8vo. x, 244 pp. b/w photographs, cloth in d/w, previous owner’s name inscribed verso lower cover, notes, biblio, index, copy in mint condition, I. B. Tauris, 2009.

Synopsis

Debunking popular misconceptions about the Arab conquests, Amira Bennison shows that, far from seeing themselves as purging the ‘occidental’ culture of the ancient world with a ‘pure’ and ‘oriental’ Islamic doctrine, the ‘Abbasids perceived themselves to be as much within the tradition of Mediterranean and Near Eastern empire as any of their predecessors. Like other outsiders who inherited the Roman Empire, the Arabs had as much interest in preserving as in destroying, even while they were challenged by the paganism of the past.