One. Images of Death Chapter 1. Death as Dismemberment Chapter 2. Death as Social Isolation Chapter 3. Death as Enemy Chapter 4. Death as Dissociation: The Person of the Deceased and Its Constituent Elements Chapter 5. Death as Separation and Reversal Chapter 6. Death as Transition Chapter 7. Death as Return Chapter 8. Death as Mystery Chapter 9. Going Forth by DayPart Two. Rituals and Recitations Chapter 10. Mortuary Liturgies and Mortuary Literature Chapter 11. In the Sign of the Enemy: The Protective Wake in the Place of Embalming Chapter 12. The Night of Vindication Chapter 13. Rituals of Transition from Home to Tomb Chapter 14. Provisioning the Dead Chapter 15. Sacramental Explanation Chapter 16. Freedom from the Yoke of Transitoriness: Resultativity and Continuance Chapter 17. Freedom from the Yoke of Transitoriness: ImmortalityAfterword: Egypt and the History of DeathNotes Index

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Book SynopsisRecovering Armenia offers the first in-depth study of the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the Armenians who remained in Turkey.Trade Review"With verve, passion and wit, Ekmekcioglu shows how central women were to the restoration of the Armenian community in the decade after the genocidal war. Recovering Armenia is a must-read for all students of the Great War and its aftermath, and for anyone who wants to understand the modern Middle East and the roots of sectarian conflict that continues in the region today." -- Elizabeth Thompson * University of Virginia *"This remarkably innovative history offers two indispensable analytical narratives. It crafts the first thorough account of the ways in which, between 1918 and 1933, Armenian survivors of the genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey inventively reconstituted themselves as a harshly constrained yet enduring national minority within the new Turkish Republic. Second, it offers an often inspiring account of how, within this officially second-class community whose necessarily gendered behavioral repertoire made women second-class members of that community, feminists nevertheless found new ways simultaneously to be an Armenian feminist subject of the Turkish nation-state and for the Armenian ethnonation. A pioneering work that will prove indispensable." -- Khachig Tölölyan * Wesleyan University *"The impacts of genocide generate shock waves, altering lives for generations to come. This excellent book illuminates the hitherto unstudied aftermath of the Armenian Genocide as negotiated by those few who remained in the Turkish Republic. A must-read for anyone interested in the effects of collective violence." -- Fatma Müge Göçek * University of Michigan, author of Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present, and Collective Violence against the Armenians *" ... people will surely turn to Ekmekçiolu's book to learn about an important but long-neglected aspect of this tumultuous period and the remarkable women who tried to push their society and city in an enlightened and progressive direction." -- Resat Kaaba * Journal of Levantine Studies *"Lerna Ekmekcioglu's radically revealing and provocative book challenges conventional historical wisdom in its exploration of the continued existence of an Armenian minority in modern Turkey. Her passionate, yet careful analysis of gender and nation demonstrates the central— and paradoxical— role of women and gender politics in both creating and foreclosing possibilities for Armenian identity, gender equality, and co-existence in post-genocide Turkey." -- Atina Grossmann * The Cooper Union *"Ekmekçioğlu's pioneering book opens up a number of important fields that await examination by later generations of scholars. Among them, I will point out one of the most critical: intercommunal relations, especially the struggles of feminists against conservative power holders in the community...As Ekmekçioğlu exhaustively demonstrates, the Armenian press of the period remains an invaluable source for understanding the extent of this dimension and the remarkable power of Armenian feminism in a critical era of Armenian history." -- Yasar T. Cora * H-Nationalism *"This ground-breaking book by Lerna Ekmekiolu should be regarded as a substantial contribution to the literature on post-genocide Armenian women's identity...overall a solid work that sheds new light on the history of Turkified Armenians, of feminist activism mainly in the decade after the Armenian genocide and the connection between feminism and nationalism. The book should stimulate debate within the scholarly community on Armenian history and gender studies, while also serving as an important basis for further research on these topics." -- Eldad Ben-Aharon * Patterns of Prejudice *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction: Afterlife of Armenians in Post-Genocide Turkey, an Introduction chapter abstractThe introduction introduces the protagonist of the story, Hayganush Mark, the Constantinopolitan Armenian woman who published the main primary source of the book, Hay Gin (Armenian Woman), a feminist biweekly, from 1919 to 1933 in Istanbul. The chapter clarifies the research questions that drove the writing of this book and explains what kind of a route was taken to answer them. The analytical core of the chapter revolves around the historical explanation of why and how a gendered way of organizing social relations was fundamental for Armenians as they adjusted to the multiple catastrophes that befell them from the World War I into the mid-1930s. 1The Re-Birth of a Nation chapter abstractThe story takes place in Allies' occupied Constantinople from late 1918 to late 1922. During this time Armenian leadership aimed to cede territory from the defeated Ottoman Empire and declare independence. Their goal was to unite the Eastern and Western parts of the Armenian ancestral lands. The chapter looks at the ways in which this goal was enmeshed with a broader agenda called National Revival or Restoration. Post-genocide Armenians mobilized to prove "the Turk" wrong and exist as a community, as a nation, and as a state. They have imagined these agendas in familial and gendered terms whereby children, most of them orphaned, represented the future. 2Can Feminists Revive a Nation? chapter abstractArmenians of Constantinople experienced the war years different from their counterparts in other parts of the Empire. They were not massacred or deported en masse. Therefore in the aftermath of the war, they were the ones who helped the survivors through various relief organizations. Elite, intellectual women of the Ottoman capital were very active in these endeavors and they also contributed to all other kinds of National Revival-related causes, such as fundraising, lobbying, and propaganda. In return, they asked to have a say in the decision making bodies of their community. This chapter focuses on the ways in which feminists formulated their arguments for the inseparability of the women's cause from the national cause. They established a Women's Association and began publishing a feminist fortnightly called Hay Gin (Armenian Woman) 3An Exodus and its Aftermath chapter abstractThis chapter focuses on one single year, from late 1922 to late 1923 when it became obvious that Armenians failed in their territorial goals. As a result of the Turkish War of Independence which was led by Mustafa Kemal, Ottoman Muslims drew the occupation forces out and forced the Allies to renegotiate a peace treaty. In the fall of 1922, after the Symrna Catastrophe (Kemalist takeover of Western Anatolia from occupying Greeks), Armenians (and Greeks) in Constantinople fled the city in panic, in anticipation of Kemalist entry to the city which could unleash violence against Christians whom Kemalists and the Muslim majority accused of collaboration with the enemy. Most people that we encountered in the first and second chapters of the book leave the city during this time. The remaining become an officially recognized minority in Turkey according to the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne. 4A Tamed Minority chapter abstractThe chapter looks at the communal survival strategies that Turkish Armenians crafted in order to stay put and remain safe in a place where they were unwanted by the state and by the majority. Armenians performed loyalty to the state and in returned hoped to receive freedom of religion and traditions. This formulation was gendered. Because women represented and were seen as the transmitters of tradition, they were assigned the task of ensuring the continuation of Armenianness in Turkey. The ways in which Armenians adapted to the new Turkey's conditions rested on an age-old relationship between the Ottoman state and its non-Muslims (dhimmis). But Turkey was very different from the former Empire, especially after the secularization and westernization reforms that the Kemalist Republic passed in the 1920s and 30s. Armenians welcomed these developments. This new-but-old state-minority relationship is termed "secular dhimmitude," a consciously paradoxical term. 5Can Armenian Feminism Survive the new Turkey? chapter abstractThe ways in which the Turkish state discriminated against Armenians and the legacies of the recent, violent past, pushed the community into an enclave-like existence. As Armenians turned in on themselves they cherished domesticity, conservatism, and status quo. The chapter follows the Hay Gin journal to see how both the nationalist and feminist discourses changed in its pages. Because the editor of the journal, unlike most of her peers, did not leave Turkey, her case provides an emblematic case of what Armenians had to do in order to survive the new Turkey. Feminists were faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they wanted to continue the Armenian tradition. On the other hand, their liberal progressive ideas that demanded gender equality required a change in the hierarchical order of the community. The chapter analyzes how Hayganush Mark, Hay Gin's editor tried to resolve these challenges. Conclusion: When History Became Destiny, a Conclusion chapter abstractThe chapter summarizes main points of the book. It briefly discusses its interventions into the historiography. The last part narrates how young Armenian women in early 2000s Istanbul resurged an interest in the history of Turkish Armenian feminism.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the rise and establishment of the Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan, as well as its expansion and evolution under his successors. It also examines the successor states (Ilkhanate, Chaghatayid Khanate, the Jochid Ulus (Golden Horde), and the Yuan Empire) from the dissolution of the empire in 1260 to the end of each state.

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Book SynopsisThe early decades of the Cold War presented seemingly boundless opportunity for the construction of "laboratories" of American society abroad: microcosms where experts could scale down problems of geopolitics to manageable size, and where locals could be systematically directed toward American visions of capitalist modernity. Among the most critical tools in the U.S.'s ideological arsenal was modernization theory, and Turkey emerged as a vital test case for the construction and validation of developmental thought and practice. With this book, Begüm Adalet reveals how Turkey became both the archetypal model of modernization and an active partner for its enactment. Through her analysis of the flow of aid money and expertise between the U.S. and Turkey, the planning of the American-funded Turkish highway network, and the development of the Turkish tourism industry, Adalet also highlights how "problems of knowledge" are fundamentally entwined with "problems of the political order": social scientific theories are produced in material spaces, through uncertain encounters between transnational actors and policy networks. In tracking the growth and transmission of modernization as a theory and in practice in Turkey, Hotels and Highways offers not only a specific history of a postwar development model that continues to influence our world, but a widely relevant consideration of how theoretical debates take shape in concrete situations.Trade Review"Hotels and Highways tells an absorbing story—from accounts of the modernization theorists' favorite research methods and the significant role Turkish intellectuals played in mutually shaping modernization theory itself, to the physical manifestations of their theories in infrastructures of modern capitalism in Turkey. A rich and fascinating account of how modernization theory came to Turkey." -- Laleh Khalili * University of London *"Hotels and Highways gives a clear understanding how U.S. hegemony was conceived and implemented in the aftermath of World War II and how thorough and decisive was its domination in Turkey and other similar places. Anybody interested in twentieth century experiences of modernity and U.S. power in the Middle East will need to read this book." -- Reşat Kasaba * University of Washington *"A brilliant history of the idea of modernization in the postwar period. By studying the projects and places in which concepts were shaped, Begüm Adalet opens a new perspective on twentieth-century political thought." -- Timothy Mitchell * Columbia University *"Adalet's deeply researched work regards modernization theory...as shaping the "central components" of US Cold War policy in the region. Wide-ranging chapters deal with modernization theory, sociological methods (e.g., survey research), and the role of highways and hotels in shaping modern Turkey. While the term "modernization" seems one more academic theory, Adalet sees it as a tool in the US political tool kit. On multiple levels, this is an important study of how the link of "theory" to "practice" serves key political interests. Must reading across several disciplines." -- H. Steck * Choice *"At first sight,Hotels and Highwaysappears to be a work of architectural history, urban studies, and infrastructural geography. But it goes beyond strict disciplinary fields, presenting important insights from the perspective of political science...[W]hat makesHotels and Highwaysan outstanding work is its critical take on the topic and its focus on knowledge production through the perspective of science and technology studies."––Husik Ghulyan, H-Socialisms"Hotels and Highways is a leap in scholarship on Turkey, with its sound exploration of American imperialism's modernization endeavors in Turkey during the Cold War. In addition to this, Adalet's book is also an exciting call for new study areas in order to understand the second half of the twentieth century in Turkey, and the Middle East."––Ilker Hepkaner, EuropeNow"By scrupulously recognizing the agency of multiple actors and reinstating perspectives that were deliberately erased or omitted from the record, Adalet demonstrates how intersections of theory with conditions on the ground produced myriad consequences that were often unpredictable and, at times, undesirable....[She] writes with lucidity and an economy of language that conveys much subtlety in few words, making this an eminently accessible book for a broad range of audiences." -- Zeynep Kezer * Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review *"[Hotels and Highways] is an empirically rich discussion of the negotiations and translations involved when concepts, ideas and theories travel and/or are translated into different contexts." -- Zeynep Gülşah Çapan * E-International Relations *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThis chapter outlines how American scholars, experts, and policy makers treated Turkey as a model and laboratory of modernization theory during the early phases of the Cold War. It introduces the social scientific and infrastructural measures that contributed to the production and enactment of modernization in the postwar Turkish landscape. These measures included large-scale survey research, the extension of a highway network, and the jump-starting of the tourism industry with Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan funds. The chapter discusses the unintended consequences of developmental thought and practice, such as the resistance of recipient subjects and anxieties and hesitations on the part of practitioners. It situates the book in the literature on global histories of development and concludes with a commentary on the archives and methodology employed in the project. It also provides a chapter outline. 1Beastly Politics: Dankwart Rustow and the Turkish Model of Modernization chapter abstractThis chapter traces the emergence of modernization theory and its Turkish archetype by drawing on the published work and private papers of political scientist Dankwart Rustow. Rustow was a seminal but hesitant participant in academic and policy circles during the Cold War. The chapter proceeds by analyzing Rustow's engagements with the Committee on Comparative Politics of the Social Science Research Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the political science faculty at Ankara University. His travels between these institutions underscore the transnational linkages of American social science and policy making as well as the anxieties of those who benefited from the circuits of funding that joined academic centers, government agencies, and private foundations. 2Questions of Modernization: Empathy and Survey Research chapter abstractThis chapter examines survey research as an experiment that occasioned the enactment of modernization theory, with a focus on the work of sociologist Daniel Lerner, and of other research that was funded by organizations like the Voice of America, the US Agency for International Development, and the Turkish State Planning Organization. These studies, which were conducted to measure and record the attitudes of peasants, students, and administrators in Turkey in the postwar period, were also efforts to create modern subjects; the interview setting in fact was designed to produce the forms of subjectivity and interpersonal relations articulated and idealized by modernization theory. Drawing on responses from the original questionnaires as well as from interviewers' unpublished commentaries, the chapter also shows how the dissemination of survey methodology and attendant theories of modernization were derailed by skeptical respondents and disorderly interviewer behavior. 3Material Encounters: Experts, Reports, and Machines chapter abstractThis chapter examines the American-funded and -planned Turkish highway network in the immediate aftermath of World War II by focusing on the interactions between the US Bureau of Public Roads, the Turkish Directorate of Highways, and the Economic Cooperation Administration. It shows how the arrival of American aid, experts, and machinery was expected to instigate modernization in administrative and mechanical terms by acquainting the new highway organization and its civil engineers with rational methods of record keeping, time management, and machine maintenance. The location of highways, the circulation of reports, and the labeling of roadbuilding equipment were material sites where the agencies competed over the management of the Turkish economy and staked out their claims to authority and visibility. The chapter concludes by drawing attention to the personal and intimate dimensions of expertise that are otherwise often occluded by its technical and political aspects. 4"It's Not Yours If You Can't Get There": Modern Roads, Mobile Subjects chapter abstractThis chapter situates the US-funded highway program in a longer history of mobility management in Turkey, including policies of land reform and forced migration and settlement. Turkish and American social scientists, experts, and officials construed the provision of roads to the countryside as a civilizational necessity, one that would cultivate the ability for individual mobility. Developers believed that roads would grant access to remote areas populated by Kurdish minorities and that highways would shrink distances between different parts of the country, allowing its subjects to participate in a shared national space and economy. Although the experts and policy makers aimed to produce the conditions and subjects of individual economic and political rights, their projects in fact ended up enabling new critiques of inequality. 5The Innkeepers of Peace: Hospitality and the Istanbul Hilton chapter abstractThis chapter chronicles the efforts to develop a tourism industry in Turkey in the aftermath of World War II, with a focus on the design and construction of the Istanbul Hilton Hotel, which was financed by the Turkish Pension Funds and the Marshall Plan. The actors involved in the creation of the hotel alternately framed it as a bulwark against the threatening march of Communism and the signifier of a hospitable mindset, an attitude considered to be a necessary corollary to modernization. The chapter examines episodes that undermined the hotel's status as a showcase for American modernism, focusing on how local architects and politicians protested the hotel's role in the proliferation of the corporate International style, the incursion of foreign capital, and the expropriation of a public park. Conclusion chapter abstractThis chapter traces the continuing effects of modernization theory in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent projects for its reconstruction, which once again brought together social scientists and experts who staged ideological and political battles to shape the attitudes and beliefs of their targets. It also discusses the resurgence of the Turkish model of modernization and democracy in the context of the Arab uprisings, highlighting the roots of this failed trope in the projects of social scientists, policy makers, and experts of the early Cold War period.

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Book SynopsisSoqotra, the largest island of Yemen's Soqotra Archipelago, is one of the most uniquely diverse places in the world. A UNESCO natural World Heritage Site, the island is home not only to birds, reptiles, and plants found nowhere else on earth, but also to a rich cultural history and the endangered Soqotri language. Within the span of a decade, this Indian Ocean archipelago went from being among the most marginalized regions of Yemen to promoted for its outstanding global value. Islands of Heritage shares Soqotrans' stories to offer the first exploration of environmental conservation, heritage production, and development in an Arab state. Examining the multiple notions of heritage in play for twenty-first-century Soqotra, Nathalie Peutz narrates how everyday Soqotrans came to assemble, defend, and mobilize their cultural and linguistic heritage. These efforts, which diverged from outsiders' focus on the island's natural heritage, ultimately added to Soqotrans' calls for political and cultural change during the Yemeni Revolution. Islands of Heritage shows that far from being merely a conservative endeavor, the protection of heritage can have profoundly transformative, even revolutionary effects. Grassroots claims to heritage can be a potent form of political engagement with the most imminent concerns of the present: human rights, globalization, democracy, and sustainability.Trade Review"Islands of Heritage is at once a dazzling ethnography of everyday life and a well-researched history that is as extraordinary as its subject, the island of Soqotra in the Arabian Sea. It is truly a pleasure to read." -- Steven C. Caton * Harvard University *"Nathalie Peutz has written a beautiful account of the unsettling effects of and dynamics between international conservation efforts, national politics, and Soqotran notions of heritage, history, and place. Islands of Heritage is one of the richest ethnographies of the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean region that I have read in years." -- Mandana Limbert, Queens College and the Graduate Center * CUNY *"This book, the result of ten years of research and follow up, explores the sociopolitical transformation of Soqotra, the main island of Yemen's Soqotra Archipelago. Peutz offers a detailed ethnographic presentation of the complicated and unsettled recent history of the island within its larger regional and global context...Recommended." -- A. Rassam * CHOICE *"Upon closing Islands of Heritage one can only be impressed by such a piece of interdisciplinary scholarship. Nathalie Peutz brilliantly manages to bring to life and interpret the local dynamics she observed in Soqotra, updating their significance and making them meaningful beyond the archipelago of Soqotra, and that of anthropologists." -- Laurent Bonnefoy * Arabian Humanities *"Peutz's book is required reading for anthropologists, historians, political scientists, and those investigating the impact of tourism, while being readable and compelling for nonspecialists... It is a delight to read and one of the strongest anthropological texts on heritage published in recent years." -- Victoria Hightower * Arab Studies Journal *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractBeginning with an anecdote of a Soqotran teacher convening a political protest (during the Yemeni Revolution) and a poetry contest on the same day, the Introduction asks how heritage (a nominally conservative endeavor) and revolution (a nominally transformative endeavor) could be connected. It lays out the importance of studying heritage. It reviews the history and politicization of heritage in the Arab world. And it provides a geographic and historical overview of Yemen's Soqotra Archipelago, a UNESCO-inscribed natural World Heritage Site with a long genealogy of being deemed exceptional and "protected." It then describes the author's fieldwork and methodology. It concludes by arguing that, despite important arguments for working to transcend the nature-culture divide (in heritage making, as in other things), certain "islands" (boundaries) may be productive. 1Hospitality in Unsettling Times chapter abstractThis chapter introduces readers to a transhumant pastoralist community living in a newly established protected area (Homhil). It shows how the unprecedented opening of Soqotra gave rise to a crisis of hospitality, a long-held cultural value. Soqotrans' discourse of hospitality (karam) in crisis reveals significant mutations in the island's political economy and social structures, precipitated by its 1990 absorption into the unified Yemeni state and its transformation from a militarized enclave to a national protected area. Karam (and the ostensible lack of it) has become the idiom through which the islanders have been processing these changes. In light of current debates in the West about the dangers of "hosting" (im)migrants, this chapter points out that, in Soqotra, the crisis was exacerbated not nearly as much by Soqotrans' fears of being too hospitable as by their concern that they were no longer being hospitable enough. 2Hungering for the State chapter abstractDue to the archipelago's annual isolation during the southwest monsoon, in addition to its arid climate, Soqotrans are no strangers to food insecurity or famine. Accordingly, their interactions with each entering state—the Sultanate, the British Protectorate, South Yemen, and the Saleh regime—have been mediated by food. Yet, as this historical chapter demonstrates, it was not only the state's administration of food that governed Soqotrans' interactions with each regime. Soqotrans have a long history of feeding—and simultaneously "hungering" for—the state in return. Drawing on oral histories, archives, and interviews, this chapter surveys Soqotra's political history as one governed through food, famine, and fear. It argues that Soqotrans may have experienced physical hunger in the past, but in the 2000s they hungered for a state that would provide real and lasting sustenance. 3When the Environment Arrived chapter abstractThis chapter discusses the implementation of four major integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) between 1996 and 2013, which resulted in the archipelago's inscription as a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site. It begins by reviewing how these projects were preceded by the decades-long arrivals of foreign researchers and the continued dissemination of their ideas about Soqotra's environmental exceptionality. It then discusses the establishment of environmental legislation in unified Yemen (post-1990) and details the various ICDP projects that were implemented on Soqotra during this period. It ends by describing two "environmental awareness" meetings in the protected area (Homhil). Drawing on project documents and literature, observation of rural outreach and environmental awareness programs, and daily participation within a the protected-area community, this chapter reveals why "the Environment," as project and concept, failed to mobilize these pastoral communities so dependent on their natural surroundings. 4Arrested Development chapter abstractThis chapter presents an ethnographic narrative of the material, social, and political effects of several conservation-and-development initiatives in a pilot protected area inhabited by pastoralists (Bedouin). It focuses on the implementation of three development projects by the Socotra Conservation and Development Programme: a new tourist campground, a community home garden, and piped water. Although these projects were meant to improve the pastoralists' material well-being, they wound up pitting leaders, tribes, villages, and men and women within the community against one another. Through a close "mapping" of these tensions, this chapter underscores why, in these pastoralists' view, "the Environment" had little traction—despite its strong influence in the island. As a result, some Soqotrans sought to preserve their livelihoods by shifting their focus to cultural heritage instead. 5Reorienting Heritage chapter abstractThis chapter focuses on the influence of the Soqotran diaspora in island politics in the decade preceding the 2011 revolution. Beginning with an overview of the three major phases of twentieth-century emigration from Soqotra to the Arab Gulf, it illustrates how pervasive these Soqotra-Gulf connections were and are. It explores the ways in which emigrants politicized Soqotran identity, culture, heritage, and history through their histories, their poetry, and the island's first museum. And it examines the ways in which the diaspora sought to denature and reorient Soqotran heritage by shifting the focus from nature to culture, from Soqotran autochthony to Arab descent, from Indian Ocean hybridity to genealogical purity, and from the Yemeni nation to the transnational Gulf. These heterogeneous, kaleidoscopic, and entangled processes of heritage making reveal a deep-seated anguish over past political events and an ongoing struggle to reorient Soqotra's future. 6Heritage in the Time of Revolution chapter abstractThis chapter discusses how the islanders mobilized cultural heritage in the years bracketing the Yemeni Revolution, when several positioned themselves as "para-experts" alongside foreigners working for the environmental projects. It explores three individuals' growing interest in heritage as a political and profitable resource. It examines debates over the contours of this heritage. And it traces the development of an islandwide poetry competition, its overt politicization in the wake of the Arab uprisings, and the eventual recognition of the Soqotri language in the draft constitution for the new Yemen. It argues that Soqotrans' preoccupation with their cultural heritage during this period bears a strong resemblance to nineteenth-century European nationalists' "cultivation of culture." Thus, it was not a provincial, insular, or even conservative concern. Rather, it reflects a distinctly twenty-first-century realization that vernacular languages and endemic species are on the verge of extinction. Conclusion chapter abstractThe Conclusion provides an overview of the current humanitarian crisis in Yemen and Soqotra's renewed isolation since Yemen's civil war began in 2015. It underscores what a small group of Soqotran laymen (para-experts) were able to achieve through their mobilization of cultural heritage during a time of crisis, before the war. It then briefly discusses the two most recent, and potentially competing, visions for the archipelago: UAE-funded development and a new, Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded conservation-and-development project. It offers suggestions for how ethnic and linguistic minorities like Soqotrans can be supported in their cultural work. And it concludes with some lessons learned from the author's interlocutors.

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Book SynopsisA National Endowment for Democracy Notable Book of 2022 Protest has been a key method of political claim-making in Jordan from the late Ottoman period to the present day. More than moments of rupture within normal-time politics, protests have been central to challenging state power, as well as reproducing it—and the spatial dynamics of protests play a central role in the construction of both state and society. With this book, Jillian Schwedler considers how space and geography influence protests and repression, and, in challenging conventional narratives of Hashemite state-making, offers the first in-depth study of rebellion in Jordan. Based on twenty-five years of field research, Protesting Jordan examines protests as they are situated in the built environment, bringing together considerations of networks, spatial imaginaries, space and place-making, and political geographies at local, national, regional, and global scales. Schwedler considers the impact of time and temporality in the lifecycles of individual movements. Through a mixed interpretive methodology, this book illuminates the geographies of power and dissent and the spatial practices of protest and repression, highlighting the political stakes of competing narratives about Jordan's past, present, and future.Trade Review"Protesting Jordan offers readers of Arab politics and contentious politics alike a narrative of how protest shapes how states reproduce their power and, in turn, reshape protest. Jillian Schwedler blends a deep immersion in the Middle East with a firm grasp of contentious politics theory in this thought-provoking book."—Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University"Superbly researched, Protesting Jordan provides a fascinating and groundbreaking alternative history of Jordan. Jillian Schwedler skillfully unpacks and challenges traditional accounts of state-making in Jordan as a top-down process. An essential read for those seeking to better understand Jordan's history and how protests maintain state power."—Janine Clark, University of Toronto"Schwedler has crafted an extraordinarily rich portrait of the creation of Jordan and the fortunes of the Hashemite monarchy through the lens of those who contested its policies, its institutions, and sometimes even its very existence. In doing so, she demonstrates that protest has been a routine part of politics in Jordan since before the modern state was established."—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs"It's not just the best book I've read about Jordan... but also one of the very best political science books I've read this year... Protesting Jordan should be a must read for scholars of the Middle East and of comparative politics more broadly, as well as for analysts, journalists and policymakers trying to understand the country's politics."—Marc Lynch, Abu Aardvark"[Protesting Jordan] gives a detailed and rich account of Jordan's social and political history, showing how repertoires of protest and repression created, transformed, and continue to afect state and society in Jordan. But the book is also written in a way that makes it essential reading for any scholar interested in protests, repression, and state development – not just in Jordan, but indeed anywhere else."—Curtis R. Ryan, APSA MENA Newsletter"Protesting Jordan is an important contribution to the study of protest. It is a cry and demand not only for scholars to carry on the critical work of studying popular struggle to illuminate its social significance but to forge novel approaches to understand the state, its political economy and urban form."—Deen Sharp, APSA MENA Newsletter"Schwedler's work pushes us to think about the effects of social movements above and beyond narrow conceptions of success or failure; the book traces and convincingly demonstrates the myriad ways that regimes learn from protest activity and deploy repressive state power through the construction (or lack thereof) of cities and communities."—Summer Forester, APSA MENA Newsletter"Protesting Jordan is a wonderful read and an ambitious model for writing contentious politics into political history. ... Schwedler is one of our field's great ethnographic writers, and her keen eye for meaningful details and almost-imperceptible shifts in power relations rendered this routine set of protests into powerful grounds for theorizing about the everyday work of contention."—Chantal Berman, APSA MENA Newsletter"Schwedler's approach is consciously interpretive and inductive....[A]nyone interested in interested in the relationship between popular opposition and state formation in Jordan will find a wealth of new empirical material and fresh analysis here."—Laurie A. Brand, Middle East Journal"Schwedler's scholarship shows how and why in-depth local knowledges are important: certainly to better understand local contexts, but also in order to reflect on 'generalist' scholarship and 'broader' theoretical debates."—Andrea Teti, Mediterranean Politics"Throughout the work, Schwedler challenges readers to rethink the politics of modern protests by interrogating their meaning under Jordan's authoritarian power structure. Protests are not static attacks on normality; they are frequent and normal expressions of commonplace struggles. They enable Jordanians to assert claims and challenge their regime's rules, but they also elicit autocratic responses. Protests represent frontiers where state power is exerted and negotiated and where the state itself becomes seen."—Sean L. Yom, Middle East Research and Information ProjectTable of Contents1. The Shifting Political Stakes of Protest 2. Transforming Transjordan 3. Becoming Amman: From Periphery to Center 4. Jordanization, the Neoliberal State, and the Retreat and Return of Protest 5. An Ethnography of Place and the Politics of Routine Protests 6. Jordan in the Time of the Arab Uprisings 7. The Techniques and Evolving Spatial Dynamics of Protest and Repression 8. Protest and Order in Militarized Spaces 9. Protesting Global Aspirations

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Book SynopsisDrawn from greater Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and Egypt, the sources in this anthology -- many of which are translated into English for the first time here--provide eyewitness and contemporary historical accounts of what unfolded in the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. In providing representative examples of the many disparate types of Muslim sources, this volume opens a window onto life in the Islamic Near East during the Crusader period and the interactions between Franks and Muslims in the broader context of Islamic history. Ideally suited for use in undergraduate courses on the Crusades or the pre-modern Islamic Near East, this anthology will also appeal to any readers seeking a better understanding of the Islamic response to the Crusades and the general history of the Near East in this period.Trade Review"Historians and instructors alike will enthusiastically greet this book, which presents in a student-friendly manner Islamic sources relating to the crusades that are not otherwise available to persons who lack a working knowledge of Arabic and its rich literary treasury." Alfred J. Andrea, Emeritus Professor of History, The University of Vermont

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mr. Rabinovich, the distinguished Israeli scholar and diplomat . . . easily establishes that the prime minister was a man of great complexity. . . . Even the warm esteem in which he holds Rabin does not prevent Mr. Rabinovich—a scholar with an abiding commitment to historical accuracy—from presenting a portrait of his friend in full."—Elliott Abrams, Wall Street Journal"Rabinovich’s language—lean, precise, devoid of embellishment—reminds me of the way Rabin himself used to talk: dugri, as we say in Hebrew, straightforward, to the point. . . . In an era when language is being abused for political purposes and agendas, Rabinovich’s book is a breath of fresh air."—Uri Dromi, Times Literary SupplementWinner of the Washington Institute Book Prize Gold Medal for 2017“Yitzhak Rabin was a soldier and a statesman who fought for the security of Israel and for a concept of peace for all nations. Itamar Rabinovich has written a thoughtful and extraordinarily comprehensive account of a significant leader.”—Henry A. Kissinger"Itamar Rabinovich has written an insightful book on Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s charismatic warrior-statesman who valiantly dedicated himself to the cause of peace in the Middle East. As the head of Rabin’s team during Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations and as Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Rabinovich was at Rabin’s side during key moments in his country’s history. I recommend his book to all those interested in peace between Arabs and Israelis."—James A. Baker, III"This highly informative and tightly-packed biography is undergirded by a deep personal knowledge of Rabin’s strengths and flaws as a leader and a sure command of Israel’s military and diplomatic history."—Derek Penslar, Harvard University and the University of Toronto

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Book SynopsisThis volume examines the major cultural, religious, political, and urban changes that took place in the Iranian world of Inner and Central Asia in the transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic periods.One of the major civilizations of the first millennium was that of the Iranian linguistic and cultural world, which stretched from today's Iraq to what is now the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. No other region of the world underwent such radical transformation, which fundamentally altered the course of world history, as this area did during the centuries of transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic period. This transformation included the religious victory of Islam over Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and the other religions of the area; the military and political wresting of Inner Asia from the Chinese to the Islamic sphere of primary cultural influence; and the shifting of Central Asia from a culturally and demographically Iranian civilization to a TurTrade Review“The History and Culture of Iran and Central Asia makes substantial new contributions to our understanding of a transitionary period.” —Jamsheed K. Choksy, author of Conflict and Cooperation"The contributions to this volume are uniformly of high quality, representing commendable international collaboration between Asian, European, and American scholars based in six different countries. Anybody pursuing the history of Central Asia in the first millennium CE will find material of interest in this volume."—Journal of the American Oriental Society * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. D.G. Tor, Introduction: The Enduring Significance of the Iranian World in the First Millennium CE: Transformation and Continuity I. Iranian Central Asia in Late Antiquity 2. Frantz Grenet, “Types of town planning in ancient Iranian cities: new considerations” 3. Nicholas Sims-Williams, “The proto-Sogdian inscriptions of Kultobe: New fragments and new reconstructions” 4. Etsuko Kageyama, "Xian Temples of the Sogdian Colonies in China" 5. Yutaka Yoshida, “Three scenarios for the historical background of the Xi’an Sino-Pahlavi inscription — Post Sasanian Zoroastrian traders?” II. From the Pre-Islamic to the Islamic 6. Michael Shenkar, “The Arab Conquest and the Collapse of the Sogdian Civilization” 7. Minoru Inaba, “Wukong’s itinerary towards India: Central Asia in the mid-eighth century” 8. Rocco Rante, “Evolution of the habitat in Paykend” 9. Arezou Azad, “Notes on Islamisation Narratives in the Faḍāʾil-i Balkh” III. The Transformation of the Pre-Islamic Past 10. Sören Stark, “The New Garden of the Amir: Samanid Land-Development at the Borders of the Bukhara Oasis” 11. Louise Marlow “Al-Thaʿālibī’s Iranian Past: Assimilation and Aesthetics” 12. Gabrielle van den Berg, “Representations of the Pre-Islamic Past in Early Persian Court Poetry” 13. Dilnoza Duturaeva “From Turkistan to Tibet: The Qarakhanids and the Tsongkha Tribal Confederation”

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A} trail-blazing work that will inspire more comparative studies, whether or not between Egypt and China, for the author has demonstrated the exciting result and the rich potential of comparative history." * Journal of Chinese History *"[T]hought-provoking and challenging, and it certainly will encourage further research. Indeed, Barbieri-Low’s work is an important step in Sino-Egyptian studies." * American Journal of Archaeology *"This is a book of great integrity. Solidly grounded in primary sources and informed by voluminous secondary scholarship in all relevant European languages, it is innovative in its approach, strong on analysis, and very engagingly written: a true masterpiece. It must be read by anyone interested in either China or Egypt or in comparative ancient historiography." * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Far too much history is written with an ideographic lens, looking at one state or people in isolation from others. It is only the nomothetic lens that allows us to discern difference and novelty. Barbieri-Low has risen to the challenge, producing a first-rate comparison of two great ancient states that hopefully will inspire similar approaches." * Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Chronology of China Chronology of Egypt Introduction 1. The Landscapes of the Nile and Yellow River 2. Empire and Diplomacy 3. Akhenaten, Wang Mang, and the Limits of Reform 4. Legal Principles and the Administration of Justice 5. Scribal Culture in Life and Death 6. Providing a Model Afterlife (coauthored with Marissa A. Stevens) 7. Gaming the Way to Paradise Epilogue Glossary of Chinese Names and Terms Glossary of Egyptian Names and Terms Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisHackett's Passages: Key Moments in History series titles include original-source documents in accessible editions, intended for the student-user or general audience. This edition, The Greco-Persian Wars, taps our knowledge of the Persian Empire and its interactions with the Greek world. The sources examined were created in different times and places, for different purposes, and with different intended audiences. Using these sources effectively requires recognizing their distinct characteristics. A general introduction about the Greco-Persian wars is included to provide historical background and an overview of the information contained in the original-source documents. Also included are a glossary of terms, a chronology, insightful headnotes to each document, and an index.Trade Review"Erik Jensen’s The Greco-Persian Wars offers a refreshing introduction to a critical (but often misunderstood) historical event in world history. Rejecting dated models of East-West confrontation, this book usefully frames the Persian invasions of Greece in terms of imperial expansion and frontier development, and also considers the long-term evolution of Greco-Persian relations after 480–479 BC. The source selections draw on both Achaemenid documents as well as Greek narratives to contextualize the conflict." —John Hyland, Christopher Newport University"I like Jensen's book very much. This 'key moment' in world history has traditionally been read almost exclusively through Greek eyes, and having these translations of the Persian sources provides the opportunity and impetus for a fresh interpretation of this classic encounter. . . . The Introduction provides an excellent background to the Persian sources and sheds invaluable light on the people and society that produced them." —Robert Garland, Colgate University

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Book SynopsisWhat if our understanding of Israel/Palestine has been wrong all along?Trade Review'It is fashionable to say that the two-state solution to Israel-Palestine is dead. Jeff Halper thinks it was never born. In this brave, thought-provoking and highly original book, he presents both a searching critique of Zionist settler colonialism and a compelling case for one democratic state with equal rights for all its citizens' -- Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford and author of 'The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World' (Penguin, 2014)'Strikes at the core of the political revolution boiling under the surface in Israel/Palestine. Halper serves a generous helping of hope for anyone who cares about the future of this land' -- Shir Hever, author of 'The Political Economy of Israel's Occupation' (Pluto Press, 2010)'An important chapter in the development of a conversation that will form the foundation of a just regime for the inhabitants of the country and the refugees' -- Eitan Bronstein Aparicio, founder and former director of the NGO Zochrot'Jeff Halper harnesses his extremely sharp and original mind alongside his prophetic voice to change the international debate. A gem for both the novice as well as the expert, his book offers a brilliant analysis of Israel's colonial project and outlines what a decolonial horizon might look like' -- Neve Gordon, author of 'Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire' (University of California Press, 2020)'This is the first serious contribution in drawing a path to the project of liberating Palestine' -- Awad Abdelfattah, Former Secretary General of the Balad/Tajamu Party and Coordinator of the One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC)'Helps us to see light at the end of the tunnel. At a time when Israel is seeking to legalise its apartheid regime and colonisation of occupied Palestine, it is vital to imagine and discuss alternative futures' -- Haidar Eid is Associate Professor of Postcolonial and Postmodern Literature at Gaza al-Aqsa University'A powerful and convincing case - a must read for anyone looking for fresh ideas of how to end the long and bloody conflict in Palestine' -- Ilan Pappe, Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter'With informed lucidity, political sophistication and moral integrity Halper depicts the path from here to there. What is most unexpected, given present realities, is that this manages to be a book of realistic hope, the finest work of advocacy scholarship I have ever read' -- Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, and author of 'Palestine's Horizon' (Pluto, 2017)'This is a serious work that deserves to be widely read. Halper is among the few who not only understands that we are at a critical historical juncture, but is also able to analyze its multiple dimensions and offer a transformative plan of action' -- Mouin Rabbani, Co-Editor of 'Jadaliyya''Amid a raft of failed policy choices, Halper's book is a cathartic practical vision of one possible way out of the protracted Israel-Palestine conflict' -- Sophia Akram, The New Arab'Halper's book is informative, offering an in-depth perspective that is lacking and addresses the concept of memory within the political framework of decolonisation' -- Middle East Monitor'An extremely convincing and persuasive argument that the only conceivable future for justice and peace necessitates a process of decolonization and equal rights for all' -- Electronic Intifada'He doesn’t pretend that creating one democratic state will be easy but he contends that it is the only way for Palestinians and Israelis to gain long-term security and a viable way of life' -- Jordan TimesAn essential and empowering text for anyone interested in the history and future of Israel-Palestine' -- Morning Star'Thoughtful' -- Labour Hub'[Halper] reframes Israel as a settler-colonial state necessitating a clear oppositional political strategy with an end-game of actively decolonizing the whole political structure' -- Counterpunch'A return to an explicitly anti-colonial Palestinian liberation politics' -- ROAR‘Timely’ -- ‘Counterfire’‘Powerful’ -- ‘Against the Current’Table of ContentsForeword by Nadia Naser-Najjab Acknowledgements Introduction: The Colonist Who Refuses, the Comrade in Joint Struggle PART I ZIONISM AS SETTLER COLONIAL PROJECT 1. Analysis Matters: Beginning with Settler Colonialism Acknowledgements 2. Zionism: A Settler Colonial Project PART II THREE CYCLES OF ZIONIST COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 3. Settler “Invasion” and Foundational Violence: The Pre-State Cycle (1880s–1948) 4. The Israeli State Cycle (1948–67) 5. The Occupation Cycle (1967–Present): Completing the Settler Colonial Project PART III DECOLONIZING ZIONISM, LIBERATING PALESTINE 6. Decolonization: Dismantling the Dominance Management Regime 7. Constructing a Bridging Vision and Set of Acknowledgements 8. A Plan of Decolonization 9. Towards Post-coloniality 10. Addressing the Fears and Concerns of a Single Democratic State A Last Word: Being Political Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA detailed study of the Great Mongol Shahnama, considered to be the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts​The Great Mongol Shahnama is widely considered to be the definitive version of Firdausi’s epic poem, and the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts. The paintings from this manuscript are held in private collections and institutions around the world, and have only been seen together in a single volume once since they were originally dispersed. This monograph reunites the paintings and reproduces them as 67 full-page, high quality color plates, alongside an analysis by leading scholar of Islamic art, Robert Hillenbrand. With newly commissioned photographs and insights into technical aspects of the paintings, The Great Mongol Shahnama is a comprehensive resource for those interested in Persian art and manuscripts. Distributed for Hali Publications Ltd. and the Freer Sackler, Smithsonian. Co-published by Hali Publications Ltd. and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, and supported by Qatar Museums. Exhibition Schedule:Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC (December 2020–June 2021)

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Book SynopsisPartners of the Empire offers a radical rethinking of the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Over this unstable period, the Ottoman Empire faced political crises, institutional shakeups, and popular insurrections. It responded through various reform options and settlements. New institutional configurations emerged; constitutional texts were codified—and annulled. The empire became a political theater where different actors struggled, collaborated, and competed on conflicting agendas and opposing interests. This book takes a holistic look at the era, interested not simply in central reforms or in regional developments, but in their interactions. Drawing on original archival sources, Ali Yaycioglu uncovers the patterns of political action—the making and unmaking of coalitions, forms of building and losing power, and expressions of public opinion. Countering common assumptions, he shows that the Ottoman transformation in the Age of Revolutions was not a linear transition from the old order to the new, from decentralized state to centralized, from Eastern to Western institutions, or from pre-modern to modern. Rather, it was a condensed period of transformation that counted many crossing paths, as well as dead-ends, all of which offered a rich repertoire of governing possibilities to be followed, reinterpreted, or ultimately forgotten. Trade Review"Ali Yaycioglu's magnificent study provides us with a deeply researched portrait of the relationship between the Ottoman provinces and the imperial capital in the tumultuous years of the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth century when the very future of the Empire was uncertain. Moving beyond generic references to 'the age of the ayan,' Yaycioglu draws compelling portraits of the individuals, and their provincial milieux, who fought both with and against Istanbul to create the Empire anew." -- Molly Greene * Princeton University *"Ali Yaycioglu skillfully weaves a complex narrative of the 18th-century Ottoman political landscape, illuminating the struggles as well as the coalitions between various social groups. His compelling account should be required reading not only for those interested in the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans, and the Middle East, but in global history as well." -- Şevket Pamuk, Boğaziçi University * Istanbul *"This book not only fills the arguably single most important gap in early modern Middle Eastern history by providing a cohesive narrative for the eighteenth century in the Ottoman Empire, but it also teaches a lesson about how to write world history by centering the focus of analysis outside the West. Ali Yaycioglu's work offers the most conclusive corrective to the still often-heard argument that representative institutions are a foreign import to the Middle East." -- Baki Tezcan, University of California * Davis *"In its use of archival sources and its conceptual framework, Partners of the Empire embodies superb scholarship. It speaks to fundamental questions—popular sovereignty and the commensurability of European political developments. The emphasis on the Ottoman figure—the provincial ayan—and his imagined "partnership" in the empire is a significant contribution to our knowledge. At last, we now have a detailed exploration of their world." -- Adam Mestyan * Hungarian Historical Review *"Partners of the Empire is a superb piece of scholarship and its author, Ali Yaycıolu, makes compelling arguments. Not only does he incorporate large amounts of secondary-source literature—including Turkish- language scholarship that is sometimes overlooked by Ottoman historians in the Anglophone world—but also seamlessly integrates his own (massive amount of) primary-source research into the rather vast and disparate literature that deals with the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries." -- Harun Kk * BUSTAN: The Middle East Book Review *"[A]s Yaycioglu has shown, the Ottoman Empire grappled with the very same problems that its European counterparts did and attempted to reform itself accordingly. And like those in the empires of those counterparts, some reforms worked and others did not. If, then, we are to understand the Age of Revolutions as a global phenomenon, which it most certainly was, Yaycioglu's study is an important intervention that compels us to reconsider revolution and reform in the Ottoman Empire as evidence that its crises of empire occurred in lockstep with similar crises that arose contemporaneously in the empires of its rivals and allies." -- Robert John Clines * H-War *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction: chapter abstractThe introduction of the book engages in a discussion on the growing historiography of the global age of revolutions and recent debates about the transformation of the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It argues that the global context helps us to understand the transformation of the Ottoman Empire in a more comparative and connected fashion and at the same time the Ottoman experience helps us to see the global context in a more synchronic and less linear way. 1Empire: Order, Crisis, and Reform, 1700-1806 chapter abstractThis chapter offers a brief sketch of the Ottoman world in the eighteenth century and examines the New Order, a set of reform agendas proposed by the Ottoman imperial elite to bring military and fiscal crisis to an end. Some of these reform agendas threatened segments of society, particularly those who endorsed the political claims of the Janissaries. It argues that neither the New Order nor the opposition were monolithic groups, but large coalitions with branches in the provinces, diverse positions, and various interests. 2The Notables: Governance, Power, and Wealth chapter abstractThis chapter discusses the nature of the relationship between the provincial elite and the empire in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries. It argues that throughout the eighteenth century provincial notables came to act as fiscal, administrative, and military entrepreneurs who engaged in formal or informal contractual relations with the empire. These contractual relations were based on offers, acceptances, rejections, and counteroffers in a volatile arena, without the formal security of contract, status, property, and life. The process gradually produced a new order of notables: the empire was run by partnerships between central and provincial elites. Some provincial notables joined the coalition of the New Order, while others acted with the opposition 3Communities: Collective Action, Leadership, and Politics chapter abstractChapter Three analyzes the ways in which provincial communities responded to changes in the eighteenth century. It argues that while the central administration was disconnected from the provinces and outsourced authority to provincial notables, provincial communities developed bottom-up mechanisms to manage fiscal and administrative matters under the supervision of elected or communally nominated notables. Instead of reversing this participatory and electoral process and launching a centralizing policy, the central administration institutionalized bottom-up collective actions. In the new provincial order, collective action became a source of legitimacy. Provincial communities were becoming political actors—sometimes with and sometimes at expense of notables—in governance. 4Crisis: Riots, Conspiracies, and Revolutions, 1806-1808 chapter abstractThis chapter shifts to a narrative history of the events that took place between August 1806 and November 1808. Stories from previous chapters converge in Chapter Four, highlighting popular opposition to the New Order led by the Janissaries, shifting coalitions between provincial and imperial elites, growing politicization of the communities, and the trans-imperial story of the Napoleonic wars and wartime diplomacy. A series of contingencies, shifting alliances, and dead-ends led to the eventual collapse of The New Order due to a Janissary led popular revolt in 1807, after which government was restored. 5Settlement: The Deed of Alliance and the Empire of Trust (1808) chapter abstractThis chapter presents a textual analysis of the Deed of Alliance. Close reading of the text, combined with commentary, is followed by a discussion of the document's reception in modern history and its place among other constitutional texts from the Age of Revolutions. A political coalition formed between the elites of the New Order and a group of provincial notables for a coup d'état to restore the New Order. This coalition manifested itself in the Deed of Alliance, which envisioned a new imperial order based on partnership, security, stability (instead of volatility), and trust among elites. The Deed was a constitutional synthesis of the New Order and order of notables. Conclusion: chapter abstractThe conclusion provides a perspective on the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century transformation of the Ottoman order. It argues that the structural developments that appeared in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, namely fiscal-military and administrative reform, the development of negotiational relations between the central government and the provincial notables, and the increasing participation of the communities in governance shaped the transformation in modern times until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of modern nation-states in the Balkans and the Middle East.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award, College Art Association""One of the most intriguing works of Ottoman art is an album of calligraphy, paintings and drawings made for Sultan Ahmed by one of his courtiers. As this study shows, it tells us much about patronage, collecting and the interplay of Ottoman and Persian traditions in the 17th century." * Apollo Magazine *"The Album of the World Emperor is a remarkable contribution to the study of the arts of the book, collecting practices, and imperial self-fashioning in the Islamic world. . . . Fetvaci advances a deeply learned argument that places actual and abstract juxtapositions within Ottoman and Perso-Islamic bookmaking and reading/viewing traditions. It rightly presents its material as 'a local manifestation of the interconnected globe.' It promises to traverse some of the seemingly insurmountable boundaries between art historical fields focusing on Europe and the Islamic world. Fetvaci’s exemplary scholarship should therefore inspire Islamic art historians and early modernists interested in contacts and exchanges more broadly."---Sinem A. Casale, Art Bulletin

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