Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century Vol. 1, part 1

This fourth and final installment in Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century resumes the previous volumes discussion of the Ghassanids by examining their economic, social, and cultural history. First, Irfan Shahd focuses on the economy of the Ghassanids and presents information on various trade routes and fairs. Second, the author reconstructs Ghassanid daily life by discussing topics as varied as music, food, medicine, the role of women, and horse racing. Shahd concludes the volume with an examination of cultural life, including descriptions of urbanization, Arabic script, chivalry, and poetry. Throughout the volume, the author reveals the history of a fully developed and unique Christian-Arab culture. Shahd exhaustively describes the society of the Ghassanids, and their contributions to the cultural environment that persisted in Oriens during the sixth century and continued into the period of the Umayyad caliphate. v. 1. pt. 1, Political and military history. pt. 2, Ecclesiastical history v. 2. pt. 1, Toponymy, monuments, historical geography, and frontier studies.