A History of the Arab Peoples

In a bestselling work of profound and lasting importance, the late Albert Hourani told the definitive history of the Arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of Islam began to spread from the Arabian peninsula westwards, to the present day. It is a masterly distillation of a lifetime of scholarship and a unique insight into a perpetually troubled region.

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In a bestselling work of profound and lasting importance, the late Albert Hourani told the definitive history of the Arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of Islam began to spread from the Arabian peninsula westwards, to the present day. It is a masterly distillation of a lifetime of scholarship and a unique insight into a perpetually troubled region.

This updated edition by Malise Ruthven adds a substantial new chapter which includes recent events such as 9/11, the US invasion of Iraq and its bloody aftermath, the fall of the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, and the incipient civil war in Syria, bringing Hourani's magisterial history up to date.

Ruthven suggests that while Hourani can hardly have been expected to predict in detail the massive upheavals that have shaken the Arab world recently he would not have been entirely surprised, given the persistence of the kin-patronage networks he describes in his book and the challenges now posed to them by a new media-aware generation of dissatisfied youth.

In a new biographical preface, Malise Ruthven shows how Hourani's perspectives on Arab history were shaped by his unique background as an English-born Arab Christian with roots in the Levant.

Preface
Author’s Note
Prologue
Part I: The Making of a World (7th–10th Century)
1. A New Power in an Old World
The world into which the Arabs came
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Preface
Author’s Note
Prologue
Part I: The Making of a World (7th–10th Century)
1. A New Power in an Old World
The world into which the Arabs came
The language of poetry
Muhammad and the appearance of Islam
2. The Formation of an Empire
The succession to Muhammad: the conquest of an empire
The caliphate of Damascus
The caliphate of Baghdad
3. The Formation of a Society
The end of political unity
A unified society: the economic bases
Unity of faith and language
The Islamic world
4. The Articulation of Islam
The questions of authority
The power and justice of God
The shari’a
The Traditions of the Prophet
The path of the mystic
The path of reason
Part II: Arab Muslim Societies (11th–15th Century)
5. The Arab Muslim World
States and dynasties
Arabs, Persians and Turks
Geographical divisions
Muslim Arabs and others
6. The Countryside
Land and its use
Tribal societies
7. The Life of Cities
Markets and cities
The city population
Law and the ‘ulama
Slaves
Muslims and non-Muslims in the city
Women in the city
The shape of the city
Houses in the city
The chain of cities
8. Cities and Their Rulers
The formation of dynasties
The alliance of interests
Control of the countryside
Ideas of political authority
9. Ways of Islam
The Pillars of Islam
The friends of God
10. The Culture of the ‘Ulama
The ‘ulama and the shari’a
The transmission of learning
Kalam
Al-Ghazali
11. Divergent Paths of Thought
Islam of the philosophers
Ibn ‘Arabi and theosophy
Ibn Taymiyya and the Hanbali tradition
The development of Shi’ism
Jewish and Christian learning
12. The Culture of Courts and People
Rulers and patrons
Poetry and story
Music
Understanding the world
Part III: The Ottoman Age (16th–18th Century)
13. The Ottoman Empire
The limits of political power
Ottoman government
The Ottomans and Islamic tradition
Government in the Arab provinces
14. Ottoman Societies
Population and wealth in the empire
The Arab provinces
The culture of the Arab provinces
Beyond the empire: Arabia, the Sudan, Morocco
15. The Changing Balance of Power in the Eighteenth Century
Central and local authorities
Arab Ottoman society and culture
The world of Islam
Changing relations with Europe
Part IV: The Age of European Empires (1800–1939)
16. European Power and Reforming Governments (1800–1860)
The expansion of Europe
The beginnings of European empire
Reforming governments
17. European Empires and Dominant Elites (1860–1914)
The limits of independence
The partition of Africa: Egypt and the Maghrib
The alliance of dominant interests
Control of the land
The condition of the people
The dual society
18. The Culture of Imperialism and Reform
The culture of imperialism
The rise of the intelligentsia
The culture of reform
The emergence of nationalism
The continuity of Islamic tradition
19. The Climax of European Power (1914–1939)
The supremacy of Great Britain and France
The primacy of British and French interests
Immigrants and the land
The growth of the indigenous elite
Attempts at political agreement
20. Changing Ways of Life and Thought (1914–1939)
Population and the countryside
Life in the new cities
The culture of nationalism
Islam of the élite and the masses
Part V: The Age of Nation-States (Since 1939)
21. The End of the Empires (1939–1962)
The Second World War
National independence (1945–1956)
The Suez crisis
The Algerian war
22. Changing Societies (1940s and 1950s)
Population and economic growth
The profits of growth: merchants and landowners
The power of the state
Rich and poor in the city
23. National Culture (1940s and 1950s)
Problems of education
Language and self-expression
Islamic movements
24. The Climax of Arabism (1950s and 1960s)
Popular nationalism
The ascendancy of Nasirism
The crisis of 1967
25. Arab Unity and Disunity (since 1967)
The crisis of 1973
The predominance of American influence
The interdependence of Arab countries
Arab disunity
26. A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967)
Ethnic and religious divisions
Rich and poor
Women in society
A heritage and its renewal
The stability of regimes
The fragility of regimes
Afterword (2002)
Maps
Genealogies and Dynasties
The Family of the Prophet
The Shi‘i Imams
The Caliphs
Important Dynasties
Ruling Families in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Terms
General Index
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