Examine the ancient Islamic world through expertly designed maps and site drawings, bringing history to life.

Extensive maps and color photographs enhance an informative study of the development of Islam, detailing the rise of Arab power, its fragmentation, the spread of Islam, and the modern Arab world

This informative reference book uses specially drawn maps to explain how Muslim society, culture, and history rose in the second millennium to have a fully global significance.

Islamic peoples account for one fifth of the world's population and yet there is widespread misunderstanding in the West of what Islam really is. Francis Robinson and his team set out to address this, revealing the complex and sometimes contrary nature of Muslim culture. As well as taking on the issues uppermost in everyone's minds, such as the role of religious and political fundamentalism, they demonstrate the importance of commerce; literacy and learning; Islamic art; the effects of immigration, exodus, and conquest; and the roots of current crises in the Middle East, Bosnia, and the Gulf. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the interaction between Islam and the West, from the first Latin translations of the Quran to the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. This elegant book deliberately sets out to dismantle the Western impression of Islam as a monolithic world and replace it with a balanced view, from current issues of fundamentalism to its dynamic culture and art. Francis Robinson is the editor of two outstanding reference works: Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 (Cambridge, 1982) and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India (1989).

Chronicles the history of Islam from the birth of Mohammed to the independence of former Soviet Muslim States, covering a wide variety of themes, including philosophy, arts, and architecture.

Surveys the history and development of Mesopotamian and Near Eastern civilization, describing the cultural, technological, political, and economic achievements of the different peoples living there