History of the Middle East/Islam Book Recommendations?

[Clueless Morgan]

I took a world history class in college which contrasted Chinese and European history (so I guess it wasn't a comprehensive "World" history course but whatever, it was interesting) and ever since then I've been frustrated in realizing how little I know about the history of the non-European/North American/Central American world.

With that said, I've finally decided that my next to complete ignorance about the history of the Middle East and about Islam needs to be rectified.

If anyone has any book recommendations they can offer for good material about the Middle East or the history of the rise of Islam in that region I'd really appreciate it!

For sake of clarification, when referring to the Middle East I'm referring to any country from Turkey to Pakistan; that whole region may not technically classified as the Middle East but to my knowledge that's the general scope of the Islamic world of Eurasia so far as where it is dominant. I suppose I know next to nothing about Islamic Africa, either, or really Africa in general, besides Egypt, but that's a different topic.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the direction of a good author or a good resource to allay my ignorance!

[Minimalist]

Sheeesh.... that's some task.

When you speak of the Mid East you are talking about some of the oldest, continually occupied, places on earth in an area from Catal Huyuk south through Jericho to Egypt. Signs of towns go back 9-10,000 years (bible-thumping idiots not withstanding.)

So I'm guessing that what you really mean is the history since the muslim conquest? What you really need is a book called "How to Die for Your Phony God - No Matter Which One It Is" but I'm not aware of any such book. On Islam I would recommend Robert Spencer's "Did Mohammed Exist." The muslims around here will go birdshit because Spencer treats their precious religion roughly but you won't learn anything from some guy who can't say two words without praising allah or some shit. Spencer regards Mohammed as a literary creation, similar to jesus and all the others, around whom a religion was created. Politically, this is unimportant. Islam, like xtianity, exists and is the major player on the set from the 7th century onward.

On the other side, I know of no book which could deal in sufficient depth with the slice of history from the Roman Empire, through the Byzantine Empire, the Crusades, the Re-Conquista in Spain, the constant fighting between the Turks and the Balkan states, right up to WWI. I have heard of one called "Lost to the West" which is a history of the Byzantine Empire and it got fairly good reviews but I haven't read it.

Good luck with this project.

[Clueless Morgan]

Sheeesh.... that's some task.

When you speak of the Mid East you are talking about some of the oldest, continually occupied, places on earth in an area from Catal Huyuk south through Jericho to Egypt. Signs of towns go back 9-10,000 years (bible-thumping idiots not withstanding.)

Yeah, I know. To be fair, though, I'm not expecting a single book to fulfill all of my desired attributes. If it takes 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6, depending on how interesting the first ones are) that's okay, my only demand at that point is that the books not be heinously expensive or super difficult reads.

So I'm guessing that what you really mean is the history since the muslim conquest?

I'll take any recommendations, quite frankly, including ancient history, histories of certain areas such as Persia, the Near East, or countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, I hear Yemen has quite a history but I don't know what it is... books on the development of Middle Eastern Culture sound interesting, whether or not that focuses on Islam or discusses the kinds of changes to the culture that Islam made, more modern history like the stuff to do with Russia and Afghanistan (<-- that's about the extent of my knowledge right now, Russia had something to do with Afghanistan at some point... but I don't know what...) If it is a book that focuses on a specific period of time, like the Byzantine or Roman empires, the specific rise and influence of Islam, a history of the Crusades, or anything else that would be cool, books about the arts and architecture of these regions...

Anything, really. If it's a history book and it talks about that region (or one of those regions) of the world and you think it's worth a read, pass the title and author on!

I don't ask for much, do it?

The muslims around here will go birdshit because Spencer treats their precious religion roughly but you won't learn anything from some guy who can't say two words without praising allah or some shit.

^^-- that's definitely not what I want. I'm okay with the author being... sympathetic to the religion they are discussing but if the objectivity of the author is impaired by their belief in the religion they're talking about I'm not interested. I'm not going to pay to be proselytized to, I get that for free once a month already.

Spencer regards Mohammed as a literary creation, similar to jesus and all the others, around whom a religion was created.

I'll definitely look into "Did Mohammed Exist;" it looks like Robert Spencer has written several books on Islam, as well as one titled "Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't" which is described as "a refutation of moral equivalence and call for all the beneficiaries and heirs of Judeo-Christian Western civilization, whatever their own religious or philosophical perspective may be, to defend it from the global jihad"
[from his expanded biography]

??? If anything, I kind of want to read "Religion of Peace" just to see what this description is supposed to mean...

On the other side, I know of no book which could deal in sufficient depth with the slice of history from the Roman Empire, through the Byzantine Empire, the Crusades, the Re-Conquista in Spain, the constant fighting between the Turks and the Balkan states, right up to WWI. I have heard of one called "Lost to the West" which is a history of the Byzantine Empire and it got fairly good reviews but I haven't read it.

An introductory overview type book would be cool to start with but knowing how much I'm asking for I doubt I'll find one, especially since I'm looking at the history of two, maybe even three, distinct regions of the world.

Good luck with this project.

Thanks, I think I'll need it.

And thanks for giving me the jump start, I appreciate it!

Other recommendations are still welcome!

[Angrboda]

I don't have any suggestions specifically relating to books, but to my mind, history is one of those subjects which requires looking at it from both the bird's eye view as well as the worm's eye view. Unfortunately, this usually involves a lot of ping-ponging. Rather than that, I would suggest spending a number of nights link hopping through Wikipedia. It's accessible, easy to digest, and you can cover a lot of ground at both zoom levels while getting a feel for the overall contours of the subject. To a lesser extent you can use the references for looking at what gets quoted and referenced in the literature. It also allows you to remain motivated by zooming in on detail that captures your fancy, in or outside of Wikipedia, to keep your interest level high.

Beyond that, if you really want to study the period, I suggest devoting time to researching bibliographies on the subject, both online and in books about the subject (sometimes it's worth it to borrow a book to see where it leads, even if you don't read the book).

[KichigaiNeko]

I took a world history class in college which contrasted Chinese and European history (so I guess it wasn't a comprehensive "World" history course but whatever, it was interesting) and ever since then I've been frustrated in realizing how little I know about the history of the non-European/North American/Central American world.

With that said, I've finally decided that my next to complete ignorance about the history of the Middle East and about Islam needs to be rectified.

If anyone has any book recommendations they can offer for good material about the Middle East or the history of the rise of Islam in that region I'd really appreciate it!

For sake of clarification, when referring to the Middle East I'm referring to any country from Turkey to Pakistan; that whole region may not technically classified as the Middle East but to my knowledge that's the general scope of the Islamic world of Eurasia so far as where it is dominant. I suppose I know next to nothing about Islamic Africa, either, or really Africa in general, besides Egypt, but that's a different topic.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the direction of a good author or a good resource to allay my ignorance!

This may sound stupid, have you tried Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Palestini...ref=stream

https://www.facebook.com/IAAMT?ref=strea...ion=stream

Many of these pages have links to works from their own people regarding history. Really quite fascinating and on the internet too!

[Minimalist]

Let me offer you two online magazine articles dealing with what archaeology has learned in the last 40 years. Part of the problem with early archaeology is that they were funded by religious-based universities and you ended up with "archaeologists" who were really preachers looking for evidence that their bible was "true." Needless to say they found it mainly by pronouncing every rock they picked up as something that moses pissed on, or some such nonsense.

The introduction of radiocarbon dating in the 50's was the beginning of the end for bible bullshit archaeology and it got a real kick in the ass in the aftermath of the 1967 war. Israel is a strange little country and archaeology is almost a national obsession...or it was until it started telling them things they didn't want to hear. The war gave waves of young Israeli archaeology students access to the West Bank and Sinai and they dutifully started digging and found that it was all a lie. To their very great credit, scholars like Israel Finkelstein, Amihai Mazar, David Ussishkin, Ze'ev Herzog and Ronny Reich did not try to cover up the findings unlike idiot xtian ark hunters have.

Anyway these articles by Professor Herzog and Mr. Lazare will give a background on these finds. A full book on the subject is "The Bible Unearthed" by Finkelstein.

http://rense.com/general12/decon.htm

http://www.yorku.ca/dcarveth/false_testament

I have a e-copy of The Bible Unearthed. Let me know if you want it.

This is the basic problem with all 3 religions in the area. They are all based on a load of shit.

[Clueless Morgan]

I would suggest spending a number of nights link hopping through Wikipedia. It's accessible, easy to digest, and you can cover a lot of ground at both zoom levels while getting a feel for the overall contours of the subject.

Thanks for the suggestion, that might be a good way to get a feel for the overall regional histories before I delve into books.

This may sound stupid, have you tried Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Palestini...ref=stream

https://www.facebook.com/IAAMT?ref=strea...ion=stream

Many of these pages have links to works from their own people regarding history. Really quite fascinating and on the internet too!

No, I haven't tried Facebook, but I'll definitely look into those links!

Let me offer you two online magazine articles dealing with what archaeology has learned in the last 40 years.

...

http://rense.com/general12/decon.htm

http://www.yorku.ca/dcarveth/false_testament

Thanks, I'll look into these over my lunch break today.

A full book on the subject is "The Bible Unearthed" by Finkelstein.

...

I have a e-copy of The Bible Unearthed. Let me know if you want it.

That book is already on my amazon wishlist! SCORE! Is your e-copy for, like, a kindle? Do you want me to PM you with my email address or something?

Thanks so much for these suggestions, everyone!

[Minimalist]

It's just a .pdf. I also have epub and mobi versions of "Did Mohammed Exist" among a few others. PM an email address.

[Cheerful Charlie]

I took a world history class in college which contrasted Chinese and European history (so I guess it wasn't a comprehensive "World" history course but whatever, it was interesting) and ever since then I've been frustrated in realizing how little I know about the history of the non-European/North American/Central American world.

With that said, I've finally decided that my next to complete ignorance about the history of the Middle East and about Islam needs to be rectified.

Try Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, by Donald Redford for a general history of ancient Near East and Egypt.
There are a jillion books on Islam. The Cambridge History of Islam in 2 volumes is good and not horribly expensive.
The history of Israel and Judea tend to be entangled in Near Eastern archaeology. A good start here would be Israel Finkelstein's Unearthing the Bible and William Deavers Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come from?
Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt (Chronicles) by Peter Clayton gives a good chronological timeline of Egypt's pharohs and Egyptian history.

Some books can be found online. William Muir's works on Islamic history at the internet atrchivve for example. Old but still useful reading.

The History of the Arab Peoples is a good book for that. By Albert Hourani

[Clueless Morgan]

Thanks, Cheerful Charlie! I'll definitely look into your recommendations.

Minimalist sent me the ebook for The Bible Unearthed and I'm reading it now and it's been a great and very interesting look into the archeological history of the Near East. (Thanks again, Min!)

I'm also listening to a series called The Great Courses on the Early Middle Ages which has touched briefly on the emergence of the Byzantine Empire and the socio-economic developments in that area of the world, as well as a little bit about the spread of Christianity and Islam across Europe. So far it's been an interesting overview of the time period but I definitely want to delve deeper into the rise of the Byzantine Empire and the history of Persia.

My lunchtime book, The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond, is also touching upon the prehistoric and ancient Middle East a bit - it's currently talking about the development and spread of the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) and where it might have originated and how it spread, and also talking about the development and spread of agriculture.