Ancient Arabs

The extraordinary history of the epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers. “Magnificent.” —Spectator The Roman Empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity...

This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language, rather than the advent of Islam, Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic, both spoken and written, has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia.

In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.

In just over a hundred years - from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 - the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. Their armies threatened states as far flung as the Franks in Western Europe and the Tang Empire in China. The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, and it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time.

In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on, and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of...

A new, updated, revised edition of JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY, the wider history of the Middle East through the lens of the Holy City, from King David to today. The story of Jerusalem is the story of the world. Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths...

A detailed, illustrated exploration of twenty of the world's greatest mysteries. Go back in time and history and explore the wonders that have captured man's imagination for centuries. Be dazzled by 2000-year-old manuscripts still being deciphered, abandoned ancient cities of 100,000, and a mountain whose tomb is still being guarded 500 years later. Is the Holy Grain really in Spain? And are pirate treasures about to be dug up in Canada? Glimpse at cryptic sanctuaries beyond imagination. Crisscross the globe for answers, consider possibilities, and marvel at the ingenuity of past cultures ...

A respected and controversial scholar argues that the Crusades were a justified war waged against Muslim terror and aggression This book takes on the current vogue in liberal thinking to argue that, in fact, the Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism...

A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist "Extraordinary...Sensitive and perceptive, Mr. Hessler is a superb literary archaeologist, one who handles what he sees with a bit of wonder that he gets to watch the history of this grand city unfold, one day at a time.” —Wall Street Journal...

"Narrators Fiona Hardingham and Steve West lend their exceptional vocal skills to this fantasy novel...Both narrators deliver commanding performances steeped in drama and suspense, drawing out every ounce of emotion and intrigue: — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner Set in a richly...

Award-winning Colombian author Laura Restrepo weaves contemporary themes and ancient myth in this story of star-crossed lovers in a world on the brink of collapse. Retelling the mythical love story between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the refugee camps of the present day, Song of...

Ancient Persia conjures images of extravagant palaces, beautiful gardens, mighty armies, and all-powerful kings, queens, and princes. The beginnings of Iranian antiquity are enigmatic, but from the cradle of the western Zagros Mountains came the greatest empires the world has ever known. The Elamites, Medians, Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanids all sprang from interlinked cultural origins that could trace their roots back through each successive empire.

'Superb: a dynamic, compelling and pulsating history - grippingly narrated but with a completely fresh and convincing analysis . . . A must read' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE 'Bold, vital and urgent . . . Blows the old parochial Western accounts clean away' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB 'Refreshing and astutely...

An expansive history of the Sahara from prehistory to the present that shows how Saharans have, over time, built complex and cosmopolitan lives despite scarcity, conquest, and the relentless challenges of the desert environment What comes to mind when we think about the Sahara? Rippling sand...

Thoroughly updated and revised for 2024, JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY is the history of the Middle East through the lens of the Holy City and the Holy Land, from King David to the wars and chaos of today. The history of Jerusalem is the story of the world: Jerusalem is the universal city, the...

Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the...

Navigate the complexities of Middle Eastern history with this balanced guide to a deeply rooted modern conflict. Whether you are listening on your daily commute or seeking clarity on current events, this objective narrative provides the essential context behind today's headlines. Discover how...

Untangle the Middle Eastern conflict through a calm, objective history that trades political ammunition for deep clarity. Perfect for a focused commute, this educational audio journey grounds you in the ancient civilizations that sparked millennia of layered territorial claims. Step away from...

During the first half of the first millennium CE, an empire arose in Persia that extended its power and influence to Mesopotamia in the east, Arabia in the south, the Caucasus Mountains in the north, and as far east as India. This empire, known alternatively as the Sasanian Empire or Sassanid Empire, was the last of three great dynasties in Persia before the rise of Islam. In fact, many scholars consider the Sasanian Empire to be the last great empire of the ancient Near East.

A book as sweeping, colorful, and rich in extraordinary characters as the empire which it describes - Tom Holland The Ottoman Empire has long been depicted as the Islamic-Asian antithesis of the Christian-European West. But the reality was starkly different: the Ottomans' multiethnic...