Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The papers of a Nordic research training seminar that took place during a NorFA (currently NordForsk) PhD course in Syria in May 2004. These papers offer an introduction to anyone interested in archaeology, history, art history and ethnography of the neighbourhood of Jebel Bishri. They are written so that they are also approachable by a general reader or a non-specialist of a particular period. They are not scientific reports but contribute as a reference source to the previous and forthcoming archaeological publications concerning Jebel Bishri under the study by SYGIS (the Syrian GIS). The papers bring new insights, points of views, and methodological approaches to the already known sites in the vicinity of Jebel Bishri, as well as contexts to the newly studied sites in the area. Contents: Towards a Specialised Food Production - A Look at Jebel Bishri (Nils Anfinset); 2) Nomadic Life in Central and Eastern Syria, A Perspective from the Present Life on Badiyah to the Amorite Nomadism in the Bronze Age (Bonnie Nilhamn); 3) Aspects of Intercultural Relations in the Old Babylonian Period, The Contacts between Mari and Hazor as a Case Study (Kristina Josephson Hesse); 4) The Archaeological Potential of Assyro-Aramaean Hostility on the Euphrates Side of Jebel Bishri, Implications of Battlefield Archaeology (Kim Darmark); 5) Palmyra - Identity Expressed through Architecture and Art (Sermin Anadol); 6) The Tax Law of Palmyra and the Introduction of the Roman Monetary System to Syria - A Re-evaluation (Kenneth Lnqvist); 7) Eivind Heldaas Seland: Trade Routes of Palmyra, With Special Notes on Western Routes in the Palmyrene Trade (Eivind Heldaas Seland); 8) Dura Europos, The Final Siege and Abandonment (Charlotte Stuhr Blit); 9) Fortresses and Ecclesiae on the Imperial Frontier of Byzantium, The Architectural Influence of Constantinople on Resafa-Sergiopolis and Zenobia in Syria (Hanna-Riitta Toivanen). ... Read more

Product Description
Syria is gravely underrepresented in the travel literature of our time. So, here is a significant book that fills an urgent need. Captured in a stunning series of photographs are Syria's monuments and works of art, archaeological treasures, vibrant new cities, and contrasting deserts. This breathtaking history is accompanied by a lively and informative text by author and inveterate traveler Alain Chenevière, who introduces the reader to a country that every year is drawing new visitors and winning devotees. ... Read more

Product Description
The battle of Yarmuk was the single most crushing blow suffered by the Byzantine Empire until the battle of Manzikert in 1071. It resulted in the loss of Syria, Palestine and most of the Byzantine provinces in the Middle East. In 636 AD, after protracted skirmishing and various minor engagements the Arab and Byzantine armies faced each other on the banks of the Yarmuk river. The Byzantines were initially successful, driving back the Arab right wing and attacking one of the camps containing the women and families. This attack was however repulsed, with the help of the Arab women, and further attacks were beaten off. Finally the Arab counter-attacks broke the Byzantine lines and the subsequent pursuit became a rout. The awful fate of the fleeing Byzantine soldiers was remembered for several generations until it was recorded in early Islamic histories. In this title, David Nicolle not only looks at the battle itself but also the whole decisive Arab campaign - from the Muslim invasion of 633/4 to the fall of Byzantine Syria. An analysis of the differing performances of the two armies at Yarmuk, and a look at the battlefield today completes this interesting examination of one of the key battles in the history of the Middle East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The beginning of Islamic expansion
Prof. Nicolle is one of the foremost medievalist, specially regarding middle eastern history. this book tries to give not only the description of the six days battle but also of the events leading to the conflict. That includesrelationship between Byzantine power and their Arab auxiliaries (like the Gassanids), with minorities (like jews or some christhian factions), the muslim faith and their need to spread the word and power of God to all, the weakness of the Persian Sassanid Empire after their last confrontation with the Byzantine Empire, etc.

The author also describes the military of both powers, including recruitment, organization, weapons, armours, types of units, etc...maybe a little too much for a small book of this nature. The leaders are only cursory abridged (but there are very few sources regarding most of them).

The initial invasion lead to the Muslim victories at Ajnadayn and Pella and the massive Byzantine counterattack that lead to Yarmuk.

The battle is described with the possible details with the important events being highlighted by the maps, including the initial and powerfull attack that took the bizantines to the Muslim camps, the flanking by Khalid or the taking of the bridge over the Wadi that led to Yaqusah by the Muslim champion Zarrar.

In this work you will find good maps, good colour illustrations by Angus McBride (although the action plates seem a little static). Also a good description how they fought (Muslims at this time were infantry and mounted infantry based armies, with small cavalry arms). You can also find historical anecdotes like the Muslim Women exorting their men or the battle prowess of Zarrar and his sister.

There are a few weaknesses, like the imprecision in the numbers of the forces (obviously its impossible to accurately determine numbers, but in the initial dissertation about Byzantine numbers the maximum numbers they could field is numbered at 50000 non arabs including garrisons, and in the description of the beginning of the battle the Muslims were outnumbered 4:1! When the author states that Muslim forces were around 20000-40000 we have a math problem here: Never in their history the Byzantines could field armies of 80000 - 160000 combatants), that could be probably be explained with non combatants, etc. The author is also slightly pro Muslim but not excessively so.

All in all a very good book that will clarify several aspects of Muslim expansion and how it was possible.

Inconsistant
Like much of Nicolle's work, this book has both good and bad points. Most of the research is decent, although for a book on Yarmuk, the narrative is rather weak. The paucity of the sources clearly isn't a problem, as Dr. Haldon has a much better description in his "Byzantine Wars" book. While Nicolle's pro-Islamic bias is well-known amongst Osprey readers, this book could be a showcase for it. The Byzantines aren't given nearly as much page space as the Muslims, and the Byzantine sources are given more criticism than the Arab sources.

I have a few factual quibbles with this book as well. I don't buy Nicolle's assertion that the Byzantine line was 13km long. This goes against everything that we know of Late Antique warfare, and is in violation of the standard Byzantine emphasis on Late Roman and Hellenistic warfare. The respect sizes of the army are also discussed frequently, but not even a rough estimate is given. Nicolle asserts that the Byzantines outnumbered the Arabs 4:1, but this would suggest a Byzantine field army of around 75,000, which is quite unbelievable, considering that from 610-622 Herakleios barely had enough troops to leave Thrace. It is also in violation of the much more reasonable military estimates of John Haldon and Warren Treadgold. Whether Nicolle is not being critical enough with the sources (Theophanes suggests 80,000, which is quite impossible) or he is over-inflating the accomplishment of the Arabs, it is still bad history.

The three stars comes from the inconsistency in this book. Throughout much of the book he talks about Herakleios as if he was present at Yarmuk, but only in the last 10 pages or so does he finally say that Herakleios wasn't present.

The battle maps are decent, and the information is mediocre. Haldon's "Byzantine Wars" has a better battle narrative and scholarly analysis. Many of the pictures just aren't that good, being black and white and grainy. This isn't a bad book, but it is far from the defining work on Yarmuk.

Decent Coverage of an Important Muslim Battle
The author does a pretty good job of covering this battle between the Muslim forces of the 7th Century and the Byzantine Empire.Recent books on the Jihadist movement cite this battle as an inspiration for Muslim terrorists.As such, western readers should find this ancient battle interesting.Unfortunately, the historical records appear to be weak.It is a weakness that Mr. Nicolle could not fully overcome.

Nevertheless, the book provides a basic understanding of the overall campaign that led up to this battle.Only the second half of "The Campaign" chapter deals with the Battle of Yarmuk.The first half is focused on the overall campaign and the associated battles of Ajnadayn and Pella, among others.Thus, the coverage of the Yarmuk battle itself is somewhat truncated.Some stories are apocryphal and not fully developed.In addition, the author often refers to several important personalities without fully explaining their identity.Basically, there are too many names to keep straight.The Chapter on the "Opposing Armies" is quite good in its description of tactics and recruiting methods.It is well-organized into Byzantine and Muslim sections. The ending chapter does an excellent job of explaining the fall of Syria, which was the major goal of the campaign.The author points out that this Muslim victory had far more to do with the individual cities surrendering than with the defeat of the Byzantine army at Yarmuk.

The 3D maps are pretty good despite a few minor shortcomings.The map of the 4th day of battle contains a landmark or "Tel" with only half the name.This reference is useless, as the reader has no way of knowing what Tel the author is trying to emphasize.The text refers to a Byzantine base camp at Yaqusah, which the Muslims eventually overran.Unfortunately, this camp is not located on any of the three Yarmuk battle maps.Nevertheless, the other maps are quite good; the siege of Damascus being one example.Also, the large area maps that detail the overall movement of both Byzantine and Muslim forces are quite helpful.

The book contains numerous photographs that are a standard feature of Osprey books.Unfortunately, the pictures of the various wall paintings are hard to see due to years of decay, or taken at an angle that makes the photo less than clear.The photographs of the various sculptures, however are first rate and quite helpful.

Bottom line: this is a pretty good book on a very important battle.Despite some minor weaknesses, the reader will gain a basic understanding of this battle that appears to loom large in Islamic mythology.

Wow...another name for a helmet
I swear, Dr. Nicolle must have spent his entire life staring at rusty weapons and suits of armor, because that is what half the book is about.Muslim weapons, Byzantine recruitment, size of the Muslim armies, Byzantine tactics that never are mentioned to be used...complete with 10,000 names of EVERY type of soldier of a Byzantine and Arab army that he never uses later and is a complete waste of ink!The origins of the campaign is weak, and the whole summary of the campaign is dry (he moved there, this place surrendered, then they moved here...).Sheesh, even the battle (only several pages long) is exceedingly emotionless and those pages are filled with mediocre pictures taking up more than half the page taken of some dry gorge!I must admit that even the 2D and 3D maps are pretty lame, as it is exceedingly difficult to tell between the armies (there are about 6 of them in the 2D maps, their movements are all in the same color, and the only difference between them is the minute spaces between the dashed lines).Another plus (or minus, in common terms) is that I swear I saw around 100 of "he might have..." "he probably..." "this could have...""maybe..." that it becomes painstakingly obvious that the whole campaign is soaked in mystery that a very few facts can be said.But of course, why would a person want to buy a book that the more than half of the ideas presented are misleading (also adding the whole campaign/battle is less than a 1/3 of the book)?Unfortunatley I was one of those people, and after reading this, I have absolved to never buy another Osprey from Dr. Nicolle.He would me much better making college speeches about archeology and battle tactics (that werent even used in this campaign, by the way) that writing a book focused very much on fervor and emotion rather than dry, unfactual summaries.Why do I rate it a two?Because I found no grammatical errors.But by the time I realized that, I had ceased to care (and I don't like to be mean, and yes, I just proved I was a hypocrite).

Islmic pious and brilliant commanders uncovered
Never before the Battle of Yarmuk presented in English literature so much complete and thorough. Both sides were presented equally and the backgrounds were defined clearly and intact. Inquiries of the aftermath were also seriously done and showed how decisive the battle was.

Someflaws regarding the sandstorms and the accusation of Ghassanids turnover tothe Muslim as the main cause of Byzantines' defeat did not even scratch thebeauty of this work.

Easily the best-buy book that came out from OSPREYCampaign Series. ... Read more

Product Description
This book examines the modern history of post-mandatory Syria. The evolution of the Syrian ideology and policy of neutralism since the early stages of the Cold War is explained, and the effects that Arab neutralism had on shaping Syria's foreign policy and the shaping of its national identity are identified. The phenomenon of Arab neutralism has never before been comprehensively investigated. The prevailing belief is that the formulation and realisation of the policy of anti-alignment began only during Nasser's first years in power in Egypt. However, the author demonstrates that the roots of neutralism were already sown in Arab soil in the early 1940s, and that successive Syrian governments carved out this policy during the final stages of World War II. A core issue in the analysis is the dynamic between ideology and policy. A conceptual framework is developed to explain the various patterns of neutralism that emerged, and the complex of relationships between features exhibited by Syria, the Arab world, and the Third World.The book makes extensive use of newly declassified material gleaned from archives in India, the former USSR, Poland, Britain, the United States and Israel; primary sources, studied and interpreted in the original Arabic, are also widely utilised. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
An account of French imperial policy in Syria between 1927 and 1936. Based largely on 30,000 pages of French diplomatic papers, released in the late 1980s at the Centre des Archives Diplomatiques in Nantes, this study analyses the process of French decision-making in Syria between the end of the Great Revolt in 1927 and the Franco-Syrian Treaty of September 1936. Using a chronological framework, Peter Shambrook specifically analyses seven subjects.First, the variety of tactics - some more subtle than others - employed by the French authorities to outmanoeuvre the growing Syrian/Arab nationalist movement; second, the "unprepared" elections of 1928 and the prepared ones of 1931-2; third, French efforts to produce a Syrian constituent assembly, constitution and parliament, that would ratify a Franco-Syrian treaty a la Francaise; fourth, French attempts to anaesthetize Syrian politics between 1934 and 1935; fifth, the French decision to change course and negotiate an agreement with the Syrian nationalists in 1936 following the General Strike; sixth, the lengthy and complex treaty negotiations between the Syrian delegation and two successive French governments, leading to the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Friendship and Alliance of 9 September 1936; seventh, developments and divisions within the Syrian nationalist movement.The last chapter of the book goes beyond the period of review describing the tumultuous, final decade of France's occupation of Syria (1936-46), which saw the refusal of successive French governments to ratify the Treaty, the Anglo-Free French invasion of Vichy Syria in 1941 and the latter's emergence as a sovereign, independent state at the end of the Second World War. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume brings together papers by Crusades' experts from England,France, Canada and the United States discussing the confrontation between theFranks and Muslims in twelfth-century Syria, balancing the traditionalEuropean view with an Islamic perspective. Each author's individualcontribution lies in the new ideas and insights to a particular topic such asnew interpretations in Crusade studies, Latin jurists in the Levant, theItalian colonies, propagation of violence and propaganda, the role ofindividual popes, the impact on Islamic society as reflected in literature,religious propaganda, and diplomatic relations. ... Read more

Product Description
The Natural History of Aleppo, published first as a single volume in 1756 and as a two-volume edition in 1794, by Scottish physicians to the British Levant Company in Aleppo, Alexander and Patrick Aleppo was a landmark in European knowledge of the Arab world. It was the first detailed study by a European of an Arab city, with a description of the topography, the inhabitants and the plant, and animal life in the neighbourhood. Maurits van den Boogert assesses the Russells' botanical and zoological discoveries and analyses the Natural History in the context of medical practices of the time both in Europe and the Ottoman Empire. He reconstructs their stay in Aleppo, their life in Britain, Patrick Russell's experiences in India, and their broader connections as respected members of the Royal Society, with the world of learning at large. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Demystifying Syria
Syria is an exotic word, but in our poorly informed world it's associated with our worst assessment of the Middle East.Wrong!Carol Miller demystifies a fascinating country, rich in culture and history, and probably the single most definitive force in shaping the development of the West.Syria was at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Mesopotamian worlds, then later of emerging Islam and declining Byzantium, and no less important, the clash of Christians and Muslims during the Crusades, a battle many are still fighting, at least in their heads.This book will dissipate the ignorance, inspire admiration, and no less important, fill the reader with admiration for Miller's research and writing style.A worthy gift. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection concentrates on the development of great Arab cities during the period of the Ottoman Empire, thus covering those three centuries before the time when modernization encroached. It explores the problems of space and the social and economic realities within these provincial centres. Four of the articles examine general issues concerning all towns in the Ottoman period, while the others deal with specific cities in the Maghrib and Mashriq - Algiers, Constantine, Cairo and Aleppo. The first group of articles reflects on and develops a critique of traditional oriental theories concerning the "Muslim" city. Four articles then consider cities of the Machriq (Aleppo) and of the Magrib (Algiers and Constantine). The third part of the book combines nine articles deveoted to Cairo, the largest city of the empire and the focus of varying historical research. The articles look at the cities' roots as a "traditional" town and it's probable size and population in Mamluk times. The works discuss the evolution of the richer residential areas and the problem of historical sources under Ottoman rule.The French occupation of the city is also looked at, and the arrival of Muhammed 'Ali in 1805. The final two works relate to the structure of Cairo's urban society. In a political system dominated by janissaries, the exploitation/protection of the urban population is a key characteristic trait. The imporatnce of architectural activity is examined, where evidence of the combination of influences from the Empire's capital with existing strong national traditions is clearly identifiable. This architectural trend is examined in detail with the evolution of the city. The final article concerns one particular topic within the general subject of Egyptian architecture - that of collective housing for tenants in a large building, known as a "rab'", looking at it in both the architectural concept and design, which is entirely original within the Arab world, and also in terms of it's role in the accomadation of average Cairene citizens, to whom it offered the possiblity of living right within the central zone of the city. ... Read more

Product Description
Studies on nationalism in the 'Arab World' have dealt with the socio-economic conditions through which the nationalist phenomena emerged. Notwithstanding the importance of these conditions, the focus here is on the cultural aspects as manifested in the language of the discourse and ideology. Proto-nationalist and nationalist phenomena could not exist outside their discourse and ideology through which they were modelled, shaped and identified as a conceptual framework through association, behavioural patterns, and loyalty to collective identities.Theorists of nationalism tend to deal with the terms nation, nationalism as givens without specifying the exact time and place in which the terms had been coined to signify their concepts. This book focuses on nationalist and ethnic discourse through textual analysis from classical and modern Arabic. Tracing the development in the usage of terms related to collective identities, the present study shows that Arabic print language, education and press rooted the usage of al-umma to signify several connotations in accordance to its user, creating perplexity for defining al-umma.Chapters trace the usage of umma, qawm, sha'b and 'arab in the classical texts; investigate the development of the nationalist discourse since the end of the 19th century until 1940; and deal with four religious communities in Syria and Lebanon, and the role of their intellectuals in formulating ideas concerning their self-image in nationalist terms.Throughout, the study keeps track of the changes in Arabist discourse of the term 'umma'. A Conclusion reevaluates the ethnic and nationalist discourse at the present time, showing that the elitist characteristics of al-umma, 'the nation', has had a limited influence on subduing parochial identities such as tribes and religious communities, as well as the Islamic cosmopolitan identity. This book is essential reading for all those engaged in the study and research of collective identity, Islam, nationalism and ethnicity. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is the first comprehensive presentation of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Although Syria has been the focus of intensive excavations for decades, no large-scale review of the results of these excavations has ever appeared until now. Syria is one of the prime areas of excavation and archaeological field work in the Middle East, and Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz outline the many important finds yielded by Syria, before providing their own perspectives and conclusions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Archaeology of Syria
This book was required for by Daughters studies at University of Toronto. ... Read more

Product Description
This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Through case studies of saints and their devotees, discussion of the architecture of monuments, examination of devotional objects, and analysis of ideas of "holiness", Meri depicts the practices of living religion and explores the common heritage of these two faiths. ... Read more