The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years
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The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years

Code: ME_BH

$16.20

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Product Description

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by Lewis, Bernard W.

In a sweeping and vivid survey, renowned historian Bernard Lewis charts the history of the Middle East over the last 2,000 years, from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it. Elegantly written, scholarly yet accessible, "The Middle East" is the most comprehensive single volume history of the region ever written from the world's foremost authority on the Middle East.

As the Birthplace of three religions and many civilizations, the Middle East has for centuries been a center of knowledge and ideas, of techniques and commodities, and, at times, of military and political power. With the historical - and still growing - importance of the Middle East in modern politics, historian Bernard Lewis's cogent and scholary writing brings a wider understanding of the cultures of the region to a popular audience. In this immensely readable and broad history, Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East, beginning with the two great empires, the Roman and the Persian, whose disputes divided the region two thousand years ago; the development of monotheism and the growth of Christianity; the astonishingly rapid rise and spread of Islam over a vast area; the waves of invaders from the East and the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan; the rise of the Ottoman Turks in Anatolia, the Mamluks in Egypt and the Safavids in Iran; the peak and decline of the great Ottoman state; and the changing balance of power between the Muslim and Christian worlds.

Within this narrative, Lewis details the myriad forces that have shaped the history of the Middle East: the Islamic religion and legal system; the traditions of government; the immense variety of trade and the remarkably wide range of crops; the elites - military, commercial, religious, intellectual and artistic - and the commonalty, including such socially distinct groups as slaves, women and non-believers. He finally weaves these threads together by looking at the pervasive impact in modern times of Western ideas and technology, and the responses and reactions they evoked. Rich with vivid detail and the knowledge ofa great scholar, this brilliant survey of the history and civilizations of the Middle East reveals the huge Islamic contribution to European life, as well as the European contribution to the Islamic world.

High School students to adults
448 pp
paperback
Illustrated, Maps, Bibliography, Index

ISBN 9780684832807

Retail Price: $18.00
Our Price: $16.20

Carolyn's Comments:
If you want to understand what is going on today in the Middle East, you must understand the history behind it. Professor Lewis' engaging history is both enjoyable and enlightening. He walks you through 2000 years of history of arguably the most important geographical region in the world. I cannot recommend this highly enough.