Ivo Klaver discusses the four major expeditions (Danish, French, Prussian, and British) which assembled scientific data in various parts of the Arab world between 1761 and 1881. These unique expeditions were sponsored by governments and official institutions, as opposed to expeditions undertaken by individual collectors. As such they were aimed at satisfying a desire for national prestige in a European imperialistic context, either in the field of knowledge or in the field of trade. At the same time they were epic adventures for the brilliant and dedicated naturalists involved, several of...