Middle Eastern history Books

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Book SynopsisThe cultures of Nubia built the earliest cities, states, and empires of inner Africa, but they remain relatively poorly known outside their modern descendants and the community researching them. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia brings together chapters by an international group of scholars on the history and archaeology of Nubia.Trade Review...this volume will be essential for all those intrigued by human history of this captivating region. It will also become a key text for students of ancient Egypt and Sudan for many years to come. * Anna Garnet, Ancient Egypt *The Handbook is indeed a treasure chest for those who seek to enrich their knowledge of the Nubian past. This is primarily thanks to the latest achievements in the field of archaeology, based on the continuing fieldwork in the same localities, such as Meroe and the Makuritan heartlands, for more than half a century. This fieldwork has amassed extensive data that have broadened the perspectives of Nubiology and has created schools of Nubian studies that have produced impressive results * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction (Geoff Emberling and Bruce Beyer Williams) 1. History of Archaeological Work in the Middle Nile Region (Salah M. Ahmed) 2. Past, Present, Future: The Archaeology of Nubia (Claudia Näser) 3. Geology of Nubia and Surrounding Regions (James A. Harrell) 4. Holocene Environments in Northeast Africa (Martin Williams) Nubia: A Deep History 5. Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers of Nubia (Miroslaw Masojc) 6. From Foraging to Food Producing: The Mesolithic and Neolithic of the Middle Nile Valley (Donatella Usai) 7. The A-Group and Fourth Millennium BCE Nubia (Maria Carmela Gatto) 8. The Pre-Kerma Culture and the Beginning of the Kerma Kingdom (Matthieu Honegger) 9. The C-Group People in Lower Nubia: Cattle Pastoralists on the Frontier between Egypt and Kush (Henriette Hafsaas) 10. Kush in the Wider World during the Kerma Period (Bruce Beyer Williams) 11. The Cities of Kerma and Pnubs-Dokki Gel (Charles Bonnet) 12. The Eastern Cemetery of Kerma (Charles Bonnet and Matthieu Honegger) 13. Pan-Grave and Medjay: At the Intersection of Archaeology and History (Kate Liszka and Aaron de Souza) 14. From Hunters to Herders: The Libyan Desert in Prehistoric Times (Friederike Jesse) 15. Egyptian Fortresses and the Colonization of Lower Nubia in the Middle Kingdom (Laurel Bestock) 16. Nubians in Egypt from the Early Dynastic Period to the New Kingdom (Georg K. Meurer) 17. Human Adaptation to Environmental Change in the Northern Dongola Reach (Derek A. Welsby) 18. Egyptian Conquest and Administration of Nubia (Dominique Valbelle) 19. The Amun Cult and its Development in Nubia (Luc Gabolde) 20. The Nubian Experience of Egyptian Domination during the New Kingdom (Stuart Tyson Smith) 21. History and the Kushite Royal Inscriptions (Jeremy Pope) 22. The Napatan Neo-Kushite State 1: The Intermediate Period and Second Empire (Bruce Beyer Williams) 23. The Napatan Neo-Kushite State 2: Eclipse and Revival in the Later Napatan Period; Conditions in the State (Bruce Beyer Williams) 24. Jebel Barkal: "Karnak" of Kush (Timothy Kendall and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed) 25. Nubians in Egypt during the 25th Dynasty (Julia Budka) 26. Kushites in Egypt, 664 BCE-14 CE: Egypt and Kush in the Borderlands of Lower Nubia (Kathryn Howley) 27. The Meroitic Heartland (Pawel Wolf and Ulrike Nowotnick) 28. The City of Meroe (Krzysztof Grzymski) 29. The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe (Janice W. Yellin) 30. Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe (Vincent Francigny) 31. Prolegomena to the Study of Meroitic Art (Janice W. Yellin) 32. Language and Writing in the Kingdom of Meroe (Claude Rilly) 33. The Eastern Desert in the 1st Millennium BCE and 1st Millennium CE (Andrea Manzo) 34. Greek and Roman Views of Ancient Nubia (Stanley M. Burstein) 35. The X-Group Period in Lower Nubia (Rachael J. Dann) 36. Post-Meroe in Upper Nubia (Mahmoud El-Tayeb) 37. The History of Medieval Nubia (Giovanni R. Ruffini) 38. Nubian Texts, Nubian Lives (Giovanni R. Ruffini) 39. Language Use and Literacy in Late Antique and Medieval Nubia (Adam Lajtar and Grzegorz Ochala) 40. The Topography of Power in Medieval Nubia (Bogdan Zurawski) 41. The Archaeology of Medieval Nubian Kingdoms (Artur Obluski) 42. Arts and Crafts of the Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia (Dobrochna Zielinska) 43. Islam in the Funj and Ottoman Periods in Sudan: A Historical and Archaeological Approach (Intisar Soghayroun) 44. Islamic Nubian Kingdoms (Jay Spaulding) Perspectives on Nubia 45. Cattle Cultures in Ancient Nubia (Jérôme Dubosson) 46. Savanna on the Nile: Long-term Agricultural Diversification and Intensification in Nubia (Dorian Q. Fuller and Leilani Lucas) 47. Exploitation of Geological Resources: Ancient Mines and Quarries in Nubia (James A. Harrell and Abdelrahman Ali Mohamed) 48. Iron Production at Meroe (Jane Humphris) 49. Trade in Ancient Nubia: Routes, Goods, and Structures (Mahmoud Suliman Bashir and Geoff Emberling) 50. Women in Ancient Kush (Angelika Lohwasser and Jacke Phillips) 51. Perspectives on the Body in Ancient Nubia (Rachael J. Dann) 52. Bioarchaeology of Nubia (Michele R. Buzon) 53. Landscape Archaeologies in Nubia and the Middle Nile (David N. Edwards) 54. Nubian Rock Art (Henryk Paner) 55. Archaeological Practice in the 21st Century: Reflecting on Archaeologist-Community Relationships in Sudan's Nile Valley (Jane Humphris, Rebecca Bradshaw, and Geoff Emberling)

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Book SynopsisAn incisive account of Erdoğan’s Turkey—showing how its troubling transformation may be short-livedTrade Review“A particular strength of [Bechev’s] book is that he does not attribute Turkey’s turn from democracy exclusively to Erdoğan, but emphasises ‘the authoritarian legacies shaping the state,’ rooted in the Ottoman Empire and in the long rule of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern secular republic in 1923 and held power until his death in 1938.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times“A scholar unafraid of a good turn of phrase is a welcome thing, albeit rare. Dr Bechev is a scholar and has a good turn of phrase. His expertise guides us through what is a thicket of events, dates, underlying trends, and acronyms, but just when, at times, the going becomes difficult a turn of phrase chops through the text and opens up his train of thought.”—Tim Marshall, Reaction“A sweeping attempt to capture the last 20 years of Turkey, Bechev skilfully traces the radical transformation of Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. An outstanding book from one of the best.”—Gönül Tol, Middle East Institute“A compelling narrative, rich in anecdotes, quotes, and carefully chosen empirical examples, enlivens an in-depth historical analysis of Turkey’s evolution from the 1970s until today. Bechev charts Turkey’s modernization, the rise of Islamist populism, its geopolitical shift from the periphery of the West to its bid for regional hegemony, as well as the weaknesses of the competitive authoritarian regime that its President Erdoğan has crafted.”—Rosa Balfour, director, Carnegie Europe“Bechev analyzes the two decades that witnessed the evolution of President Erdoğan from a seemingly EU-friendly ‘Muslim democrat’ to a strongman. He masterfully portrays how the shifts in AKP’s foreign policy were intertwined with rising authoritarian practices in Turkey.”—Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Sabancı University

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Book SynopsisIn recognition of the 10th anniversary of the attack in Benghazi, a noted Libya expert and eyewitness to the attack provides a startling reconsideration of one of the defining controversies of our era. Ten years after an attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, cries of 'Benghazi!' still echo across America. But instead of a landmark event to be taken seriously, it has become a punchline, an empty word, or a code for controversy and political theatre. In this thrilling retelling, Ethan Chorin reveals Benghazi as a watershed moment in American history, one that helped create the world America lives in today: polarized, fearful, and dangerously unstable.   Here, Benghazi is not a story contained in 13 hours, but a decades-long history beginning with the rise of Muammar Gaddafi, stretching through 9/11, the War on Terror, and the Arab Spring, and reaching into the present day, as t

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Book SynopsisAs air strikes carpeted Yemen''s capital, Sam Farran, a Muslim American who had immigrated from Lebanon at an early age and spent thirty years serving his adopted country in the US Marine Corps, was one of the few Americans in the war-ravaged country. They were there to conduct security assessments for a variety of international firms. Days after their arrival, they were brutally seized, separated and taken hostage by Houthi rebels. Sam would spend almost half a year suffering a horrific ordeal that would test his endurance, his loyalty and his very soul.Every day his Muslim captors asked him as a fellow Muslim to betray America--and to turn against what he had been for three decades: a proud Marine--in exchange for his freedom. Would he give in to the Houthis in exchange for freedom and a return to his Middle Eastern, tribal roots? In the end and despite the daily threats to his life, Sam found the strength to resist, and came out of his experience no longer a man of two co

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Book SynopsisA powerful and inspiring memoir of a young Yazidi who served as a U.S. combat interpreter but was later forced to flee into the mountains of Iraq to avoid the ISIS slaughter of his people

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Book SynopsisOn 19 August 2014, a member of the jihadist rebel group known as ISIS uploaded a video to YouTube. Entitled ''Message to America'', the clip depicted the final moments of the life of kidnapped American journalist James Foley - and the gruesome aftermath of his beheading at the hands of a masked executioner. Foley''s murder - and the other choreographed killings that would follow - captured the world''s attention, and Islamic State''s campaign of kidnapping exploded into regional war.Based on three years of on-the-ground reporting from every side of the Syrian conflict, Hunting Season is James Harkin''s quest to uncover the truth about how and why Islamic State came to target Western hostages, who was behind it and why almost no one outside a small group of people knew anything about it until it was too late. He reveals how the campaign of kidnapping and the development of Islamic State were joined at the hip from the beginning. The book is an utterly absorbing accountTrade ReviewThe most comprehensive work to date on the hostage story * The Times *To understand Islamic State, there can be few better books to read than Hunting Season, James Harkin's heart-breaking investigation into the kidnappings of twenty-four foreigners in Syria . . . a gripping inside view . . . Hunting Season is a masterclass in tireless investigation, war reporting and narrative journalism. It is hard to imagine a more fitting testament to Harkin's colleagues who never came home * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisNow in its sixty-sixth edition, this title continues to provide the most up-to-date geopolitical and economic information for this important world area.Key Features:- covers the Middle East and North Africa from Algeria to Yemen - includes topical contributions from acknowledged experts on regional affairs- accurately and impartially records the latest political and economic developments - provides comprehensive data on all major organizations active in the countries of the region. General Survey- introductory essays cover a wide range of topics relating to the region as a whole.Country SurveysIndividual chapters on each country incorporating:- essays on the physical and social geography, recent history and economy - an extensive statistical survey of economic and social indicators, which include area and population, health and welfare, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, finance, trade, transport, tourism, communications media and education - a full directory with names, addresses and contact details covering the constitution, government, legislature, political organizations, election commissions, diplomatic representation, judiciary, religious groups, the media, finance, trade and industry (including petroleum and natural gas), tourism, defence and education - a country-specific bibliography, providing suggestions for further research. Regional Information- includes all major international organizations active in the Middle East and North Africa; research institutes specializing in the region; and select bibliographies of books and periodicals.Table of ContentsPart 1: General Survey Part 2: Country Surveys Includes sections on geography, history and economy, as well as statistical surveys, directories and bibliographies for each country Part 3: Regional Information Regional Organizations. Calendars. Research Institutes. Select Bibliography (Books). Select Bibliography (Periodicals). Index of Regional Organizations.

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Book SynopsisA history of the 1119 Battle of the Field of Blood, which decisively halted the momentum gained during the First Crusade and decided the fate of the Crusader states.

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Book SynopsisFrom inside a surreal bubble of pure Americana known as the Green Zone, the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority attempted to rule Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. This work tells the story of this ill-prepared attempt to build American democracy in a war-torn Middle Eastern country.Trade Review'Black comedy, set in the graveyard of the neo-conservative dream. Superb' John le Carre 'The best account I have read of why the American occupation of Iraq has gone so drastically wrong ... An exceptional piece of work, well researched, well written and well judged ... I cannot remember a book that does more to enhance our understanding of the country than this one' Said K. Aburish, Spectator 'It's an extraordinary work of journalism that provides one of the most powerful cases yet made against the disastrous adventure in Iraq. Like a documentary Catch-22, this gripping book shows how the Bush administration's abject failure to plan for the period after the invasion gave rise to a toxic mixture of tragedy and farce' Hari Kunzru, Guardian Books of the Year 2007 'Graham Greene would have loved Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a painfully funny account of the blundering American occupation of Iraq. It confirms everything he wrote in The Quiet American' Philip French, Guardian Books of the Year 2007

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Book SynopsisJean Bottero and his colleagues take the reader on a voyage of discovery into the public and private realms of the lives of our first civilized ancestors, looking at everyday life in Ancient Mesopotamia.Trade ReviewWritten for the most part by acknowledged masters of Assyriology and underpinned by decades of scholarly engagement with that enormous and intractable mass of cuneiform texts ! that permit an intimate insight into all aspects of human activity that is unrivalled in the study of ancient civilizations ! What this book offers is a series of well-written chapters on a selection of the most absorbing, intriguing or otherwise appealing topics in ancient Mesopotamian history ! the volume is lively and interesting and will be read with profit and enjoyment by undergraduate and general reader alike. Written for the most part by acknowledged masters of Assyriology and underpinned by decades of scholarly engagement with that enormous and intractable mass of cuneiform texts ! that permit an intimate insight into all aspects of human activity that is unrivalled in the study of ancient civilizations ! What this book offers is a series of well-written chapters on a selection of the most absorbing, intriguing or otherwise appealing topics in ancient Mesopotamian history ! the volume is lively and interesting and will be read with profit and enjoyment by undergraduate and general reader alike.

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Book SynopsisThis is an introduction to the history of the ancient Near East during the last millennium bc: Phoenicia, Palestine, the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires, the Persian Achaemenid empire, the empire of Alexander, and the vast Persian Seleucid empire founded around 300 bc and defeated in 64 bc.Trade ReviewThe book covers a period of profound interest ... There is an enormous amount of material here that many people are now becoming aware of, but lack the specialist knowledge to know how to handle or what to make of ! It is a model of clarity, with excellent citations of texts. -- Professor Amelie Kuhrt, University College London Francis Joannes has produced an excellent work ... His experience gained over many years has enabled him to write this authoritative and informative synthesis of Assyrian and Babylonian history and culture of the first millennium BC. -- Professor Allan Millard, University of Liverpool The book covers a period of profound interest ... There is an enormous amount of material here that many people are now becoming aware of, but lack the specialist knowledge to know how to handle or what to make of ! It is a model of clarity, with excellent citations of texts. Francis Joannes has produced an excellent work ... His experience gained over many years has enabled him to write this authoritative and informative synthesis of Assyrian and Babylonian history and culture of the first millennium BC.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1 The world of the peoples of Mesopotamia; Places and peoples; The rediscovery of the 'Assyrians'; The evolution of Mesopotamian historiography; 2 Political history of the Assyrian empire (934-610 BC); The first expansion (934-827); Crisis and refoundation (823-727); The Sargonid empire (721-610); Document; One of Ashurnasirpal's campaigns in the east of Anatolia in 865; 3 Control of the imperial territory; Military organisation; At the hub of the empire; The provinces; Document; Extract from the Census of Harran; 4 The centre of Assyrian government; The king of Assyria; The exercise of royal power; Where the power lay; Documents; The king of Assyria and his servitors: letter from the exorcist Adad-in the neo-Babylonian period; Social and economic strata; Economic activities; Management of the large organisations; Documents; The life of Babylonian notables: Lurindu's marriage; Land management: leasing contract; 7 Religion and culture in Babylonia in the first millennium BC; The pantheon and religious concepts; How religion was organised; Babylon, cultural capital; Document; An extract from the IVth tablet of the Epic of Erra; 8 Achaemenid Babylonia (539-331 BC); A central province of the Persian empire; A reserve of soldiers; Tribute and intermediaries; Document; Financial activities in the Achaemenid era: leasing a royal tax; 9 From the Seleucids to the Parthians (331 BC - AD 75); The evolution of the satrapy of Babylonia; Socio-economic realities; The slow end of a civilisation; Document; Religious activities in the Seleucid period: renting a prebend; Conclusion; Political chronology; Glossary; Bibliography; Sources of texts quoted; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is an introduction to the history of the ancient Near East during the last millennium bc: Phoenicia, Palestine, the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires, the Persian Achaemenid empire, the empire of Alexander, and the vast Persian Seleucid empire founded around 300 bc and defeated in 64 bc.Trade ReviewThe book covers a period of profound interest ... There is an enormous amount of material here that many people are now becoming aware of, but lack the specialist knowledge to know how to handle or what to make of ! It is a model of clarity, with excellent citations of texts. -- Professor Amelie Kuhrt, University College London Francis Joannes has produced an excellent work ... His experience gained over many years has enabled him to write this authoritative and informative synthesis of Assyrian and Babylonian history and culture of the first millennium BC. -- Professor Allan Millard, University of Liverpool The book covers a period of profound interest ... There is an enormous amount of material here that many people are now becoming aware of, but lack the specialist knowledge to know how to handle or what to make of ! It is a model of clarity, with excellent citations of texts. Francis Joannes has produced an excellent work ... His experience gained over many years has enabled him to write this authoritative and informative synthesis of Assyrian and Babylonian history and culture of the first millennium BC.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1 The world of the peoples of Mesopotamia; Places and peoples; The rediscovery of the 'Assyrians'; The evolution of Mesopotamian historiography; 2 Political history of the Assyrian empire (934-610 BC); The first expansion (934-827); Crisis and refoundation (823-727); The Sargonid empire (721-610); Document; One of Ashurnasirpal's campaigns in the east of Anatolia in 865; 3 Control of the imperial territory; Military organisation; At the hub of the empire; The provinces; Document; Extract from the Census of Harran; 4 The centre of Assyrian government; The king of Assyria; The exercise of royal power; Where the power lay; Documents; The king of Assyria and his servitors: letter from the exorcist Adad-in the neo-Babylonian period; Social and economic strata; Economic activities; Management of the large organisations; Documents; The life of Babylonian notables: Lurindu's marriage; Land management: leasing contract; 7 Religion and culture in Babylonia in the first millennium BC; The pantheon and religious concepts; How religion was organised; Babylon, cultural capital; Document; An extract from the IVth tablet of the Epic of Erra; 8 Achaemenid Babylonia (539-331 BC); A central province of the Persian empire; A reserve of soldiers; Tribute and intermediaries; Document; Financial activities in the Achaemenid era: leasing a royal tax; 9 From the Seleucids to the Parthians (331 BC - AD 75); The evolution of the satrapy of Babylonia; Socio-economic realities; The slow end of a civilisation; Document; Religious activities in the Seleucid period: renting a prebend; Conclusion; Political chronology; Glossary; Bibliography; Sources of texts quoted; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis volume seeks to fill the gap in the historiography of premodern Islam and is conceived as a new standard scholarly resource for those interested in the Seljuk period.

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Book SynopsisThe first Persian Empire (559-331 BCE) was the biggest land empire the world had seen, and seated at the heart of its vast dominions, in the south of modern-day Iran, was the person of the Great King. Immortalized in Greek literature as despotic tyrants, a new vision of Persian monarchy is emerging from Iranian, and other, sources (literary, visual, and archaeological), which show the Kings in a very different light. Inscriptions of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs present an image of Persian rulers as liberators, peace-makers, valiant warriors, righteous god-fearing judges, and law-makers.Around them the Kings established lavish and sophisticated courts, the centres of political decision-making and cultural achievements in which the image of monarchy was endorsed and advanced by an almost theatrical display of grandeur and power.This book explores the representation of Persian monarchy and the court of the Achaemenid Great Kings from the point of view of the ancient Iranians themselves and th

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an introduction not only to the works of Sun'Allah Ibrahim, but also, more generally, to the modern literature of Egypt (and elsewhere in the Arab world) over a 40-year period, in its social, historical and political setting.

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Book SynopsisThis book uses a study of Syria under the French mandate to show what historical developments led people to start describing themselves and others as 'minorities'.Trade ReviewWe often think that modern nation-states suppress other collective identities identities, but this thought-provoking book turns that assumption on its head, showing how fluid regional and religious identities were constituted as "minorities" through the very process of state-building. Scholars interested in the relationship between collective mobilization and political institutions will want to read this book. -- Susan Pedersen, Professor of History, Columbia University We often think that modern nation-states suppress other collective identities identities, but this thought-provoking book turns that assumption on its head, showing how fluid regional and religious identities were constituted as "minorities" through the very process of state-building. Scholars interested in the relationship between collective mobilization and political institutions will want to read this book.Table of ContentsMap 1. Syria c.1936; Map 2. The Far Northeast of Syria in the 1930s; Outline Chronology of the French Mandate, 1919-39; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I; 1. Minorities, Majorities and the Nation-state; 2. 'Minorities' and the French Mandate; Part II; 3. Separatism and Autonomism; 4. The border and the Kurds; Part III; 5. The Franco-Syrian Treaty and the Definition of 'Minorities'; 6. Personal Status Law Reform; Conclusion: Minorities, Majorities and the Writing of History; Select Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisA unique collaborative exploration of this pivotal yet understudied Muslim dynasty. What were the ideological foundations and ritual expressions of Seljuq power? How did the learned classes and the state feel about each other? How was social space organised? What was the relationship between nomads and settled peoples? Split into three parts, this collection of essays addresses questions like these about life during the Seljuq period. Part 1 follows the gradual transformation of the Seljuqs into a powerful dynasty and their concepts of political legitimisation. Part 2 examines social history, particularly with regard to the ''ulama'' and the urban populations. Part 3 explores how religious thought, jurisprudence, belles-lettres and architecture developed under the Seljuqs.

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Book SynopsisShows how Arab Christians struggled to balance religious and nationalist identities in Palestine between 1917 and 1948. This title focuses on the relationship between Arab Christians and the nationalist movement in Palestine as the British Mandate unfolded throughout the first half of the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisExamines how Omani life and culture, shaped by principles and practices of social engagement grounded in ideals of tact and tolerance over a long period, have played a lead role in the country''s contemporary foreign policy, especially with relation to US-Iranian relations and the Middle East peace process.Table of ContentsMap 1: Oman in the Indian Ocean; Map 2: Oman in the Gulf; Introduction; PART I: 1. A Cosmopolitan Nation; 2. A Culture of Diplomacy; PART II: Introduction to Part II; 3. Muscat and Mysore: Between the Empire and the Republic; 4. Diplomacy and 'Piracy': 1797 - 1819; 5. An Englishman in Oman; 6. Moving to Zanzibar; 7. Zanzibar, Britain, the USA and the Slave Trade; PART III: Introduction to Part III; 8. Dealing with Iran: A Delicate Balance; 9. Managing During the Cold War; 10. Neighbours in Arabia; 11. The Key Strategic Ally: Oman and the United States; 12. Working Towards Peace: Oman and the Middle East Process; 13. Oman, Cosmopolitanism and 'Globalisation'; Acknowledgements; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisUsing a variety of documentary, narrative and normative sources, this title explores the growth of reading audiences in a pre-print culture. It examines the accessibility and profile of libraries. It looks at popular reading practices, often associated with the notion of the illicit.Table of Contents1. Reading and writerly culture; Literacy, orality and aurality; The written word in the Middle Period; 'Popular' practices of reading; 2. A city is reading: Popular and learned reading sessions; Methodological considerations; Reading Communities between scholarly sessions and popular sessions; The order of seating: Social and cultural differences; Motivations to participate in popular readings; Changes over time: Reading certificates and 'popular' culture; 3. Learning to read: Popularisation and the written word in children's schools; Textualisation and curricular changes; Methods to teach reading and writing; The spread of the endowed school and social changes; 4. Local endowed libraries and their readers; The central ruler library and the 'decline' of post-classical libraries; The development of the local endowed library; Profiles of holdings in private and local endowed libraries; 5. Popular reading practices; The popular epic; Popular epics and the written word; Textualisation and challenges to scholarly authority; Writing for a popular readership; 6. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisFrom late 2010 to the present day, the Arab world has been shot through with insurrection and revolt. As a result, Tunisia is now seen as the unlikely birthplace and exemplar of the process of democratisation long overdue in the Arab world.Mixing political, historical, economic, social and cultural analyses and approaches, these essays reflect on the local, regional and transnational dynamics together with the long and short term factors that, when combined, set in motion the Tunisian revolution and the Arab uprisings. Above all, the book maps the intertwined genealogies of cultural dissent that have contributed to the mobilisation of protesters and to the sustenance of protests between 17 December 2010 and 14 January 2011, and beyond.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Collaborative Revolutionism; Part I: Contexts: Roots of Discontent; 1. Under the Emperor's Neo-liberal Clothes! Why the International Financial Institutions Got it Wrong in Tunisia; 2. Playing the Islamic Card: The Use and Abuse of Religion in Tunisian Politics; 3. United States Policy towards Tunisia since 1956: What New Engagement after an Expendable Friendship?; 4. 'Friends of Tunisia': French Economic and Diplomatic Support of Tunisian Authoritarianism; Part II: Architects: Routes of Dissent; 5. From Socio-Economic Protest to National Revolt: Mapping the Workers Origins of the Tunisian Revolution; 6. The Powers of Social Media; 7. Rethinking the Role of the Media in the Tunisian Uprising; 8. Visions of Dissent, Voices of Discontent: Postcolonial Tunisian Film and Song; Part III: The Postrevolutionary Moment; 9. Reclaiming Public Space: Surprise and Non Sequitur in Tunisia; 10. From Resistance to Governance: The category of Civility in the Political Theory of Tunisian Islamists; 11. The Uses and Abuses of Women's Rights in Tunisian Politics; 12. The Rise of Salafism and the Future of Democratization; Bibliography; Index; Abstracts.

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Book SynopsisThe ''Alids are the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, the elite family of Islam. The respect and veneration they are accorded is unparalleled in Islamic society, regardless of political or religious affiliation. They have played a major role in Islamic history: famous early rebels and founders of major Islamic sects, and many rulers - such as the 10th-century Fatimids in Egypt, the current kings of Jordan and Morocco, Ayatollah Khomeini and the Aga Khan - all claimed ''Alid descent.This first in-depth study of the ''Alids focuses on the crucial formative period from the Abbasid Revolution to the Saljuq period, 750-1100. Exploring the rise of the ''Alids as a social phenomenon, the author asks how this family attained and extended its status over the centuries.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The 'Alids from the 'Abbasid Revolution to the Seljuqs; 2. To Be or Not to Be: Genealogy, Money, and the Drawing of Boundaries; 3. Kinship and Social Hierarchy: Marriage Patterns; 4. The Headship of the 'Alid Family; 5. The 'Alids as Local Nobility; 6. 'Alid Dynasties; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisDina Rezk analyses 8 case studies, culminating in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar el Sadat on live television, Drawing on declassified documents, interviews and multi-archival research, she explores how the most powerful intelligence agencies in the world have been so notoriously caught off guard in post-WWII Middle East.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1978, this was the first book in English to provide a complete survey of the immensely rich archaeological remains of Afghanistan. It has now been thoroughly revised and brought up to date to incorporate the latest discoveries and research.

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Book SynopsisKabul is a name that has had much resonance in current affairs over the last few years, however its place in military history can be charted much further back to the first British incursions into Afghanistan during the 19th century.

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Book SynopsisJonathan Shea is Associate Curator of Coins and Seals at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, and Dean's Distinguished Lecturer in the Humanities at The George Washington University. He received his PhD from the University of Birmingham and has published in peer-reviewed articles and edited collectionsTrade ReviewThis is a useful and refreshing contribution to the complex history of eleventh-century Byzantium and offers an approach that differs from those that place emphasis chiefly on fiscal problems on the one hand or military collapse on the other. * Speculum *[A]n important contribution to the study of Byzantine government and society. Given its rich and sometimes complex detail it will serve as a useful reference work. Further, in conjunction with other recent studies of Byzantium in the tenth and eleventh centuries...it will enable greater understanding of this crucial period of Byzantine history. * Early Medieval Europe *Table of ContentsPart 1 Byzantium at the Turning Point · Part 1.2 Byzantium in the Eleventh Century · Part 1.2 Seals, Coins, and Lists Part 2 The Byzantine Bureaucrat Part 3 The Rise of the Civilians · Part 3.1 Changing with the Times: The Logothesia and the Treasuries · Part 3.2 Slipping Backwards: The Imperial Chancery · Part 3.3 Governing the Capital · Part 3.4 A New Bureucratic Elite: The Judiciary Part 4 The Collapse of Civilian Government · Reform and Consolidation: The Logothesia and the Treasuries p. 116 · The Chancery: A Part of the Imperial Household? · The Administration of Constantinople: A Steady Decline · Falling From Grace: The Judiciary · The End of Civilian Government Part 5 Changing Priorities and an Evolving Government Appendix Chartoularioi, Notarioi, and Logariastai Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDavid L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peace-building and Human Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights. He served as a Senior Adviser and Foreign Affairs Expert to the US Department of State during the administrations of Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton. Phillips also served as a Senior Adviser to the UN Secretariat. He was a Visiting Scholar with Harvard University's Center for Middle East Studies and worked with the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also testified on regional issues before the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, the British House of Commons, the French Senate and the European Parliament. Trade ReviewThe Syrian war will go down as the tragedy of a generation, and will have repercussions in the region for years to come. How did a failed revolution on the heels of the Arab Spring turn to one of the bloodiest conflicts of the century? And how could the international community have stood by with so little regard from human life? David Phillips, one of the most respected experts in the field, was a first-hand witness, speaking to many of the regional actors in his role as a conflict analyst. In this important book, he unravels the conflict from ground zero. An urgent read for anyone who wants to understand how and why we failed Syria. -- Janine di Giovanni, Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute Yale University; Author of "The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria"A candid, well-informed ‘after action report’ on how the Arab Spring turned to winter in Syria and the consequences of failed international diplomacy. -- Ambassador William J. Burns, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateIn this recounting of the Syrian civil war, David Phillips recalls the history of repression in Syria and explains how the peaceful protest movement in 2011 metastasized into a violent insurgency dominated by militants and extremists. He is not sparing in his criticism of American mistakes either. This book also presents a detailed, sympathetic view of the aspirations of Syrians themselves, most notably Kurds, Christians, the displaced, and Syrian women who will have a vital role in future Syrian reconciliation. -- Robert S. Ford, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C and former U.S. Ambassador to SyriaWhile the full toll of human suffering may never be known, the people of Syria and the world must know more about one of the most horrifying outgrowths of the Arab Spring. Phillips provides an informed and compassionate survey of the Syrian civil war and the international meddling that has exacerbated the disaster. -- Danielle Pletka, Senior Fellow in Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Washington D.CFrontline Syria is truly a ‘must-read’ for any student of the catastrophe that is modern Syria...as well as the bipartisan fecklessness of American foreign policy. With an intense combination of scholarly rigor and the objective compassion that comes from his own personal experiences, David Phillips narrates the terrifying descent of Syria from a stable if prosaic backwater to that of a Hobbesian state of nature. From the ’Red Lines’ that weren’t to the abandonment of its Kurdish allies, his searing insights and conclusions also provide jarring punctuation for the United States’ declining moral and political leadership, and the implications of this tragic abdication for the Middle East and beyond. -- Thomas S. Kaplan, entrepreneur and conservationist, and Chairman of Justice for KurdsSyria’s once promising revolution failed, plunging the country into chaos and anarchy. Drawing on his decades of experience as an American diplomat, peacemaker and discreet back-channel, David Phillips explores what went wrong. While many share the blame, he finds particular fault in the US government’s response for making promises it never intended to keep, leaving Syrian activists to die, and thereby opening the gates of Hell to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history. -- Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC NewsTable of ContentsAbbreviations and Acronyms Glossary of Personalities Timeline of Critical Events About the Author Introduction Part I: Legacy of Repression 1.Hama Rules 2.The Damascus Spring 3.Cradle of the Revolution Part II: Radicalization 4.The Free Syrian Army 5.Security Assistance 6.Displacement Crisis 7.The Geneva Peace Process Part III: International Stakeholders 8.Russia 9.The Shiite Crescent 10.Turkey Part IV: Minorities and Women 11.Kurds 12.Christians and Armenians 13.Women 14.Alawites Part V: Grinding War 15.Idlib 16.Diminished America 17.UN Mediation 18.Betrayal Epilogue Annex

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