The Arabs in History

Author: Bernard LewisPublisher: Goodword BooksYear: 2001Language: EnglishPages: 192ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187570598 DescriptionThis work seeks to isolate and examine certain basic issues - the place of the Arabs in human history, their identity, their achievements, and the salient characteristics of the several ages of their development.What is an Arab? Ethnic terms are notoriously difficult to define, and Arab is not among the easiest. One possible definition may be set aside at once. The Arabs may be a nation; they are not as yet a nationality in the legal sense. A man who calls himself an Arab may be described in his passport as of Syrian of Lebanese, Jordanian or Egyptian, Iraqi or Saudi-Arabian nationality, but not Arab. There are Arab states, and indeed a League of Arab states, but as yet no single Arab State, of which all Arabs are nationals.ContentsPrefaceIntroductionI Arabia Before IslamII Muhammad and the Rise of IslamIII The Age of the ConquestsIV The Arab Ki