History

Bibliography

This web site aims to bring to you a wide variety of resources on Arab Culture and Civilization, but much more is available. This bibliography includes a number of additional materials that you may wish to consult. Texts that have recently been annotated or added to this list are shown with a tan background. In addition, there are many other online resources that you can explore from our links list.

Arab-Islamic bibliography: the Middle East Library Committee guide: based on Giuseppe Gabrieli's Manuale di bibliografia musulmana / edited by Diana Grimwood-Jones, Derek Hopwood, J. D. Pearson, with the assistance of J. P. C. Auchterlonie, J. D. Latham, Yasin Safadi. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1977

The Cambridge history of Islam; edited by P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton [and] Bernard Lewis. (v. 1. The central Islamic lands.--v. 2. The further Islamic lands, Islamic society and civilization.) Cambridge [Eng.] University Press, 1970

The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World, edited by Francis Robinson. Cambridge University Press, 1999

The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Prepared by a number of leading Orientalists. Edited by J. H. Kramers, H. A. R. Gibb and E. Levi-Provençal, under the patronage of the International Union of Academies. Leiden, Brill, 1954-

The Encyclopaedia of Islam. volumes 1-9 [computer file] / [edited by ... H.A.R. Gibb.]. CD-ROM ed. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill, c1999

The Encyclopaedia of Islam; a dictionary of the geography, ethnography and biography of the Muhammadan peoples, prepared by a number of leading orientalists. Published under the patronage of the International association of the academies. Leyden, E. J. Brill ltd.; London, Luzac & co., 1913-34

Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East / edited by Reeva S. Simon, Philip Mattar, Richard W. Bulliet. New York: Macmillan Reference USA: Simon & Schuster Macmillan; London: Simon & Schuster: Prentice Hall International, c1996

Great dates in Islamic history / general editor, Robert Mantran. (Great dates) New York: Facts on File, c1996

Index islamicus on CD-ROM [computer file]. London; New Providence, NJ: Bowker-Saur, c1998-

Index Islamicus, 1906-1955 / J. D. Pearson. [Frequency: Quinquennial, 1956-70, 19 - Annual with quinquennial cumulations, 1971/72-1975] London [etc.] Mansell [etc.]

Index Islamicus. [Continues: Quarterly index Islamicus ] East Grinstead, West Sussex, UK: Bowker-Saur, 1994-

Middle East and Islam: a bibliographical introduction / edited by Diana Grimwood-Jones. (Bibliotheca Asiatica. 15) Rev. and enl. ed. Zug, Switzerland: Inter Documentation Co., c1979

Middle East and Islam: a bibliographical introduction: supplement, 1977-1983 / Middle East Libraries Committee; edited by Paul Auchterlonie. Zug, Switzerland: IDC, c1986

Middle East and Islam; a bibliographical introduction. Edited by Derek Hopwood and Diana Grimwood-Jones. Foreword by J. D. Pearson. (Bibliotheca Asiatica. 9) Zug, Switzerland, Inter Documentation Co. [c1972]

Middle East sources: a MELCOM guide to Middle Eastern and Islamic books and materials in the United Kingdom and Irish libraries / compiled and edited by Ian Richard Netton. Richmond: Curzon, 1998

The Oxford encyclopedia of the modern Islamic world / John L. Esposito, editor in chief. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995

Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghreb. History, culture and Politics.. Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, ed. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

Notes: A collection of essays that criticially examines colonial and nationalist constructions of the Maghreb and the component nations. Essays discuss topics as diverse as ideology, folklore, and literature in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

Abd al-Rahman, Abd al-Jabbar. Iraq / A.J. Abdulrahman. (World bibliographical series. v. 42) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1984

Abdallah, Laroui. The History of the Maghrib: An Interpretive Essay. Princeton University Press, 1977

Notes: The author of this work seeks to provide a more Maghribi-centered, less orientalist reading of the history of the Maghrib. Begins with antiquity and runs through the 20th century.

Amadouny, Vartan M. Jordan / Vartan M. Amadouny. (World bibliographical series; v. 55) Rev. ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1999

Andersen, Roy; Seibert, Robert F.; Wegner, Jon G. Politics and Change in the Middle East: Sources of Conflict and Accommodation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 2000

Notes: A survey of history and religion in the Middle East, concentrating on economic, political, and cultural themes. Designed as a textbook by three professors at Knox College, and intended as an introductory work for the undergraduate reader.

Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. New York: Modern Library, 2000

Bacharach, Jere L., 1938-. A Middle East studies handbook / Jere L. Bacharach. Seattle: University of Washington Press, c1984

Behn, Wolfgang. Index Islamicus, 1665-1905: a bibliography of articles on Islamic subjects in periodicals and other collective publications / compiled by W.H. Behn. Millersville, Pa. (415 Herr Ave., Millersville 17551): Adiyok, c1989

-----. Index islamicus. Supplement, 1665-1980: a bibliography of articles on Islamic subjects in periodicals and other collective publications / by W.H. Behn. (Behn, Wolfgang. Bio-bibliographical supplement to Index islamicus,) Millersville, Pa. (415 Herr Ave., Millersville 17551): Adiyok, c1995-

Berkey, Jonathan P.. The Formation of Islam. Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Notes: This book by an Associate Professor of History at Davidson College, was the winner of the 2003 Albert Hourani Book Award of the Middle East Studies Association. The title gives a clear indication of the subject matter, but the book is remarkable for the attention paid to the interaction of Islam with other faith traditions, as well as its detailed explication of the pace of and reasons for the spread of Islam.

Bernhardsson, Magnus T.. Reclaiming a Plundered Past. Archeology and Nation Building in Modern Iraq

Notes: This book looks at the role of archeology in the construction of identity in the modern state of Iraq. It traces this from the nineteenth century when European powers excavated and apporpriated antiquities through to the modern state which uses archeology to link itself to the ancient divilizations of Mesopotamia and the early Islamic empires. The introduction to the book also situates this history in relation to the plundering of Iraqi artifacts during the recent invasion.

Bleaney, C. H. Iraq / C.H. Bleaney. (World bibliographical series; v. 42) 2nd ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1995

-----. Lebanon / C. H. Bleaney. (World bibliographical series; v. 2) Rev. and exp. ed. Oxford, Eng.; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1991

Choueiri, Youssef M. Arab History and the Nation State: A Study in Modern Arab Historiography, 1820-1980. London: Routledge Kegan & Paul, 1989

Notes: A study of Arab historians and historiography, divided into two parts: the advent of modern Arab historiography, followed by a critical analysis of the writing of three modern Arab historians. The author is a lecturer at the University of Exeter.

Clements, Frank, 1942-. Kuwait / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series. v. 56) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1985

-----. Kuwait / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series; v. 56) Rev. ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1996

-----. Oman / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series. v. 29) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1981

-----. Saudi Arabia / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series; v. 5) Rev. and expanded ed. Oxford: Clio, c1988

-----. Saudi Arabia / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series. v. 5) Oxford, Eng.; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1979

-----. United Arab Emirates / Frank A. Clements. (World bibliographical series. v. 43) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1983

Cleveland, William. A History of the Modern Middle East 2nd edition. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2000

Notes: Includes a brief introduction to the history of the Middle East through the 18th century, followed by a more in-depth study of the region in the last two centuries. Focuses mainly on aspects of political history.

Crone, Patricia, 1945-. Hagarism: the making of the Islamic world / Patricia Crone, Michael Cook. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977, c1976

Notes: A study of the advent of Islam using only non-Islamic contemporary sources—as the authors put it, an account “written by infidels for infidels.”

-----. Meccan trade and the rise of Islam / Patricia Crone. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1987

Daly, M. W. Sudan / M.W. Daly. (World bibliographical series; v. 40) Rev. and expanded ed. Oxford: Clio, c1992

Dunlop, D. M. Arab civilization to A.D. 1500 [by] D. M. Dunlop. New York: Praeger, [1971]

Duri, Abd al-Aziz. The rise of historical writing among the Arabs / A.A. Duri; edited and translated by Lawrence I. Conrad; introduction by Fred M. Donner.[Bahth fi nashat ilm al-tarikh inda al-Arab. English] (Modern classics in Near Eastern studies.) Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1983

Findlay, A. M. Morocco / Anne M. Findlay and Allan M. Findlay. (World bibliographical series; v. 47) Rev. ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1995

Findlay, Allan M. Tunisia / Allan M. Findlay, Anne M. Findlay, Richard I. Lawless. (World bibliographical series. v. 33) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1982

Fromkin, David. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. Owl Books,2001.

Notes: A focused look at the period between 1914 and 1922 in the Middle East. Fromkin chronicles the political maneuvering of the European colonialists and shows how their decisions in this period plotted the course of the Middle East in the 20th century.

Haji, Hamid. Founding the Fatimid State: The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006.

Notes: An annotated English translation of Al-Qadi al-Nu'man's Ifitah al-Dawa. Published in association with the Institute of Isamaili Studies.

Hitti, Philip Khuri, 1886-. History of the Arabs from the earliest times to the present [by] Philip K. Hitti. 10th ed. [London] Macmillan; [New York] St Martin's Press [1970]

-----. The Arabs: A Short History / Philip K. Hitti. New York, St. Martin's Press, 1968

Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The venture of Islam: conscience and history in a world civilization / Marshall G. S. Hodgson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974

Notes: An extensive history of Islam, from its inception through the mid-twentieth century. Divided into three volumes: the classical age, expansion in the middle period, and the gunpowder empires and modern times.

Hopkins, Nicholas S. with Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Arab Society: Class, Gender, Power, and Development. 3rd ed. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 1997.

Notes: A text consisting of articles selected by professors of Sociology and Anthropology at the American University in Cairo for use in their undergraduate courses. Divided into seven sections: Arab society in general, demography, family and gender, development, politics, the environment and human rights, and religion.

Hourani, Albert Habib. A history of the Arab peoples / Albert Hourani. Cambridge, Mass.: Harward University Press, 1991

Humphreys, R. Stephen. Islamic history: a framework for inquiry / R. Stephen Humphreys. Rev. ed. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, c1991

Notes: A study guide for the student of Islamic history. Provides information on the tools and sources available for the study of Islamic history from 600-1500. Includes chapters on more specific topics as a guide for going about the research and study of these topics—questions raised, sources needed, strategies of though to pursue. The author is a professor at UC-Santa Barbara.

Ibn Khaldun, 1332-1406. The Muqaddimah, an introduction to history. Translated from the Arabic by Franz Rosenthal. Abridged and edited by N. J. Dawood. (Bollingen series. 160) [Princeton, N. J.] Princeton University Press [1969]

-----. The Muqaddimah; an introduction to history. Translated from the Arabic by Franz Rosenthal. (Bollingen series. 43) 2d ed., with corrections and augmented bibliography. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1967

Notes: Ibn Khaldun’s most famous work, which originated as an introduction to his lengthy History but became in itself an independent work of philosophy, political science, history, law and sociology. This translation includes a detailed biography of Ibn Khaldun, a contextual explanation of the work, and a textual history of its manuscripts.

Khairallah, Shereen. Lebanon / Shereen Khairallah. (World bibliographical series.) Oxford, Eng.; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1979

Khalidi, Rashid et. al. (eds). The Origins of Arab Nationalism edited by Rashid Khalidi, Lisa Anderson, Muhammad Muslih, R. Simon. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993

Notes: A collection of essays labeled “revisionist scholarship,” seeking to reexamine the study of Arab nationalism during the turn-of-the-century and pre-mandate years in the Arab world. A specialized study intended for students and scholars of the Middle East. Includes glossary and bibliography.

Lapidus, Ira M. (Ira Marvin). A history of Islamic societies / Ira M. Lapidus. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988

Lawless, Richard I. Algeria / Richard I. Lawless (World bibliographical series. v. 19) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1980

-----. Algeria / Richard I. Lawless. (World bibliographical series; v. 19) Rev. ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1995

-----. Libya / Richard I. Lawless. (World bibliographical series; v. 79) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1987

Lewis, Bernard. The Arabs in history / Bernard Lewis. 6th ed., new ed. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1993

Makar, Ragai N. Egypt / Ragai N. Makar. (World bibliographical series; v. 86) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1988

Mansfield, Peter. A History of the Middle East. New York: Viking, 1991

Notes: A detailed history of the Middle East in the 19th and 20th centuries by a British journalist and historian.

Mez, Adam, 1869-1917. The renaissance of Islam, by Adam Mez. Translated into English by Salahuddin Khuda Bukhsh and D. S. Margoliouth. 1st ed. London, Luzac & co., 1937

Notes: A social history of the Arab world in the 10th century, written by a German scholar and translated into English early in the 20th century.

Mourad, Suleiman Ali. Early Islam Between Myth And History: Al-hasan Al-basri (D. 110h/7.28ce) And the Formation on His Legacy in Classical Islamic Scholarship. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2005.

Notes: This book, by a Professor of Religion at Smith College, traces the process through which a historical character named al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī was transformed into a myth by several groups in medieval Islam.

Noth, Albrecht. The early Arabic historical tradition: a source- critical study / Albrecht Noth in collaboration with Lawrence I. Conrad; translated from the German by Michael Bonner. [Quellenkritische Studien zu Themen, Formen und Tendenzen frühislamischer Geschichtsüberlieferung. English] (Studies in late antiquity and early Islam) 2nd ed. Princeton, N.J.: Darwin Press, 1994

Notes: Examines the historiography of the early years of Islam (namely the three decades directly after the death of Muhammad) using and analyzing sources from early Muslim historians such as al-Tabari.

Ovendale, Ritchie. The Longman Companion to the Middle East since 1914. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1998

Quilliam, Neil. Syria / Neil Quilliam. (World bibliographical series; v. 73) Rev. ed. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1999

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. Girl Blog from Iraq. New York: Feminist Press of the City University of New York, 2005.

Notes: This book collects the blog entries by "Riverbend," from her Baghdad Burning blog. This blog from Iraq gave an unusual inside glimpse into the American invasion and its immediate aftermath as it was happening and from the perspect of an ordinary citizen who is surrounded by the conflict.

Rodinson, Maxime. The Arabs. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1981

Notes: The author wishes to present a portrait of the Arabs as a people. He doesn’t follow a chronological history but rather aims, in his words, to “show how each region within the Arab world acquired it’s Arabhood, and what ethnic foundations that Arabhood was built.”

Rosenthal, Franz, 1914-. A history of Muslim historiography. 2d rev. ed. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1968

Seccombe, Ian J. Jordan / Ian J. Seccombe. (World bibliographical series. v. 55) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1984

-----. Syria / Ian J. Seccombe. (World bibliographical series. v. 73) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1987

Shaban, M. A. The Abbasid revolution [by] M. A. Shaban. Cambridge [Eng.] University Press, 1970

Notes: The author proposes that the Abbasid revolution, which brought down the Umayyad Caliphate, sought to unite all Muslims into one community, regardless of race. This interpretation differs from those of previous historians. Focuses specifically on events in the province of Khurasan at the time of the revolution.

-----. Islamic history, a new interpretation [by] M. A. Shaban. Cambridge [Eng.] University Press, 1971-

Notes: The author seeks to re-examine previous scholarship on the subject and introduce the use of newly-discovered sources in order to provide a new interpretation of Islamic History, from 600-1055. The work is divided into two volumes: the first includes the period from 600 to 750 and the second from 750 to 1055.

Shlaim, Avi. War and Peace in the Middle East: A Concise History. New York: Penguin, 1995

Notes: A brief account of the “role of the Middle East in world politics,” focusing on the 20th century and the external political influences on the Middle East. The author is a professor of International Relations at Oxford.

Tabari, 838?-923. [Tarikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English]. The history of al-Tabari = Tarikh al-rusul wa'l muluk. (SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Biblioteca Persica (Albany, N.Y.)) Albany: State University of New York, 1985-

Unwin, P. T. H. Bahrain / P.T.H. Unwin. (World bibliographical series. v. 49) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1984

-----. Qatar / P.T.H. Unwin. (World bibliographical series. v. 36) Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, c1982

Von Grunebaum, Gustave E. (Gustave Edmund), 1909-1972. Classical Islam; a history, 600-1258, by G. E. Von Grunebaum. Translated by Katherine Watson. 1st U.S. ed. Chicago, Aldine Pub. Co. [1970]

Notes: A history of the Islamic world, covering the period from the birth of Muhammad to the end of the Abbasid caliphate in 1258. Illustrated, with maps and a chronology.

Watt, W. Montgomery (William Montgomery). The majesty that was Islam; the Islamic world, 661-1100 [by] W. Montgomery Watt. New York, Praeger [1974]

Notes: A history of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, a period the author describes as “the prime of Islamic civilization.” Illustrated.

-----. Muhammad at Mecca / by W. Montgomery Watt. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953, printing 1968

Notes: A detailed examination of Muhammad’s early years in Mecca, using the Qur’an, Hadith, and early histories as sources. Emphasis on the economic, social, and political aspects of history.

-----. Muhammad at Medina. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1956

Notes: A history of Muhammad’s life in Medina, after the Hijra—a continuation of the author’s earlier work.

-----. Muhammad: prophet and statesman [by] W. Montgomery Watt. London, New York, Oxford University Press [1974,c1961]

Notes: An abridged version of the author’s previous works, Muhammad at Mecca and Muhammad at Medina. Follows the life of the prophet from birth to death.

-----. A short history of Islam / William Montgomery Watt. Oxford: Oneworld, c1996