The Assassins is a comprehensive, readable, and authoritative account of history's first terrorists. An offshoot of the Ismaili Shi'ite sect of Islam, the Assassins were the first group to make systematic use of murder as a political weapon. Established in Iran and Syria in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, they aimed to overthrow the existing Sunni order in Islam and replace it with their own. They terrorized their foes with a series of dramatic murders of Islamic leaders, as well as of some of the Crusaders, who brought their name and fame back to Europe.Professor Lewis traces the history...

First published in 1970, The Cambridge History of Islam is the most comprehensive and ambitious collaborative survey of Islamic history and civilization yet to appear in English. On publication it was welcomed as a work useful for both reference and reading, for the general reader, student and specialist alike. It has now been reprinted, with corrections, and for ease of handling the original two hardcover volumes have each been divided into two separate paperbacks.

Volume 1B covers the history of the central Islamic lands from 1918 to the 1960s.

First published in 1970, The Cambridge History of Islam is the most comprehensive and ambitious collaborative survey of Islamic history and civilization yet to appear in English.

First published in 1970, The Cambridge History of Islam is a most comprehensive and ambitious collaborative survey of Islamic history and civilization. On publication it was welcomed as a work useful both for reference and reading, for the general reader, student and specialist alike. It has now been reprinted, with corrections, and for ease of handling the original two hardcover volumes have each been divided into two separate paperbacks.

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.

Drawing on material from a multitude of sources, including the work of archaeologists and scholars, Lewis chronologically traces the political, economical, social, and cultural development of the Middle East, from Hellenization in antiquity to the impact of westernization on Islamic culture. Meticulously researched, this enlightening narrative...

The book description for the previously published "Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law" is not yet available.

The Middle East is the birthplace of ancient civilizations, but most of the modern states that occupy its territory today are of recent origin, as are many key concepts of communal and individual identity and loyalty that the peoples of the region now confront. In The Multiple Identities of the Middle East, eminent Middle East historian Bernard Lewis elucidates the critical role of identity in the domestic, regional, and international tensions and conflicts of the Middle East today.
Examining religion, race and language, country, nation, and state, Lewis traces the rapid evolution...

From the first expansion of Islam to the exploits of Saddam Hussein, Middle Eastern society has been fatefully involved with the West. This revised and updated collection of essays by a leading Western expert on Islam and the Middle East gives essential background to the present Middle Eastern conflicts and their interaction, through mutual misunderstanding, with Western conceptions. From the first expansion of Islam to the exploits of Saddam Hussein, Middle Eastern society has been fatefully involved with the West. This revised and updated collection of essays by a Western expert on Islam...