THE GREAT ARAB CONQUESTS pdf

THE GREAT ARAB CONQUESTS – How the Spread of Islam changed the World we live in by Hugh Kennedy

THE GREAT ARAB CONQUESTS

• Chapter 1 – THE FOUNDATIONS OF CONQUEST
• Chapter 2 – THE CONQUEST OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE
• Chapter 3 – THE CONQUEST OF IRAQ
• Chapter 4 – THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT
• Chapter 5 – THE CONQUEST OF IRAN
• Chapter 6 – INTO THE MAGHREB
• Chapter 7 – CROSSING THE OXUS
• Chapter 8 – THE ROAD TO SAMARQAND
• THE ACHIEVEMENT OF QUTAYBA B. MUSLIM, 705-15
• THE TURKISH COUNTER-STROKE, 715-37
• ASAD B. ABD ALLĀH, NASR B. SAYYĀR AND THE TRIUMPH OF ISLAM, 737-51
• Chapter 9 – FURTHEST EAST AND FURTHEST WEST
• SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
• Chapter 10 – THE WAR AT SEA
• NAVAL ORGANIZATION
• WARSHIPS
• THE EVIDENCE OF THE EGYPTIAN PAPYRI
• Chapter 11 – VOICES OF THE CONQUERED
• Chapter 12 – CONCLUSION
• THE DEFINING OF THE FRONTIERS
• THE SUCCESS OF THE ARAB CONQUESTS

Book Description

The Great Arab Conquests by Hugh Kennedy is a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of the spread of Islam and how it changed the world we live in. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in history, religion, or politics.

Kennedy’s book is divided into twelve chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of the Arab conquests. The book begins with an overview of the foundations of conquest, including the importance of the Arab tribes and the role of Muhammad in the early Islamic community. From there, Kennedy delves into the conquest of Syria and Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, and the Maghreb. He also covers the conquests in Spain and Portugal, as well as the war at sea and the voices of the conquered.

One of the strengths of Kennedy’s book is his ability to bring history to life. He vividly describes the landscapes and cities of the conquests, as well as the people involved. He also includes a number of illustrations and maps to help readers visualize the events.

Kennedy also does an excellent job of analyzing the historical sources and weighing the evidence. He acknowledges the biases and limitations of the sources, but still manages to compose a vivid and plausible narrative of events. His writing is clear and accessible, making the book enjoyable to read for both scholars and general readers.

The Great Arab Conquests has received high praise from reviewers. The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the book “states historical truths most nonexperts, general readers and politicians ignore.” The Economist calls it a “remarkable tale” told with “skill and authority.” The Milwaukee Shepherd Express praises the book for its “splendid job” of showing how the core territories of early Christianity fell under Muslim power. And Fore Word calls it a “major achievement of scholarship and readability.”

Finally, this is also a book about memory and the creation of memories. We have almost no perfectly contemporary records or descriptions of the Muslim conquests. All the accounts passed down to us have gone through several stages of editing and revision, and the addition of new and sometimes spurious information. Other historians have tended to dismiss much of this material because it is not an accurate record of ‘what actually happened’.

In reality, it is extremely interesting as an expression of social memory, of how the early Muslims reconstructed their past and explained the coming of Islam to the areas in which they now lived. The investigation of the foundation myths of the early Islamic community can tell us much about the world-view of the Muslims in the first century of Islam.