A History of the Arab Peoples

by Hourani, Albert

• ISBN13: 9780674010178
• ISBN10: 0674010175
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-30
• Publisher: Belknap Pr

Summary

Upon its publication in 1991, Albert Hourani's masterwork was hailed as the definitive story of Arab civilization, and became both a bestseller and an instant classic. In a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of Arab history and culture, Hourani brilliantly illuminated the people and events that have fundamentally shaped the Arab world. Now this seminal book is available in an expanded second edition. Noted Islamic scholar Malise Ruthven brings the story up to date from the mid-1980s, including such events as the Gulf War; civil unrest in Algeria; the change of leadership in Syria, Morocco, and Jordan; and the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks in the United States, ongoing crisis in Iraq, and renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians all underscore the need for a balanced and well-informed understanding of the Arab world, and make this insightful history of the Arab peoples more important than ever.

Author Biography

Albert Hourani was Emeritus Fellow, St. Antony's College, Oxford. He died in 1993

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xvii
Author's Note	p. xix
Prologue	p. 1
The Making of a World (Seventh-Tenth Century)
A New Power in an Old World	p. 7
The world into which the Arabs came	p. 7
The language of poetry	p. 12
Muhammad and the appearance of Islam	p. 14
The Formation of an Empire	p. 22
The succession to Muhammad: the conquest of an empire	p. 22
The caliphate of Damascus	p. 25
The caliphate of Baghdad	p. 32
The Formation of a Society	p. 38
The end of political unity	p. 38
A unified society: the economic bases	p. 43
Unity of faith and language	p. 46
The Islamic world	p. 54
The Articulation of Islam	p. 59
The questions of authority	p. 59
The power and justice of God	p. 62
The shari'a	p. 65
The Traditions of the Prophet	p. 69
The path of the mystic	p. 72
The path of reason	p. 75
Arab Muslim Societies (Eleventh-Fifteenth Century)
The Arab Muslim World	p. 83
States and dynasties	p. 83
Arabs, Persians and Turks	p. 87
Geographical divisions	p. 89
Muslim Arabs and others	p. 96
The Countryside	p. 98
Land and its use	p. 98
Tribal societies	p. 104
The Life of Cities	p. 109
Markets and cities	p. 109
The city population	p. 111
Law and the 'ulama	p. 113
Slaves	p. 116
Muslims and non-Muslims in the city	p. 117
Women in the city	p. 119
The shape of the city	p. 122
Houses in the city	p. 125
The chain of cities	p. 128
Cities and Their Rulers	p. 130
The formation of dynasties	p. 130
The alliance of interests	p. 133
Control of the countryside	p. 137
Ideas of political authority	p. 141
Ways of Islam	p. 147
The Pillars of Islam	p. 147
The friends of God	p. 152
The Culture of the 'Ulama	p. 158
The 'ulama and the shari'a	p. 158
The transmission of learning	p. 163
Kalam	p. 166
Al-Ghazali	p. 167
Divergent Paths of Thought	p. 172
Islam of the philosophers	p. 172
Ibn 'Arabi and theosophy	p. 176
Ibn Taymiyya and the Hanbali tradition	p. 179
The development of Shi'ism	p. 181
Jewish and Christian learning	p. 186
The Culture of Courts and People	p. 189
Rulers and patrons	p. 189
Poetry and story	p. 193
Music	p. 197
Understanding the world	p. 199
The Ottoman Age (Sixteenth-Eighteenth Century)
The Ottoman Empire	p. 209
The limits of political power	p. 209
Ottoman government	p. 214
The Ottomans and Islamic tradition	p. 220
Government in the Arab provinces	p. 225
Ottoman Societies	p. 231
Population and wealth in the empire	p. 231
The Arab provinces	p. 234
The culture of the Arab provinces	p. 238
Beyond the empire: Arabia, the Sudan, Morocco	p. 243
The Changing Balance of Power in the Eighteenth Century	p. 249
Central and local authorities	p. 249
Arab Ottoman society and culture	p. 253
The world of Islam	p. 256
Changing relations with Europe	p. 258
The Age of European Empires (1800-1939)
European Power and Reforming Governments (1800-1860)	p. 265
The expansion of Europe	p. 265
The beginnings of European empire	p. 268
Reforming governments	p. 271
European Empires and Dominant Elites (1860-1914)	p. 279
The limits of independence	p. 279
The partition of Africa: Egypt and the Maghrib	p. 282
The alliance of dominant interests	p. 285
Control of the land	p. 287
The condition of the people	p. 292
The dual society	p. 295
The Culture of Imperialism and Reform	p. 299
The culture of imperialism	p. 299
The rise of the intelligentsia	p. 302
The culture of reform	p. 304
The emergence of nationalism	p. 308
The continuity of Islamic tradition	p. 311
The Climax of European Power (1914-1939)	p. 315
The supremacy of Great Britain and France	p. 315
The primacy of British and French interests	p. 320
Immigrants and the land	p. 322
The growth of the indigenous elite	p. 324
Attempts at political agreement	p. 328
Changing Ways of Life and Thought (1914-1939)	p. 333
Population and the countryside	p. 333
Life in the new cities	p. 336
The culture of nationalism	p. 340
Islam of the elite and the masses	p. 345
The Age of Nation-States (Since 1939)
The End of the Empires (1939-1962)	p. 353
The Second World War	p. 353
National independence (1945-1956)	p. 356
The Suez crisis	p. 365
The Algerian war	p. 369
Changing Societies (1940s and 1950s)	p. 373
Population and economic growth	p. 373
The profits of growth: merchants and landowners	p. 379
The power of the state	p. 381
Rich and poor in the city	p. 384
National Culture (1940s and 1950s)	p. 389
Problems of education	p. 389
Language and self-expression	p. 392
Islamic movements	p. 397
The Climax of Arabism (1950s and 1960s)	p. 401
Popular nationalism	p. 401
The ascendancy of Nasirism	p. 407
The crisis of 1967	p. 411
Arab Unity and Disunity (since 1967)	p. 416
The crisis of 1973	p. 416
The predominance of American influence	p. 419
The interdependence of Arab countries	p. 423
Arab disunity	p. 426
A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967)	p. 434
Ethnic and religious divisions	p. 434
Rich and poor	p. 436
Women in society	p. 439
A heritage and its renewal	p. 442
The stability of regimes	p. 447
The fragility of regimes	p. 453
Afterword 2002	p. 459
Maps	p. 473
Genealogies and Dynasties	p. 497
The Family of the Prophet	p. 499
The Shi'i Imams	p. 500
The Caliphs	p. 501
Important Dynasties	p. 503
Ruling Families in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century	p. 505
Notes	p. 508
Bibliography	p. 514
Index of Terms	p. 544
General Index	p. 547
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.