Books on Islamic history

[ianna_kur]

I am currently taking a course in Medieval Islamic history, and I thought others might find some of the books interesting. It is a fascinating topic, which sadly is not commonly studied in the west.

Most of these books can be readily found at a local library, and some are more than a bit pricey, so I've not included links to Amazon or the like. :-) They aren't in any particular order.

"Islamic and European Expansion" - Michael Adas, editor.
Temple University Press, 1993.
A collection of essays primarily dealing with the historical and modern interactions between the Abode of Islam and the European west.

"When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World" - Hugh Kennedy
Da Capo Press, 2005.
A very well written book examining the era of the Abbasid empire, with some historical and post-Abbasid information as well.

"Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate in the Early Middle Ages" - E.A. Belaev, translated by Adolphe Gourevitch.
Frederick A. Praeger Inc., 1969
The title does an excellent job of describing the content. :-)

"India and the Mughal Dynasty" - Valerie Berinstain
Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1998
Covers the Mughal Dynasty in India and surrounding areas.

"The History of Iran" - Elton Daniel
Greenwood Press, 2001.
Goes into some detail of the Safavid empire in modern Iran and surrounding areas.

"Medieval Persia: 1040-1797" - David Morgan
Longman Publishing Group, 1998.
Goes into great detail of the Safavid and later empires, as well as their interaction with the rest of the world.

"The Mughal Empire" - John Richards
Cambridge University Press, 2005.
This book is very hard to find, but well worth it. Richards covers nearly the entire history of the Mughal empire in India and the surrounding areas from beginning to end.

"The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe" - Daniel Goffman
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
This book covers nearly the entirety of the Ottoman era, from its foundations to its end. Very well written, with great additional sources listed. Goffman also examines the impact of the invasion by the Crusaders in a depth rarely seen until recently.

I hope that those of you who are interested in Islamic political and global history find these resources helpful.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Thank you for the list

the titles sound like the books are fascinating!

[PsychoDad]

2. I've found Islamic history to be fascinating.

The connections between it and European history and the role Islamic learning and science played in the renaissance are also interesting, in part because they are often ignored or glossed over by popular western history.

My daughter recently covered this subject in her 9th grade history class. The textbook used was published by National Geographic and was refreshingly open and informative on the subject, unlike history books I remember from "back in the day".

Those books look very interesting , and I'll have to look into them, but you'll have to share what you have learned and your observations in he mean time. :)

Peace.