The book is impressively thorough in its exploration of islams various intellectual strands. Upon its publication in 1991, albert houranis masterwork was hailed as the definitive story of arab civilization. Sometime after the rise of islam in the first quarter of the 7th century ce and the emergence of the arabian muslims as the founders of one of the great empires of history, the name. A semitic people like the jews see semites, arabs form the bulk of the population of algeria, bahrain, egypt, iraq, jordan, kuwait, lebanon, libya, morocco, oman, qatar, saudi arabia, sudan, syria, tunisia, the united arab emirates, yemen aden, and yemen sana. Macats analyses are definitive studies of the most important books and.
Their natural ferocity and love of warfare, together with the sense of moral rectitude provided. In a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of arab history and culture, hourani brilliantly illuminated the people and events that have fundamentally. When hourani titled his book, history of the arab peoples, he was being honest and literal the book is literally a history of the peoples, including the development of their interpretations of islam, the formation of various schools of thought on the islamic law and how literally it was to be interpreted, the conflict between secularism and fundamentalism and nationalism in the post. History of arabia, history of the region from prehistoric times to the present. An analysis of albert houranis a history of the arab people. The arab peoples comprise numerous clans and tribes. This is an introductory section, summarising the most important points of this work in one 10minute read. New additions by scholar malise ruthven bring balance and fresh relevance to this 1991 history of the arab world, writes ian pindar. A history of the arab peoples by albert hourani goodreads. A history of the arab peoples covers not only political history, but also culture, society, economy and thought, in a work of profound and lasting importance.
The late albert hourani told the definitive history of the arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of islam began to spread from the arabian peninsula westwards, to the present day. Slightly academic in style, and thus a little dense, but, nevertheless, well worth the listen. Written by albert hourani one of the great scholars of the middle east it is both concise and comprehensive covering centuries of history while presenting the. The desert tribesmen of arabia form the bulk of the muslim armies. A history of the arab peoples harvard university press. The biblical origins of the arab peoples united church. The terrorist attacks in the united states, ongoing crisis in iraq, and renewed violence between israelis and palestinians all underscore the need for a balanced and wellinformed understanding of the arab world, and make this insightful history. The arabs forged the rashidun 632661, umayyad 661750 and the abbasid 7501258 caliphates. Arab came to be used by these muslims themselves and by the nations with whom they came in contact to indicate all people of arabian origin. A history of the arab peoples albert hourani harvard university.
Albert hourani chronicles the history of arab civilization, looking at the beauty of the great mosques, the importance attached to education, the achievements of arab science, the role of women, internal conflicts. For this edition, malise ruthven continues the history to include such recent events as the crisis in iraq, the civil war in algeria and the aftermath of september 11th. Apr 30, 2019 a riveting, comprehensive history of the arab peoples and tribes that explores the role of language as a cultural touchstone this kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of arab history and shines a light on the footloose arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. A history of the arab peoples by hourani, albert, 19151993. A history of the arab peoples albert hourani harvard. A riveting, comprehensive history of the arab peoples and tribes that explores the role of language as a cultural touchstone this kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of arab history and shines a light on the footloose arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Today, arab refers to a large number of people whose native regions form the arab world due to the spread of arabs and the arabic language throughout the region during the early muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. History of the arab peoples by professor albert hourani. Pdf an analysis of albert houranis a history of the arab. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Most arab communities in southern dagestan underwent linguistic turkicisation, thus nowadays darvag is a majorityazeri village. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
A history of the arab peoples book by albert hourani. A history of the arab peoples audiobook by albert hourani. In a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of arab history and culture, hourani brilliantly illuminated the people and events that have fundamentally shaped the arab world. A history of the arab peoples, by albert hourani harvard university press. A history of the arab peoples albert hourani download. A history of the arab peoples npr coverage of a history of the arab peoples by albert hourani. In modern usage, it embraces any of the arabicspeaking peoples living in the vast region from mauritania, on the atlantic coast of africa, to southwestern iran, including the entire maghrib of north africa, egypt and sudan, the arabian peninsula, and syria and iraq. Updated edition revised edition by albert hourani isbn. According to the history of ibn khaldun, the arabs that were once in central asia have been either killed or have fled the tatar invasion of the region, leaving only the locals. One reason may be that, for more than half a century, there has been no upto date singlevolume work that chronicles the story of arab civilizationuntil now. An elegantly written study hourani delivers a grand story in a deceptively quiet and gentle tone of voice.
Welcome to the ways in section of this macat analysis. In a work of profound and lasting importance, albert hourani tells the definitive history of the arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of islam began to spread from the arabian peninsula westwards, to the present day. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. Although the book is entitled a history of the arab peoples, it also covers a great deal of persian and turkishottoman history. A history of the arab peoples by albert hourani youtube. Many historians trace the peoples of the southern arabian peninsula to joktan, who is mentioned in the bible. A history of the arab peoples is a book written by the britishborn lebanese historian albert hourani. Other arab peoples are descendants of abrahams nephew lot, who fled sodom.
But to really understand the history of the arab peoples, we must study the life of abraham. Despite its brevity, houranis volume is a reference work par excellence. Hourani tries to cover most of the history of the arab peoples, but this is certainly no easy task. This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of arab history and shines a light on the footloose arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this a history of the arab peoples study guide and get instant access to the following summary. Now this seminal book is available in an expanded second edition. A history of the arab peoples focuses extensively on islams origins and the transition of arab society from tribal communities, to islamic empire, to political nationstates. A history of the arab peoples albert habib hourani. One of its great merits is that it gives priority to social and cultural history over the often tedious story of wars and politics, although the author is amazingly successful in finding room for the key political events, and explanations for them. The terrorist attacks in the united states, ongoing crisis in iraq, and renewed violence between israelis and palestinians all underscore the need for a balanced and wellinformed understanding of the arab world, and make this insightful history of the arab peoples more important than ever. The text offers an overall positive outlook of the arab peoples accomplishments through the centuries critics may argue. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. More recent editions contain an afterword by malise ruthven bringing the history up to the present day including the invasion of iraq.
In this definitive history of the modern arab world, awardwinning historian eugene rogan draws extensively on arab sources and texts to place the arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Albert houranis a history of the arab peoples is an ambitious and successful attempt to summarize fourteen centuries of political, cultural, and religious history of people who inhabited an. In a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of arab history and culture, hourani brilliantly illuminated the people and events that have. Despite the tremendous scope of time and space over 0 years and spanning from spain to the east indies hourani furnishes the reader with a solid view of the many currents that underlie modern islam. A history of the arab peoples is a book written by the britishborn lebanese historian albert hourani the book presents the history of the arabs from the advent of islam although some preislamic history is included to the late 20th century. The arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the neoassyrian empire. Nov 15, 2010 the terrorist attacks in the united states, ongoing crisis in iraq, and renewed violence between israelis and palestinians all underscore the need for a balanced and wellinformed understanding of the arab world, and make this insightful history of the arab peoples more important than ever. Jan 01, 2002 the arab peoples comprise numerous clans and tribes. Albert hourani draws on many years of experience, research and thought in this masterful history of the arabs from mohammeds day to the present.
The biblical origins of the arab peoples united church of god. History of the arab peoples study guide course hero. Albert hourani s a history of the arab peoples is an ambitious and successful attempt to summarize fourteen centuries of political, cultural, and religious history of people who inhabited an area that encompassed spain, north africa, and the middle east. A history of the arab peoples albert habib hourani, albert. This page for albert houranis history of the arab peoples offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Hourani is one of the few scholars capable of writing a worthwhile history of the arabs from the rise of islam until the present day in under 600 pages. A history of the arab peoples is a masterly distillation of a lifetime of scholarship and a unique insight. A 3,000year history of peoples, tribes and empires. Distinguished lebaneseamerican historian albert hourani presents this book that might seem comprehensive to the westerners but concise to the arabs.
Houranis magisterial 1991 study, with an introduction and afterword by malise ruthven, starts with the preislamic history of the arabs to which. But the evident virtues of a history of the arab peoples notwithstanding, close scrutiny of the book reveals some major deficiencies, having to do with its static quality, its tendency to gloss over problems, and its hidden agenda. One reason may be that, for more than half a century, there has been no uptodate singlevolume work that chronicles the story of arab civilizationuntil now. A magnificent display of the late albert houranis lifetime of scholarship, it was a bestseller on first publication in 1991. Upon its publication in 1991, albert houranis masterwork was hailed as the definitive story of arab civilization, and became both a bestseller and an instant classic. The book offers an admirable sweep of the arab worlds history. In this definitive masterwork, distinguished oxford historian albert hourani offers the most. History of the arab peoples by albert hourani, paperback. A history of the arab peoples is a masterly distillation of a lifetime of scholarship and a unique insight into a perpetually troubled region. The book proceeds chronologically, but it is much more topic driven than. One of the most dramatic and sudden movements of any people in history is the expansion, by conquest, of the arabs in the 7th century only the example of the mongols in the th century can match it. It can lead to a better understanding of the arabs, past and present.
The history of the arabs begins in the midninth century bc, which is the earliest known attestation of the old arabic language. A 3,000year history of peoples, tribes and empires on. Tracing five centuries of arab history, rogan reveals that there was an age when the arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. A history of the arab peoples audiobook albert hourani. Search the history of over 418 billion web pages on the internet. The history of the arab peoples begins with the coalescence of arabic into a written language, which, essentially begins with the writing of the koran. The book presents the history of the arabs from the advent of islam although some preislamic history is included to the late 20th century.
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