Book Description
The very name of Judas raises among Christians an instinctive reaction of criticism and condemnationThe betrayal of Judas remainsa mystery. Pope Benedict XVI, October 2006 The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot sheds new light on the the mystery of Judasincluding his motives for the betrayal and what happened to him after the crucifixionby retelling the story of Jesus through the eyes of Judas, using the canonical texts as its basic point of reference. Ostensibly written by Judass son, Benjamin, and following the narrative style of the Gospels, this re-creation is provocative, compelling, and controversial. The Gospel According to Judas, by Benjamin Iscariot is the result of an intense collaboration between a storyteller and a scholar: Jeffrey Archer and Francis J. Moloney. Their brilliant workbold and simpleis a compelling story for twenty-first-century readers, while maintaining an authenticity that would be credible to a first-century Christian or Jew.
Customer Reviews:
nice effort, unfortunately dull.......2007-09-25
I was waiting for something interesting to happen, some insight... I didn't really come across anything new.
Overall, a bit disappointing, luckily not a big book.
For much more illuminating Biblical historical fiction, I highly recommend the Kingdom & the Crown Series by Gerald Lund (3 books) and the Women of Genesis books by Orson Scott Card.
It actually has nothing to do with 'mysteries' of Judas.......2007-07-06
Oh come on people:
"The unlikely partnership of Jeffrey Archer and Francis J. Moloney was formed after Archer had sought advice from Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini on who should guide him through this demanding project. Among his many past students of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Cardinal Martini singled
out Professor Moloney, a graduate of that institute in 1972, who had completed his doctoral studies at Oxford University in 1975.
The project was as bold as it was simple: Archer would write a story for twenty-first-century readers, while Moloney would ensure that the result would be credible to a first-century Christian or Jew."
And that's EXACTLY the case. An interesting read.
Judas the Ensnared.......2007-06-28
I've been reading Archer since Kane and Abel and when I saw that he was writing a fictionalized account of the life of Judas as told by his son, I thought, wow, this could really be a great read and a little controversial. Neither came true. Basically, it's formatted like the gospels (nothing wrong with that), but just not an exciting read this time around. I was actually kind of bored reading it and the only reason I kept going was because it came in at around ninety pages so I persevered with it. The last chapter or two is when the basis of the story comes out and nothing earth shattering here. Judas was the victim of the religious zealots at the time to get rid of Christ. Maybe, maybe not. Does it change my point of view or my beliefs, probably not. Just something more to ponder about; the Bible, its writers (Did they embellish the truth from generation to generation before writing it down, whether on purpose or by accident. Kind of difficult to keep the same exact story going for tens or even hundreds of years orally without some of it being changed on the next telling), and the facts that surround it that science today continues to try to prove happened. I expected Archer to put this into more story form like all his other works and I think then he could have gone into more depth with this alternate theory and really provoked the reader's imagination. But he chose not to, giving us instead this lackluster rendition of what could have been a great story about Judas Iscariot.
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot.......2007-06-21
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
Where Do I begin. Lets start with the title, The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot by Jeffrey Archer, come on!! It should be the fictional story of The Gospel According to Judas by Jeffrey Archer as Benjamin Iscariot.
A Relevant Story:
A friend of mine recently told me of a Pastor who liked to make hot fudge, apparently he used all organic ingredients. One day the Pastor's daughter wanted to see PG parental guidance rated movie, that only had 5%, swearing/drug use or sex scenes. After much insistence the daughter when to see the movie, the next day the Pastor decided to make some hot chocolate fudge the aroma filled the house the Pastor stated that he'd used 5% of a special organic source and kept the matter a secret until all the fudge had been consumed. Then he asked did you notice any difference in the quality/flavour? No.. they replied, well the 5% special ingredient was organic it wont do any REAL harm, it was only dog p##h. lol
If you take a solid truth as the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and you contaminant 5% to 10% of it with a special 'organic substance' what do you have in the end - dog p##h. I felt the tone and reason for the book was a Jewish backlash hardliner trying to have some justification why Jesus wasn't who he said he was the Son of God. The book was written from the sour grapes attitude, "[Jesus wasn't] ...the long-awaited Messiah."p1, on the betrayal of Christ, Archer says, "...Judas knew that he was innocent of such an accusation, as his only purpose was to save Jesus from an unnecessary death." After Jesus' Death, the sorrowful Judas goes a lives amongst the Essenes then a Masada as a "marked man". And the book concludes with "Judas died as Jesus did. He was crucified by the Romans." It's all a bit desperate!
The whole story Gospel of Judas is unbalanced what about Isaiah 53 The Sin-bearing, Suffering Servant? The Gospel of Judas omits the 30 pieces of silver, and suicide of Judas. The Gospel of Judas is nothing more that fragments of quotation out of context in Holy Bible blended together (very poorly) it just doesn't stick!
Let us set aside a few things, just say by chance that this gospel of Judas was right, and the whole of the New Testament wrong. Ok we've been deceived by the BIGGEST hoaxes since man made fire. We could be waiting for the Messiah to still come as the Gospel of Judas indicated, unhappily Israel still waits, they missed the boat. Not one Holy Prophet has been around for over two thousand years.
Israel is one of the most violent, sad and godless places on earth. There is no peace, the temple has gone, the glory has gone, as a nation they forsook the Lord time and time again and were taken off to captivity. Jesus said in Matt 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city the kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See your house is left to you, desolate..."
Now let's just say that the Gospel of Judas is false piece of fiction. Look at the people in New Testament who believe and were change by it and gave their lives for it (Peter & Paul), they did not write empty words by words of someone who knew and walked and talked with Jesus. The story of people in Bible give us hope, in a world where we are saturated with Hollywood, sexism, drugs and alcohol, domestic violence (rape/guns) the list keeps on going on. I want freedom from all that this world offers because it like hot sweet chocolate fudge one isn't enough and one piece is too much.
In closing a quote from James 3:13, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
What was Archer really trying to achieve by the release of this book?
Lacks Impact.......2007-05-28
In spite of the clever packaging---this small 100+ page novel appears to be an ancient leather-bound journal complete with built in ribbon bookmark--- Jeffrey Archer's "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" fails to deliver the punch needed to smack it into the significance realm of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I expected some grand revelation---perhaps Judas and Jesus had concocted the whole betrayal bit; Judas gladly takes the hit and for two millennia is thought to be the ultimate 30 pieces of silver traitor. As I read this little gospel formatted tome, I am thinking, Judas's legendary despicable actions were all part of his Master's ultimate plan, right?
Wrong.
Supposedly, in "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" Archer and Moloney collaborate to formulate a tale believable to both Biblical scholars and modern laymen readers. The format definitely bespeaks of their desire to create something that resembles a gospel rendering complete with chapter and verse and the Jesus quotations (most of which are familiar from evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) highlighted in a red italicized font. Nevertheless, the story itself disappoints as it is far too similar to the actual gospels from which it is based to excite any degree of controversy. The supposed mystery of the real Judas simply neglects to properly mystify.
Bottom line? Years ago, I had read Frank Yerby's novel, "Judas, My Brother." Believe me as scandalous as the plotline of this older book seemed to me then, it could far more captivate its audience now than this Archer-Moloney collaboration. Sadly, "The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot" attempts to retell the story of Christ's ministry utilizing a fifth evangelist format that simply doesn't work. Why read this when the original four authors of the New Testament gospels have already told the tale and have told it the best way possible? Not recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
Book Description
A gripping intellectual adventure story,
Sailing from Byzantium sweeps you from the deserts of Arabia to the dark forests of northern Russia, from the colorful towns of Renaissance Italy to the final moments of a millennial city under siege….
Byzantium: the successor of Greece and Rome, this magnificent empire bridged the ancient and modern worlds for more than a thousand years. Without Byzantium, the works of Homer and Herodotus, Plato and Aristotle, Sophocles and Aeschylus, would never have survived. Yet very few of us have any idea of the enormous debt we owe them.
The story of Byzantium is a real-life adventure of electrifying ideas, high drama, colorful characters, and inspiring feats of daring. In Sailing from Byzantium, Colin Wells tells of the missionaries, mystics, philosophers, and artists who against great odds and often at peril of their own lives spread Greek ideas to the Italians, the Arabs, and the Slavs.
Their heroic efforts inspired the Renaissance, the golden age of Islamic learning, and Russian Orthodox Christianity, which came complete with a new alphabet, architecture, and one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions.
The story’s central reference point is an arcane squabble called the Hesychast controversy that pitted humanist scholars led by the brilliant, acerbic intellectual Barlaam against the powerful monks of Mount Athos led by the stern Gregory Palamas, who denounced “pagan” rationalism in favor of Christian mysticism.
Within a few decades, the light of Byzantium would be extinguished forever by the invading Turks, but not before the humanists found a safe haven for Greek literature. The controversy of rationalism versus faith would continue to be argued by some of history’s greatest minds.
Fast-paced, compulsively readable, and filled with fascinating insights,
Sailing from Byzantium is one of the great historical dramas–the gripping story of how the flame of civilization was saved and passed on.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining biographical sketches that shaped the world after 1453.......2007-08-28
This readable history of the historical waves emanating from Byzantine influences is an indispensable work. The style is partly biographical sketches and partly telling of a story making it easily accessible and useful to novice and professional historian alike. The biographical flavor provides the structure for history as events involving human beings with complex characters and mixed motivations acting on the society in their time. The story-telling aspect provides the glue that sweeps the characters and their influence through their geographical dispersions to reveal their influence in Russia, western Europe, and Islam.
An enjoyable read for any historian looking for hints of the Byzantine in the world today. Well done.
Tremendous work.......2007-08-14
This is a great work about an empire that was - and indeed still is - important in our world today. Back when I took a course in Classics in college, my professor lectured us on the importance of the Byzantine Empire, and yet, how few people understand it, and can convey the importance. The author, in my view, has done a truly tremendous job of condensing history down into a very readable, non-intimidating book, which conveys the entire history of Byzantium, from its founding in 500 A.D. to its end in 1493 A.D. The author commands an encyclopedic knowledge of the Classical world, as well as an ability to write. I can't say enough about this work of history. And anyone who might think this is ancient history and doesn't affect us: the history of the clash and cooperation between Islam and Christian civilizations continues to this day (of course). As the author mentions, if the walls of Constantinople had not been so well designed, the Muslims might well have put Europe in a pincer movement in 750 A.D. Instead of being stopped by Charles Martel at Poitiers in France, and turned back, the Muslims might have conquered all of Europe. We would be speaking Arabic now. Yes, it is relevant ! At the same time, the author shows attempts made inside the Arabic Muslim world (which stretched from Spain to Afghanistan) to integrate Greek rationalism and Greek knowledge. Averroes was a famous Arab philosopher who not only championed rationalism, but also kick-started the European Scholastic movement. Unfortunately, Averoes lost out in the Arab world, and the reaction to rationalism, in 850 A.D. began, and continues to this day as Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. We feel the reverberations to this day...
A very valuable work, at once encyclopedic, and very accessible.
A Great History of a Lost Empire.......2007-06-18
I have always had a fasination with byzantium. This book as well as John Julius Norwich's series of books has helped to appreciate this lost empire more than ever. I especially liked the end of the book where it is just abruptly ended. In a way it made me cry a little to see what could have happened to the world if Byzantium had never have existed. I feel that more people should read this book and be aware of the several contribution that Byzantium has bestowed upon out modern world.
Forget Byzantium at Your Peril!.......2007-05-19
Ignorance of Byzantium (in two senses: lack of knowledge and lack of attention) has confounded Islamicists and Western European historians alike in the past 100 or so years. Colin Wells offers a concise and cogent description of the role Byzantium,including exiled or conquered Byzantines, played in the preservation and transmission of ancient Greek science and philosophy to the Muslim empires of the pre-Crusade "golden age" and directly to Western Europe chiefly by way of Italy. For nearly a thousand years, Byzantium WAS Rome, the hinge of civilization, linking rising and sinking cultures from the Visigoths of North Africa to the Vikings who called themselves Rus, from the humanists of Renaissance Florence to the Nestorian Christians of Syria, the primary translators of the Greek classics into Arabic.
Yet despite the significance of the material presented, it's a fun book, a quick read, written in a relaxed and simple style, accessible even to people who couldn't locate Byzantium on the map. (Hint: "Istanbul is Constantinople, now you can't go back to constantinople...")
Cultural and religious dispersal.......2007-04-20
This is not a "history" book in the exact sense of the term, if you think of "history" books as a linear progression of events. What this author has done is written a very valuable work detailing how the Byzantine Empire spread its culture and religion to its neighbors. The book is divided into three parts, each one showing the effect of Byzantium on 1: Western or "Latin" Christianity, 2: the states in the Balkan area, and 3: what eventually bcame Russia. It's a fascinating tale, extremely well told, and reveals to us that, even though 1453 saw the political end of the Empire, its influence in many different aspects spread and remain even today in many areas. These are subjects rarely, if ever, covered in this context, and should be required reading for anyone interested in obtaining a well-rounded knowledge of Byzantium.
Book Description
The author has combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.
Customer Reviews:
Unusual Historic Perspective, Written in Suspense.......2007-08-21
The quality of this book speaks for itself, if it is written from the non-Western perspective of the crusades, but manages to score an average of 4,5 of 5 stars from 74 primarily US reviews prior to mine. Especially as the overall sentiment in these reviews stays virtually the same, pre 9-11, immediately post 9-11, during the Bush Crusades and after them.
The book has been written in 1983 in French, translated into English in 1984 and published in the US in 1985. As such, the book would need an update, not only concerning the Bush Crusades, but also about the information that the wannabe assasin of Pope John Paul II in 1981 wasn't the Muslim Turk Mehmet Ali Agca by himself, but a ploy: The puppet master was in the Soviet polit bureau, via Bulgarian and East German secret service ploys. The author Amin Maalouf was born in Lebanon and migrated to France in 1976, during the Lebanese (religious) civil war. He's an Arab Christian.
The book is not meant to inform on the European political, religious, financial and other motivations for the crusades, but starts with the troops arriving in Muslim territories. Hence, it is also not concerned with the prior Muslim conquest of the previously Christian territories. Which in turn had been European-invaded empires by the Romans and Greek, the Jews before that, then the Egyptians, prior to that the Akan and prior in turn the San (Bushmen). But even they were invading "Neanderthal" territory. So please, to anyone: Don't assume, "you" were there originally... (I left out some Asian invaders.) I hoped to find out anything at all about the Christian Nubian empires (either one or all of Nobadia, Makuria, Alwa), which were left alone till then, but got invaded by the Muslims as revenge for helping the Europeans in one of the crusades. Only Abyssinia (today's Ethiopia) remained exempted from the jihad. Not a word even of their existence. So, here's a message: There's a third perspective, one which is even more difficult to find any information of... (Please leave a comment on any known source.)
The title of the book makes the non-Western perspective clear, however, it isn't entirely correct either. But then again, book titles rarely are as the authors often do not have any control over the titles, changed for commercial reasons by the publishers. The author is Arab - not Muslim -, the main sources are historic Arab historians, yet the perspective is written from non-Arab leaders as well, such as Turks, Kurds, Persians, Egyptians. But also Armenians and other local Christians. In addition, it is not about "the crusades", as that would imply all of them. "Of course", it's only about those, which were directed against the Eastern Muslim territories. Not those against Muslim territories in Iberia, not those against Christian "heretics" such as the Waldensians within Europe, not those against European Jews (which were automatic part of any crusade), not those against European "pagans", such as the original Baltic Prussians, which for political reasons some Germans adopted the name from, and not those crusades, which didn't make it to the desired Muslim destinations, such as the Shepherds Crusades and also not the Children's Crusade, as the few surviving kids who really made it to the destination, were enslaved before they could leave the ships. By reading this book's view, you won't get a feeling of "crusades" either, but of one single 200-year-war, with several reinforcements - not numerically listed - of European troops. Who are called "Franj". Referring to all of them, such as the French, Italians, Germans, English etc. The same as all Muslims are headed under "Arabs" in the English title. Differentiations were made towards the "Rum" (pronounce similar to Roome), the Byzantine Christians and of course all the local minority Christians. The German title, translated into English, is more polemic, but more precise at the same time: "The Holy War of the Barbarians".
Most reviewers point out that the book is NOT polemicly subjective against Westerners in contrast to an adulation of the Muslims. I find it even intriguing that the author refrains from listing the civilizing effect on Europe, the crusades had (and earlier Muslim invasions of Iberia and later ones of Eastern and Central Europe). Before the crusades, Europeans didn't have essential items such as sugar and shoes (instead honey and rag/fur wrappings). Not to mention hygiene, which was lost after the Roman empire. The book does mention medicine and a reviewer criticizes that as arbitrary quoting by the author. However, it is historic fact that the Muslims re-introduced medicine into Europe. For one thing, it was considered heretic in Europe to dissect corpses, making it impossible for "doctors" to know, how humans look like inside. It is often said, the Muslims got sophisticated medicine originally from the Romans and Greeks. Part of it, however, all of them received medicine from ancient Black Egyptians. In fact, the latter were able to diagnose fine bone crackings/fractures, something TODAY'S Westernes (nor anybody else) haven't the faintest idea, how they did that without x-rays. Some reviewers think the mentioned cannibalism of some crusaders has to be reproduced historic Muslim propaganda. Not so. There are Western sources, by the crusaders themselves. As the leaders were not able to prevent the masses - not soldiers - travelling with them to engage in that, as they had no control over them anymore. For an elaboration read the 1957 Western book The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages (Galaxy Books). I would like to note that it is amazing how little the author engages in what might be considered biased. For example, he is stating, referring to the last medievil Franj invasion of Egypt: "Never again would the Occidentals attempt to invade the land of the Nile." But in 1798, the Franj returned under Corsican Napoleon. In the 19th century, the UK occupied Egypt, in the 20th century warring resumed, with Israel. Yet, the author isn't using history for tempting more contemporary issues.
The Perspective Everybody Must Read.......2007-08-17
I ordered this book along with one on the Crusades from the Christian perspective (or the 'Western' perspective) hoping to get each side of the story, so to speak.
In picking up both books I was a bit apprehensive wondering whether or not they would be overly one-sided. For example, I was not looking for a piece of 'slam' journalism justifying the Middle East's current ills on the invasions of Crusaders 1000 years ago. This book is certainly not that. Mr. Maalouf painstakingly takes the stories of the Crusades, written by Arab chroniclers, court attendants of the Sultans, and other historical records written during the Crusades themselves, and gives you the story of the Crusades through Arab eyes.
What I found very refreshing about Mr. Maalouf's writing is that he simply didn't rely on the writings as the end all to tell the story, when it was clear that the contemporaneous writings aren't telling the whole story. At times when accounts don't seem credible, or when two accounts differ substantially (such as over the number of deaths at a battle), Mr. Maalouf looks past the hyperbole and rhetoric that can often accompany such tales and notifies the reader that the conflicts exist, or that agreement over such details has not been reached. He then generally takes the effort to research city populations, and army sizes, etc. to come to a satisfactory answer to the question posed. As you can imagine, there are accounts of "10,000" people slaughtered - when we know, now, that the town probably was not big enough to hold more than a couple thousand. Mr. Maalouf goes out of his way to bring you the truth, and not just the rhetoric of the day.
Another thing I truly enjoyed about this account was that the author went out of his way to put the words and writings of the chroniclers in their proper context, which, as you can imagine, makes a big difference, especially for Westerners who may be unfamiliar with Muslims/Arab tradition and the Middle Eastern makeup of the time. For example, before, during, and after the Crusades, the Middle East was wrought with fighting not just between Muslims and Christians, but also between other Muslims (Shia vs. Sunni, Kurd v. Arab v. Persian v. Turk, etc.), and from with other non-Muslim and non-Christan foes (Arabs v. Mongols). The sultans were battling each other. The different sects were battling each other. The Turks and the Persians were encroaching on Arab lands, as were the Byzantines and the Mongols. The Crusaders were attacking Jerusalem. During some points, some Muslim groups even allied themselves with the Crusaders to fight other Muslim groups. Thus, each chronicler (the Crusades lasted hundreds of years) wrote in a different time with a different attitude towards the peoples and places. Some wrote during relative peace, when Christian and Arab coexisted, while some wrote during all-out war. Some wrote when the tensions between Muslims themselves were high, some when there was relative accord. Some chroniclers wrote during periods of Muslim domination, and some wrote during times where it seemed inevitable the Christians would control the Middle East and Islam would die out. Mr. Maalouf ably ties all of the stories together, explaining the different attitudes among chroniclers.
All in all, an excellent book. It is eye-opening, not because it tells some one-sided story as interpreted by today's Muslims, but because it really gives you an understanding about how the people felt then. It truly does tell the story through their eyes - the Arabs of 1000 years ago.
Oh, and it is a "quick" read. That is, nothing in this book bogs down the reader or requires you to grab other books for explanation.
An oftentime misunderstood book.......2007-07-19
This is a good book and a great read. However, it is often read as a "real" history book, which it is not by a long shot, and probably was not intended as such either - Amin Malouf is a very political author, after all. Malouf has written an elegant text as well worth reading as many other introductory books to the crusades. It is telling, however, that the passage most often quoted from "The Crusades through Arab Eyes", Usama ibn Munquidhs 12th-century negative third-hand commentary on "frankish" medicine, has been cut and pasted by Malouf from its original context, omitting the autobiographer's original first-hand positive assessment of the newcomer's medical arts. That example is hardly the only one it the book that makes it readily apparent that Malouf is not a historian and lacks a lot of in-depth knowledge of the period he describes (or worse, has decided to omit details he does not find support his take on things). I read this book much as I read Malouf's other works of historical fiction, but I would not treat it as a real history book.
Through a mirror darkly..........2007-06-27
This is a good companion to a serious study of the Crusades. It gives a lot of interesting info on the state of the arab muslim world in the time period, and the effect the invasion of the Franks had on Islamic identity and political cohesion. The parallels to modern times are inescapable, especialy as regards the seemingly absolute inability of the arab muslim world to unite around a single leader for longer than that leaders lifespan, and sometimes not even that long. What it does accomplish is to humanize the inhabitants of the levant during the crusades, abolishing the "richard lionheart"/ chivalrous knights ideal westerners may still carry. Heat, dirt, disease, terror, death, these were the daily companions of the Crusades, and thier gifts to the people of the eastern mediterranean coast.
Cultures Clash and Culture Deceives.......2007-04-19
This book explains the crusades as primarily political invasions, without much true spirituality involved for many participants. He shows, interestingly, that many Christians were better treated under Muslim rulers than under the rule of Europeans. You will benefit from seeing how there were good people on all sides of the conflicts, as well as the bad.
An important part of this book, is the Epilogue. In this summary, a comparison is made of the "Franj-administered" and "Occidental-administered" territories, with emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of rulers and subjects. There is a lot of wisdom in this comparison, and should be studied well by those attempting to envision institution-building in the future. Especially when any act of violence against the western lands or westerners can be portrayed in Arab media simply as vengeance for expeditions in 1191AD. For reviews of similar books, see the resources pages at civilsociety at seedwiki. Thanks.
Book Description
"A beautifully written and definitive history of Baghdad...opening the doors to the old city and letting its secrets spill out." (Library Journal)
The "golden age of Islam" in the eighth and ninth centuries was as significant to world history as the Roman Empire was in the first and second centuries. The rule of Baghdad's Abbasid Dynasty stretched from Tunisia to India, and its legacy influenced politics and society for years to come. In this deftly woven narrative, Hugh Kennedy introduces us to the rich history and flourishing culture of the period, and the men and women of the palaces at Baghdad and Samarra-the caliphs, viziers, eunuchs, and women of the harem that produced the glorious days of the Arabian Nights.
"Superb...this is compelling reading for anyone concerned with the perils of power, the medieval Islamic legacy and the images that Baghdad continues to conjure in the modern imagination." (Publishers Weekly starred review)
Customer Reviews:
Great Introduction.......2007-09-05
This is one of the best history books that I have read. The best thing about it is that it reads like a novel. When you start reading it you cant stop because you really want to know what happens next, and most of the time I already knew what was going to happen!
Needed a few more details to make it perfect.......2006-08-08
Hugh Kennedy has done a wonderful job here of writing about one of the greatest dynasties in history. The history is comprehensive providing details about the caliphs, the battles for successions, their harems, the names of important men in each reign, and court intrigues etc., The book is very easy to read and at no point does the reader lose interest. In spite of breaking up the narration, of successive reigns and interspersing it with descriptions of court culture and palaces built by the rulers, the author has maintained a wonderful flow in the book.
My only disappointment was that the author did not provide more indepth information on 1. the famous libraries of Baghdad and 2. the economic and financial system prevalent at the time. I looked in vain for details of trading markets and goods brought in to Baghdad at the time and for any mention of the modus operandi of monetary transactions.
However, the book is still one of the most comprehensive English Language histories of the dynasty that I have come accross.
An Era I Knew Little About.......2006-06-07
So much of the study of history is concerned with dates. I can remember in college with cram sheets of when things happened. Mr. Kennedy doesn't write much of dates. He writes of people, people living more than a thousand years ago when our own western history was in a period we call the dark ages when learning was forgotten and the Roman Catholic church ruled all.
This was the time when the Shia and the Sunni were falling apart and beginning the conflict that rages to this day (In the morning paper a group of terrorists in Iraq stopped a bus or two, let the Sunni people go and murdered the Shia.)
This was the time that Osama bin Laden seeks to re-establish. An old glory such as Mussolini felt about Roman times.
For a couple of centuries a family ruled most of the Islamic world from Baghdad. For those of us more familiar with the antics of the kings of England there is a striking resemblance, palace intrigue, key supporters changing sides, murder, imprisonment, struggles over succession.
This book brings to life an aspect of history that few of us have heard before but which is increasing in importance in our time.
Fabulous history.......2006-02-15
I studied the medieval Islamic world a little in college, and fell in love. It's a fascinating age in which Central Asian Buddhists, North African nomads, Ethiopian slaves, Greek cave-dwellers, Persian aristocrats, Arab bureaucrats and a host of different cultures came together, mixed, wrote wonderful literature, and lived the kind of drama that makes history fun. But it's hard to find anything written about the time that isn't arcane professor babble or Islam 101. (You know, "There are five pillars of Islam..." Snore.)
Here Hugh Kennedy has written the book I always wanted. He wisely concentrates on medieval Islam's golden age, the early Abbasid dynasty, when Baghdad ruled a large portion of the world-and, even more astutely, on the dramatic stories and personalities of the court. Let's face it, you read about the Abbasids because you want to know how the slave girl Khayzuran not only managed to marry the caliph but to quell a military revolt, why her son Harun al-Rashid was immortalized in The Arabian Nights, and why the all-powerful Barmakid family suddenly fell from grace to prison and execution. Kennedy brings the caliphs and their families to life. He's up front about the fact that the book is about aristocrats, but the common people of Baghdad, the "pickpockets and sellers of cheap sweets" who fought back when their city was besieged, and the middle class who developed Islamic tradition dance around the edge of the narrative.
Kennedy doesn't believe everything he reads, and doesn't think you will either. He repeats stories-like the "harem intrigue" tales, in which devious women are blamed for various deaths-that are almost certainly not true, but tell us something about the people who believed them, and are still enormously entertaining. He also is frank about the same-sex relationships, male and female, that were a part of the era's culture, without the awkwardness of many modern historians. And he's smart enough to explain the geography-why southern Iraq could support such a fabulously wealthy monarchy, and why the Afghanistan/NE Iran region was so critical to the faraway Middle East-in a way an American can understand. Very rare for books on Islamic history, the book boasts an excellent map, naming both cities and regions-invaluable for a hapless Westerner who doesn't know where the major cities of Iran are today, never mind where long-gone kingdoms like Yamama and Ushrusana used to be. There's also a surprisingly good index (another rarity).
The book isn't flawless. Kennedy twice awkwardly interrupts his straightforward account of political events with fascinating chapters on aspects of court culture-palaces, poetry, science, and (my favorite) women's lives. Unfortunately, this structure means the reader learns about the palace Mutawakkil built before she knows enough about him to care, and doesn't hear anything about Ma'mun patronage of scientific research until long after he's dead in the main narrative. The last chapter goes into far too much detail about the depressing downfall of the dynasty, short-changing a more interesting discussion about its legacy. But all in all Kennedy does a great job, and I for one plan down to hunt down his earlier books.
If you know nothing about Islamic history and want an accessible introduction to an fascinating period, or like me know a little and want to learn more, I highly recommend this book.
Rivetting narrative.......2006-01-14
This purely popular tale of the Baghdad Abbasid Caliphate is a wonderful book, full of splendor and tales of the times of the Caliphs, the Harem, early Islam, the founding of modern Baghdad, luxury, corruption, bad governance, murder, passion, rape, affluence gone wild, gluttony, exorbitance, decadence and political failure.
The Abbasids were the first dynasty following the first four `righteous' caliphs(Bakr, Omar, Uthman, Ali) who followed the death of Mohammed. The movement of the capital of Islam to Baghdad symbolized the secular transference of temporal power from its religious foundations into a colonial capital of imperial Islam, after-all the region around Baghdad, modern day Iraq, then Mesopotamia, was a country full of Jews, Zoroastrians, Pagans, Assyrian Christians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Gnosts and others. Muslims were a minority in this land. Baghdad was a new city created to rule a colonial empire that was recently created. The empire that the Abbasids ruled was wealthy beyond belief, corrupt, licentious, full of slander, moral turpitude and court scandals. This excellent tale of this period doesn't really shed light on the modern `conflict' as claimed but it is an excellent fascinating tale, unfortunately it doesn't follow the narrative of Baghdad through to its destruction by the Mongols, but only to the replacement of the Abbasids by the Fatamids who rode to power on the backs of Turkic immigrant warriors from the east, see the book `black banners from the east' for a narrative of the rise of the Fatamids. If this sheds light on anything to do with Islam and modern times it shows that fundamentalist Islam's accusations of Western power, wealth and immorality, are mirrored in the actions of early Islam, which resembled the modern day west far more than modern day Islam, an irony. Islam in the 8th century was far from the fundamentalist form we see today, however there is nothing admirable in its use of Harems and slavery.
Seth J. Frantzman
Amazon.com
The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular tradition should be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Muhammad and A History of God. Delving deep into Islamic history, Armstrong sketches the arc of a story that begins with the stirring of revelation in an Arab businessman named Muhammad. His concern with the poor who were being left behind in the blush of his society's new prosperity sets the tone for the tale of a culture that values community as a manifestation of God. Muhammad's ideas catch fire, quickly blossoming into a political empire. As the empire expands and the once fractured Arabs subdue and overtake the vast Persian domain, the story of a community becomes a panoramic drama. With great dexterity, Armstrong narrates the Sunni-Shi'ite schism, the rise of Persian influence, the clashes with Western crusaders and Mongolian conquerors, and the spiritual explorations that traced the route to God. Armstrong brings us through the debacle of European colonialism right up to the present day, putting Islamic fundamentalism into context as part of a worldwide phenomenon. Islam: A Short History, like Bruce Lawrence's Shattering the Myth and Mark Huband's Warriors of the Prophet, introduces us to a faith that beckons like a minaret to those who dare to venture beyond the headlines. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstood as Islam. It haunts the popular imagination as an extreme faith that promotes terrorism, authoritarian government, female oppression, and civil war. In a vital revision of this narrow view of Islam and a distillation of years of thinking and writing about the subject, Karen Armstrong’s short history demonstrates that the world’s fastest-growing faith is a much more complex phenomenon than its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest.
Customer Reviews:
A great introduction to the history of Islam........2007-09-27
This is a really great book to understand Islam. I truly loved this book, and because of its small size, I was able to devour it within two days!
The most interesting chapter as far as I am concerned was on the present conflict between the Jews and the Muslims.
Muslims never hated the Jews. In fact, Muslims and Jews lived together side by side in peace since the beginning of time (so to speak). Prophet Mohammad ordered Muslims to respect Jews and live with them in peace since they are `people of the book' (meaning they have had their own revelations and are thus believers in God). Prophet Mohammad ordered Muslims not to try to convert Jews to Islam against their wish. In fact, Muslims believe in all of the prophets of Judaism, and most if not all are mentioned in the Muslim holy book known as the Qur'an.
Prophet Ibrahim, the father of both Muslims and Jews, had many children. The Jews come from the lineage of one of Ibrahim's sons, while the Moslems come from another of Ibrahim's sons. Therefore, Muslims and Jews are cousins.
Throughout history, Muslims and Jews have fought together side by side. During the crusades they fought together to protect the holy land. During the Muslim occupation of Spain Muslims and Jews fought together side by side against the Europeans. During the British occupation of Palestine, both Moslems and Jews fought together against the British. There has never been any enmity within Jews and Muslims throughout history. It is only after the invasion by the Jews of Palestine, and the formation of the State of Israel on Palestinian land, that the aggression between Muslims and Jews started. That started the flame of hatred between them, and Muslim clerks twisted the sayings of Prophet Mohammad and the Qur'an for political reasons. In other words, they put words into the Prophet's mouth. Things he never said or did not mean were suddenly attributed to him. The Arab world, being uneducated, would blindly follow the teachings of the clergy, and this is where we are today. The hatred between Jews and Muslims is political. It is the same hatred the French had towards the Germans when they invaded Paris during World War II. If the United States were to be invaded today by the Russians or Chinese (or any other nation), the Americans would have the same hatred towards their aggressors as the Muslims have today of the Jews. Like the Muslims, the American citizens would be fighting the aggressor to regain their land by any means possible, even if it means twisting the words of Jesus Christ. For example, love thy neighbor, but only if he loves you. If someone slaps you, turn the other cheek, but then beat the hell out of him! You get the point. The conflict in Palestine is man and woman against man and woman, not Judaism against Islam.
This book will really give you a crash course on Islam. It starts off by explaining why a new prophet was needed in the Arab World. According to Armstrong, the Arabs felt left out for they did not have a prophet of their own. The Jews had many prophets, and there were manuscripts left to them from past prophets. The Arabs did not have monotheistic religious texts of their own in the Arabic language, and thus felt left out. Thus the arrival of Prophet Mohammad, an Arab, was a great welcome to many Arabs. The Qur'an, the holy book descended to Prophet Mohammad, was in the Arabic language, and thus directly accessible to all Arabs, unlike Jewish texts.
Prophet Mohammad did have Arab enemies, of course. Not all Arabs embraced his religion at first. As is so well known today, self-interest and politics plays a big role.
A very important point Armstrong makes is that Islam is a religion of peace. In fact, Islam is derived from the Arabic root "Salema", meaning peace and purity. Prophet Mohammad was against wars. In fact, he made an important treaty with the Meccans to prove his point. Prophet Mohammad preached non-violence. All the Muslim wars and conquests that took place after the death of Prophet Mohammad were politically motivated, not religious in any way. It is very easy to twist the words of a prophet, and all religions have done that with their prophets (look at how many different versions of the Bible are out there). Furthermore, there were many wars waged between Muslims themselves as to who should succeed the prophet. Most of the Prophet's friends and close relatives were eventually murdered as a result. All these actions would have been condemned by the Prophet. Again, man was fighting for his own self-interest and ambition and not in accordance with the holy teachings of Islam (again, as has happened in all religions).
The book then goes on with the history of Islam after the era of the Prophet (632-661). Armstrong explains the era of the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the esoteric movements. The Muslim world had reached its height in glory, and the whole known world feared the Muslims. The Muslims contributed to philosophy, science, mathematics, and medicine, and Arabic texts were translated into Latin and Greek. The Muslim empire at the time was what the United States is today to the rest of the world.
The Crusades are also explained, as well as the interesting era of the Mongols (1220-1500). The chapter on the Mongol was very interesting, filled with facts and stories I never knew. For example, the Mongols contributed a lot to Islamic art and architecture as well as to the strategies of war. After the Mongol conquests, the Mongols and the Muslims lived together in peace, and were even integrated together. Many Mongols later became Muslims.
Armstrong then moves on to the era of imperial Islam (1500-1700), and introduces the reader to the Safavid Empire, the Moghul Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.
The book ends with a chapter on Islam agonists, and explains how the west finally conquered the Islamic world starting in 1750. This chapter is extremely interesting and entertaining, and will give you a glimpse at the present state of the Muslim world.
Armstrong mentions the book `The Satanic Verses', by Salman Rushdie. Even though the Ayatollah Khomeini condemned the author, and issued a Fatwa (a decree) to have the author killed (with a million dollar reward), all the Islamic clergy of other Islamic nations were against the Ayatollah's decree, citing freedom of speech and expression as an Islamic right. Now isn't this interesting? Again, for political reasons, Muslim citizens are stripped from their freedom of expression, speech, and thought. Outsiders looking at the way of life of Muslims should realize that the way Muslims live is not according to the teachings of their Prophet Mohammad, but according to the selfish greed of their leaders! This is really a very important point for westerners to understand.
This is a very important book and should be read by everyone interested in knowing more about the state of the Arab world and Islam. I highly recommend this book!
Good book for general explanation.......2007-09-04
This book will explain the basics of Islam, which is all I was looking for.
Islam: A Short History is very good.......2007-08-31
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have since given it to several people, including some military folks with responsibilities in the area. I think this book, better than any other I've read, makes it clear why the Middle East is in the state it is.
Politically correct lies.......2007-07-29
Why defend a religion who's holy book hates and despises Jews, Christians and Pagans, and commands husbands to beat their wives.
Of course there have been cases of brilliant people even under Islamic domination, e.g. Omar Khayan, but to attribute their achievements to Islam, is like attributing Galileo's achievements to Catholicism.
Concise but sufficient.......2007-07-05
I'm going to take exception to all the criticism of the majority of the reviews I see here. While it is a compressed history (one reviewer noted that the middle was "dense") I found the book very enlightening. Another criticism is that she presents an Islamic point of view. Well, if one wishes to understand another culture, religion or whatever, one must 'walk a mile in their shoes'. I know some Muslims and she is quite correct that Islam in not inherently violent. I can only assume that those reviewers are reading the book with their blinders on and refusing to accept that there is any other way to see the world. This book is an attempt to show another world view. If you read this book and miss that, shame on you.
Book Description
Nine hundred years after the Crusader capture of Jerusalem, Carole Hillenbrand shows us the other side of conquest. This comprehensive work of cultural history gives us something we have never had: a view of the Crusades as seen through Muslim eyes. With breathtaking command of medieval Muslim sources as well as the vast literature on medieval European and Muslim culture, Carole Hillenbrand has produced a book that shows not only how the Crusades were perceived by the Muslims, but how the Crusades affected the Muslim world - militarily, culturally, and psychologically. As the author persuasively demonstrates, that influence continues now, centuries after the events.
In The Crusades the reader discovers how the Muslims reacted to the Franks, and how Muslim populations were displaced, the ensuing period of jihad, the careers of Nur al-Din and Saladin, and the interpenetration of Muslim and Christian cultures. Stereotypes of the Franks in Muslim documents offer a fascinating counter to Western views of the infidel of legend.
For readers interested in the Middle Ages, military history, the history of religion, and postcolonial studies, The Crusades opens a window onto a conflict we have only viewed from one side.
The Crusades is richly illustrated, with eighteen color plates and over five hundred line drawings and black and white photographs.
Customer Reviews:
The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives.......2001-06-19
This is the best-produced academic paperback I have ever seen. The book is wonderfully illustrated. The photographs are supplemented by hundreds of intriguing drawings in the wide margins. The text is spaciously presented and easy to read. I found zero typographical errors in more than six hundred pages of text, a delight in these days of hasty editing. Hillenbrand's writing is clear, straightforward, and balanced. The book presents a much-needed new perspective on the Crusades. Five stars.
Hillenbrand's The Crsuades: Islamic Perspectives.......2000-09-20
This book is an excellent review of the most up-to-date knowledge we have about contemporary Islamic persepctives on the "Wars of the Cross." The author carefully sets our her purpose in writing this work, which includes both Muslim sources for the major figures and events, as well as Muslim perceptions of the Crusaders and how the Crusades have influenced Middle Eastern history. Anyone wishing to learn fully about this time period must read this work.
A Wonderful Resource.......2000-06-17
I have only skimmed the surface of this book, yet am very impressed. The bibliography alone is a treasure for anyone studying the Crusades. It's arranged so that the translated chronicles are used to illustrate points in the narrative. The index is detailed and useful, while the narrative itself is easy to read and divided into subsections within the chapters (for example: Old Frankish Women, Marriage, Medicine etc.) A welcome addition to Crusades scholarship, especially for students/readers who cannot read the originals.
Book Description
Reflecting today's most recent findings, this enlightening book presents an even-handed survey of Middle Eastern history from the rise of Islam to the present day, beginning with a substantial account of the early centuries and then concentrating primarily on the modern, post-1914 decades. It provides concise, readable, and balanced coverage of Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, and Iran, and offers ten detailed maps and a useful bibliography of selected works to broaden readers' understanding. Deals with the whole Middle Eastern region within particular periods - rather than on a topical or country-by-country basis - allowing readers to see the events in each country at any point in relation to what is happening in other parts of the Middle East. Offers a world/historical perspective, emphasizing the relationship of the Middle East to other regions and civilizations, particularly with the West. Highlights from the Third Edition include a new section dealing with events from 1991 to 1996; an examination of the controversy over Orientalism; an updated bibliography; new glossary of terms (many relating specifically to Islam); and an appendix which fully explains the Pillars of Islam and Jihad. For historians, anthropologists, and those in business and government.
Customer Reviews:
There are better introductory books than this one.......2005-08-10
Perry has written a good introduction to the history of the Middle East, but there are several other books that are much better. First, about the book.
Perry begins with a very brief preview of the Middle East before Islam - this is really a disservice, as one of the cradles of world civilization is in the Near East, and it has since been of great significance. One chapter only scratches the surface. The next third of the book covers the birth, growth and spread of Islam through the end of the 18th century. Again, my primary complaint is that it covers the material an inch deep and a mile wide - much attention is given the Ottomans, while there is scant information on the Safavids (or Persia) and Mughals (of India) and even then it is entirely too short. The majority of the book is concerned with events in the 19th and 20th centuries. The information is good, and is the best part of the book - but without a deeper background, I found it lacking.
It is an easy read, if terribly general. For those interested in a history of Islam with a little more depth that is still easy to read I would strongly recommend Bernard Lewis' _A History of the Middle East_. For an excellent discussion of the Islamic world in great detail, I would recommend Alber Hourani's _A History of the Muslim Peoples_; and to gain a stronger understanding of the modern Middle East, try David Fromkin's _A Peace to End All Peace_. Perry is good, but these are much better.
Great Basic Overview of Islamic Civilizations.......2001-12-22
Perry book is a highly readable and informative guide to the development of the Middle East as we know it today. It gives a basic overview of every major event from the birth of Muhammad to the Modern day. It also does an excellent job of discuss the outside forces and ideas that have shaped the middle east. The only real drawback is the ridiculous price.
Book Description
An updated classic study of 10th- and 11th-century society in Buyid Iran. Arguing that medieval Islamic society must be understood in its own cultural terms, the author explains how it was able to function in a stable manner without the type of political institutions familiar to the West.
Customer Reviews:
reissued classic.......2003-02-18
This work is an excellent roadmap of social relations between various social actors in the Buyid dynasty, which ruled during the 10th and 11th centuries in much of modern day Iraq and Iran. The period is interesting in itself because it marked the end of the classical period of Islamic history and was both the site of both political decline and a cultural bloom. Mottahedeh's approach is straightforward, dividing the book into basically two parts. The first addresses acquired loyalties of a formal nature and the the second addresses categorical loyalties of a more informal character. His insights are too numerous to elucidate here because of the various levels of society he examines, but his examination of the ulema I found to be worth the price of admission alone. The overall picture, however, is a fascinating one of how during a period of immense upheaval a new Muslim society emerged with self-renewing and self-preserving values and institutions starkly different form the Abbassids period preceding it which also continued centuries after its disappearance.
Book Description
Known as the greatest traveler of premodern times, Abu Abdallah ibn Battuta was born in Morocco in 1304 and educated in Islamic law. At the age of twenty-one, he left home to make the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. This was only the first of a series of extraordinary journeys that spanned nearly three decades and took him not only eastward to India and China but also north to the Volga River valley and south to Tanzania. The narrative of these travels has been known to specialists in Islamic and medieval history for years. Ross E. Dunn's 1986 retelling of these tales, however, was the first work of scholarship to make the legendary traveler's story accessible to a general audience. Now updated with revisions, a new preface, and an updated bibliography, Dunn's classic interprets Ibn Battuta's adventures and places them within the rich, trans-hemispheric cultural setting of medieval Islam.
Customer Reviews:
know what you're getting.......2007-07-10
For the reader interested in understanding the context of ibn Battuta's travels, this is an invaluable reference. Ross juxtaposes the thread of Battuta's journey with the cultural and political history of the regions Battuta explores. The maps are also tremendously helpful and the occassional b&w photo add flavor. The writing style is accessible and enjoyable.
BUT if you want to hear ibn Battuta's story in his own voice, look elsewhere! Ironically, you will not find much of ibn Battuta's voice here. While Ross does use extensive quotes from the tales of many medieval travelers, ibn Battuta's own narrative does not dominate the tone. It seems Ross believes his reader will hold two books in hand, his own and The Travels of ibn Battutah, edited by Tim McKintosh-Smith. And this is exactly what I would recommend to anyone intrigued by this oh-so-intriguing tale.
Fabulous, in both senses.......2006-11-19
Whether or not his stories are true, they make for ripping yarns.
There's a new version in paperback........2006-10-12
Look under 'other versions' on this page. I can't recommend this highly enough! See my review of the new version on that page.
Easily one of the best nonfiction books i've ever read!.......2006-10-12
This should almost be required reading in colleges, especially with the current geopolitical situation. It isn't just a translation of Ibn Battuta's book, it's at least 50% background material on the places he visited & the people he met with considerable historical info from before, during, and after Ibn's travels. The writing is excellent and easy to get through. It easily ranks next to Plutarch (in a good translation) and Gibbon for it's grand overview of a largely unknown area of history & the world (at least in the West).
This was such a good book, I bought and started the Dover Pub. version of the actual text. Big mistake. That is such a dated translation & offered so little extra compared to Ross' version (not to mention being being very hard to follow, even though I'm much more knowledgeable about the muslim world than your average American), that I gave it away to a Palestinian acquantance after reading the 1st 50 pages. Maybe the 2nd or 3rd time I haven't finished a book, ever, no matter how little I was enjoying it.
Stick with this version unless you really feel the need to read Ibn's actual words & try a non-Dover version if you do. That's a little tough anyway because most of the others only cover parts of the book. Even if you do try another version, I really recommend you read this one first to make the real work more meaningful and understandable unless you're an expert on the Islamic world.
My only complaint is that it might have had a little more of Ibn's actual words instead of paraphrases and summaries, but I feel this is actually a plus after trying to read the real text. Ibn was a contemporary of Marco Polo who actually travelled further and did most of his travels as an insider in muslim societies (at least at the government level), so he got to know the society better and was accepted as a co-religionist. Like Polo, Ibn however, suffers from the same flaws in the actual text. There's a lot of "I went to x, the people follow religion y, the climate is z, I saw building a, the local produce is b...". Ross' version cuts out all the dry midaeval travelogue filler and makes all the information crystal clear.
Do yourself a favor and try this book. Ross is an Islamic Studies professor who obviously knows his stuff & has practiced a few thousand times in a classroom setting on presenting it in a way that makes for interesting and easy reading.
Two books in one.......2006-03-26
Ibn Battuta's "Travels" (Rihla) is one of the great travel accounts of history easily comparable with Marco Polo, it is regularly listed on "Great Books" lists (although don't let that turn you away). This book by Dunn is a scholarly gloss of his account designed for the non-specialist - there are many complications to his itinerary and a lot of historical background which are illuminated and explained. Each chapter covers a particular region he traveled, with the first part of the chapter providing the historical background of the region, with the second half recounting Battuta's travels and experiences therein. Thus, not only does one get an overview of Battuta's travels, but a fairly good 14th century "world history". It is one of the more intimate and personal medieval stories providing interesting details about daily living that bring the era and people to life, while also providing a macro historical view of the time. The only thing better would be to read the actual book - but I think this contextual account and the primary source are both just as vital to understanding.
Amazon.com
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur was the first Mughal, or Mongol, emperor of India. A devoted warrior who fought by the bloodthirsty standards of his time, Babur was also a gifted scholar and ethnographer, and his memoir,
The Baburnama--which translator and editor Wheeler Thackston heralds as the first autobiography in Islamic literature--paints a fascinating portrait of the lands he conquered, such as Hindustan: "A strange country. Compared to ours, it is another world. Its mountains, rivers, forests, and wildernesses, its villages and provinces, animals and plants, peoples and languages, even its rain and winds are altogether different." They were different indeed, and we're fortunate to have this beautifully illustrated record of Babur's wonderment at the new places he saw.
Book Description
Both an official chronicle and the highly personal memoir of the emperor Babur (1483–1530), The Baburnama presents a vivid and extraordinarily detailed picture of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India during the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Babur’s honest and intimate chronicle is the first autobiography in Islamic literature, written at a time when there was no historical precedent for a personal narrative—now in a sparkling new translation by Islamic scholar Wheeler Thackston.
This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes notes, indices, maps, and illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Great Experience.......2006-10-30
I think reading this book is an experience in itself. Its remarkable how similar we all are in basic high level thinking even though we might be centuries apart. Of course a emperror's biography going through smallest of details is very interesting. The preface by Salman Rushdie is an insult to such a great book. I believe he shouldnt have been chosen for it. But other than that I found the information in this book vital to undertstand the present culture, thinking and lifestyle in India. I am myself a proud Mughal and having this book in my possession is a pride in itself.
Great Book.......2006-01-22
The book itself is excellent.
I had problems with Salman Rushdie's preface, however. It is not a bad introduction, but some of his comments seem to be flawed. The writer explains the contradictory aspect of Babur's psychology (both ruthless/aggressive and soft/cultured) as the outcome of two conflicting "aspects" within Islam. Mr Rushdie does not explain how he arrives at this conclusion, however, and he fails to mention the possibility that Babur's aggression might have naturally stemmed from his Mongol background & warrior instincts. In addition, in the 2nd last paragraph, Rushdie seems to contradict himself when he compares Babur to Machiavelli: "In both men, a cold appreciation of the necessities of power, of what today would be called realpolitik, is combined with deeply cultured and literary nature, not to mention the love, of excess, of wine and women."
A World Classic.......2002-11-29
I would compare this extraordinary memoir by an extraordinary man to The Tale of Genji - both of them are "firsts" in their culture. The descendants of Tamerlane were both ruthlessly crafty Central Asian kings and warriors, and ultra refined conoisseurs of art and architecture, poetry, food, gardens, and (alas for them) wine. The Baburnama has it all. To encounter the private thoughts of a great conquerer is a unique experience. The Baburnama is well-written and well translated. It is one of the great treasures of literature, and will give the reader a much better idea why Afghanistan and Central Asia are the way they are.
Masterpiece.......2002-10-27
Babur, a descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, was a truly remarkable man: a soldier and a poet, an inspirational leader with a deep appreciation for the beauties of nature - and a sensitivity that seems striking to us in a warrior of his undoubted stature.
His memoirs are a detailed, entertaining, and highly personal view of a changing world. In leading his followers into northern India, he laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire, one of the great Islamic powers of the early modern period - and it is this achievement that history primarily remembers him for. Yet the _Baburnama_ shows that there is considerably more to the story than its conclusion.
With unstinting and engaging honesty, Babur talks of his early struggles, his constant setbacks, and his lifelong desire to hold Samarkand, glorious seat of his ancestor Timur (Tamerlane). For Babur, India is only the consolation prize after his failure to reconquer the lands of his birthright; India is rich, yes, astoundingly so, but it is far removed from his fond reminiscences of home. Along the way, reports of skirmishes with his enemies, and the constant betrayals of his allies, share the page with descriptions of local flora and fauna, and fascinating observations on everyday life in the cities and towns that he spends time at - and it is here that the work's true enjoyment lies.
Bear with the initially confusing internecine squabbles of the Central Asian nomads, and you'll be richly rewarded. A comprehensive and compelling insight into both Central Asia at the turn of the sixteenth century, and the day-to-day pressures inherent in the leadership of an empire based on conquest.
A True King.......2000-09-06
Babur was a king in the true sense of the word. His autobiography outlines his feirceness as a warrior as well as his compassion toward the people in his court. Although he lived in a time where one would think there would be little time for introspection, this is exactely what his narrative is: and introspective look at his own life, his shortcomings, his downfalls, his triumphs and tragedies. One is touched by Babur's humbleness, his sensitivity towards some of the most simple of things, and at his sense of awe and appreciation of beauty in the world around him. Although in some ways I prefered the AS Beveridge translation, this is also a wonderful translation with beautiful pictures and notes in the margins to help explain things. Even if you are not normally interested in this type of book, Babur leads you into his world and you are compelled to read on!
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A Twist in the Tale
