Description
Book SynopsisThe history of the Arabs in antiquity from their earliest appearance around 853 BC until the first century of Islam, is described in this book. It traces the mention of people called Arabs in all relevant ancient sources and suggests a new interpretation of their history. It is suggested that the ancient Arabs were more a religious community than an ethnic group, which would explain why the designation 'Arab' could be easily adopted by the early Muslim tribes. The Arabs of antiquity thus resemble the early Islamic Arabs more than is usually assumed, both being united by common bonds of religious ideology and law.
Trade Review'Hugely learned' - Times Literary Supplement
'This book is an invaluable tool and will, I am sure, find a place on the shelf of every serious scholar of the Antique and Early Islamic Middle East' - Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies
'hugely learned' - Times Literary Supplement
'this book is an invaluable tool and will, I am sure, find a place on the shelf of every serious scholar of the Antique and Early Islamic Middle East' - Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies
Table of ContentsPrologue - An introduction to the problem by showing how the word Arab is used among modern Bedouin
Part I. A Presentation of the use of the word in calssical Islamic sources
Part II. A Survey of all relevant occurrencies of the work in Akkadian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin
Part III. A Synthesis of the information we have about the living conditions of the groups called Arabs
Conclusion
Bibliography
