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The Umayyad Empire - (Edinburgh History of the Islamic Empires) by Andrew Marsham (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- The Umayyad Empire (644-750 CE) was the first Islamic empire and one of the largest empires of ancient and medieval times, extending over 5,000 miles between the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Indian Ocean in the East.
- About the Author: Andrew Marsham is Professor of Classical Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Queens' College, specialising in the Late Antique and Early Medieval History of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
- 384 Pages
- History, Africa
- Series Name: Edinburgh History of the Islamic Empires
Description
About the Book
Explores the distinctive character of the Umayyad empire in its early Islamic context: its economy, society and political history.Book Synopsis
The Umayyad Empire (644-750 CE) was the first Islamic empire and one of the largest empires of ancient and medieval times, extending over 5,000 miles between the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Indian Ocean in the East. This book traces the empire's origins to the Arabian Peninsula and the Syrian Steppe in the centuries before Islam. It explores the dynamics that shaped this formative era for the history of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The century of Umayyad rule witnessed war with the Eastern Roman Empire, against whom the Umayyads defined their claims to rule as God's deputies on Earth. This was the period in which the Qur'an was compiled, monuments such as the Dome of the Rock were built, and new Islamic and Arab identities developed.
Review Quotes
In his new book, Andrew Marsham - one of the great historians of the Umayyads - gives us a portrait of the first Muslim empire in all its vastness, turmoil, and diversity. Much more than a dynastic history, this book helps us see the environment in which Islam was first born and spread across the ancient world. A mighty achievement.
--Christian Sahner, University of OxfordAbout the Author
Andrew Marsham is Professor of Classical Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Queens' College, specialising in the Late Antique and Early Medieval History of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. His publications include The Umayyad World (Routledge, 2021), Power, Patronage and Memory in Early Islam (Oxford, 2018, with Professor Alain George), and Rituals of Islamic Monarchy (Edinburgh, 2009).