The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries

The New Cambridge History of Islam is a comprehensive history of Islamic civilization, tracing its development from its beginnings in seventh-century Arabia to its wide and varied presence in the globalised world of today. The six volumes reflect the geographical distribution and the cultural, social and religious diversity of the peoples of the Muslim world. Four volumes cover historical developments and two are devoted to themes that cut across geographical and chronological divisions, ranging from social, political and economic relations to the arts, literature and learning. Each volumes introduction sets the scene for the ensuing chapters and examines relationships with adjacent civilizations. Written by a team combining established authorities and rising scholars in the field, this will be the standard reference for students, scholars and all those with enquiring minds for years to come. Volume 5 of The New Cambridge History of Islam examines the history of Muslim societies from 1800 to the present. Francis Robinson, a leading historian of Islam, has brought together a team of scholars with a broad range of expertise to explore how Muslims responded to the challenges of Western conquest adn domination across the last two hundred years. As their contributions reveal, the social, economic, political and historical circumstances which influenced these responses have, in many instances and in different parts of the world, empowered Muslim societies and encouraged transformation and religious revival. The volume offers a fascinating glimpse into the local dimensions of that revival and how, by extension, regional connections have been forged. Synthesizing the academic research of the past thirty years, as well as offering substantial guidance for further study, this book is the starting-point for all those who wish to have a serious understanding of modern Muslim societies Volume 5 of The New Cambridge History of Islam examines the history of Muslim societies from 1800 to the present. Francis Robinson, a leading historian of Islam, has brought together a team of scholars with a broad range of expertise to explore how Muslims responded to the challenges of Western conquest and domination across the last two hundred years. As their contributions reveal, the social, economic, political and historical circumstances which influenced these responses have, in many instances and in different parts of the world, empowered Muslim societies and encouraged transformation and religious revival. The volume offers a fascinating glimpse into the local dimensions of that revival and how, by extension, regional connections have been forged. Synthesizing the academic research of the past thirty years, as well as offering substantial guidance for further study, this book is the starting-point for all those who wish to have a serious understanding of modern Muslim societies This volume traces the second great expansion of the Islamic world eastwards from the eleventh century to the eighteenth. As the faith crossed cultural boundaries, the trader and the mystic became as important as the soldier and the administrator. Distinctive Islamic idioms began to emerge from other great linguistic traditions apart from Arabic, especially in Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Swahili, Malay and Chinese. The Islamic world transformed and absorbed new influences. As the essays in this collection demonstrate, three major features distinguish the time and place from both earlier and modern experiences of Islam. Firstly, the steppe tribal peoples of central Asia had a decisive impact on the Islamic lands. Secondly, Islam expanded along the trade routes of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Thirdly, Islam interacted with Asian spirituality, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism and Shamanism. It was during this period that Islam became a truly world religion The New Cambridge History of Islam is a comprehensive history of Islamic civilization, tracing its development from its beginnings in seventh-century Arabia to its wide and varied presence in the globalised world of today. The six volumes reflect the geographical distribution and the cultural, social and religious diversity of the peoples of the Muslim world. Four volumes cover historical developments and two are devoted to themes that cut across geographical and chronological divisions, ranging from social, political and economic relations to the arts, literature and learning. Each volume's introduction sets the scene for the ensuing chapters and examines relationships with adjacent civilizations. Written by a team combining established authorities and rising scholars in the field, this will be the standard reference for students, scholars and all those with inquiring minds for years to come Volume One of The New Cambridge History of Islam, which surveys the political and cultural history of Islam from its Late Antique origins until the eleventh century, brings together contributions from leading scholars in the field. The book is divided into four parts. The first provides an overview of the physical and political geography of the Late Antique Middle East. The second charts the rise of Islam and the emergence of the Islamic political order under the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphs of the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries, followed by the dissolution of the empire in the tenth and eleventh. 'Regionalism', the overlapping histories of the empire's provinces, is the focus of Part Three, while Part Four provides a cutting-edge discussion of the sources and controversies of early Islamic history, including a survey of numismatics, archaeology and material culture. v. 1. The formation of the Islamic world, sixth to eleventh centuries / edited by Chase Robinson v. 2. The western Islamic world, eleventh to eighteenth centuries / edited by Maribel Fierro v. 3. The eastern Islamic world, eleventh to eighteenth centuries / edited by David Morgan and Anthony Reid v. 4. Islamic cultures and societies to the end of the eighteenth century / edited by Robert Irwin with William Blair v. 5. The Islamic world in the age of Western dominance / edited by Francis Robinson v. 6. Muslims and modernity: culture and society since 1800 / edited by Robert Hefner. This volume examines the history of Muslim societies from 1800 to the present. Contributors explore how Muslims responded to the challenges of Western conquest and domination, revealing that the social, economic, political and historical circumstances which influenced these responses have empowered Muslim societies and encouraged transformation and religious revival.