A History of the Middle East Since the Rise of Islam From the Prophet Muhammad to the 21st Century

by Lesch, David W.

• ISBN13: 9780197587140
• ISBN10: 0197587143
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-11-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

As David Lesch writes in his Preface, "Historians are a kind of secular priesthood, seemingly endowed with the power and means to select what is and what is not important for the rest of us." In A History of the Middle East Since the Rise of Islam, Lesch focuses on the longue durée. Choosing the rise of Islam as the general beginning point of his one-volume history of the Middle East, Lesch argues that there is an indelible link between the rise of Islam and the overall environment that exists today in the region. The continuum of this chain of events is the primary focus of his book.

Combining a comprehensive approach and an appealing, informal tone, Lesch offers the reader enough specifics to digest the flavor of particular periods, dynasties, movements, cultural markers, and ideological developments, yet general enough so that the totality of this history can be compared and contrasted. The result is a brilliant tour de force.

Author Biography

David W. Lesch is the Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of History in the Department of History at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He received his M.A. and PhD in Middle East History from Harvard University.

He is the author or editor of 16 books and overall has over 140 publications. He has also published numerous articles in leading journals, chapters in books, and opinion essays in such noted publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, Foreign Policy, and CNN.com.

Table of Contents

List of Maps
Spotlight Boxes
Preface
Note on the Text
About the Author

1. INTRODUCTION

Notes

2. THE RISE OF ISLAM

The International Setting
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Life of the Prophet Muhammad
Primary Sources
Thabit: The Death of the Knight Rabia, Called Boy Longlocks
Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening)
Surah LXXV, The Resurrection
Key Terms
Notes

3. RASHIDUN

Succession and Ridda War
Islamic Conquests
Fitna
Primary Sources
The Battle of Ajnadin (or Ajnadain)
Tabarîi: '"The Death of 'Uthman,"' ,"' from Tthe History of Prophets and Kings
Key Terms
Notes

4. ARAB KINGDOM

Sufyanids
Marwanids I
Marwanids II
Primary Sources
The Death of al-Husayn ibn Ali
Hasan al-Basri: Letter to Umar II
Key Terms
Notes

5. ISLAMIC EMPIRE

Revolution and Consolidation
Of Golden Primes and Civil War
Breakdown
Primary Sources
Harun al-Rashid and the Succession Arrangement
Key Terms
Notes

6. FRAGMENTATION

Buyids
Fatimids
Islamic Spain
Primary Sources
The Cities of Egypt: Alexandria and al-Fustat
Abd al-Rahman III of al-Andalus
Key Terms
Notes

7. FROM EAST AND WEST

The Seljuks
The Mongols
The Crusades
Primary Sources
Selections from The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun'
Ibn al-Athir: from The Great History
Robert the Monk's Account of Pope Urban II's Call to Crusade
Ibn al-Athir, X, 185--190, 193--195
"Imad al-Din al-Asfahani relays Salah al-Din."
Key Terms
Notes

8. IN THE WAKE OF THE MONGOLS

The Mamluks
The Ottomans
The Safavids
Primary Sources
Kritovoulos: from Tthe History of Mehmed Position and Orders Given the Generals
Letters from Selim and Ismail
Key Terms
Notes

9. RISE, RESISTANCE, RETREAT, AND REFORM

The Age of Sulayman the Magnificent
European Pressure
Ottoman Reform Movement
Primary Sources
Poem written by Sulayman the Magnificent to his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana)
The Gülhane Proclamation, (1839)
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani,", "Commentary on the Commentator"
Key Terms
Notes

10. INFLECTION POINT

The Hamidian Era and the Young Turks
World War I in the Middle East
Postwar Agreements and Mandate System
Primary Sources
Negib Azoury: Program of the League of the Arab Fatherland
Excerpts from the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, (July 14, 1915--January. 25, 1916)
The Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916
The Balfour Declaration, 1917
British Declaration to Seven Arab Spokesmen
Key Terms
Notes

11. THE SHAPING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST

Cold Wars
Arab--Israeli Conflict
1979 and Iits Aftermath
Primary Sources
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181
Speech by President Nasser on Nationalization of the Suez Canal
Remarks by Golda Meir to President Sadat in the Knesset, November 21, 1977
Excerpts from speech by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to the Israeli Knesset, November 20, 1977.
Camp David Accords: The Framework for Peace in the Middle East
Annual State of the Union Message (1980) (the Carter Doctrine), 1980
"Palestinians, America and the U.N." Op-ed in the New York Times, January. 20, 2011, bBy Hanan Ashrawi
Key Terms
Notes

12. MIDDLE EAST AGONISTES

9/11
The 2003 Invasion of Iraq
The Arab Spring
Primary Sources
Excerpt from President George W. Bush's State of the Union Speech, January 2002 (excerpt)
Statement by President Trump on Jerusalem, December 2017
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Reacts to Trump's Announcement
Excerpts from Speech by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Syrian Parliament Addressing the Mounting Protests, March 30, 2011
Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Nobel Lecture, December. 10, 2003.
Key Terms
Notes

For Further Reading
Glossary
Photo Credits
Index