Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests
- Author: Walter E. Kaegi, University of Chicago
- Date Published: March 1995
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521484558
Paperback
Other available formats:
eBook
Looking for an examination copy?
This title is not currently available for examination. However, if you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact [email protected] providing details of the course you are teaching.
-
This is a study of how and why the Byzantine empire lost many of its most valuable provinces to Islamic conquerors in the seventh century, provinces that included Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Armenia. It investigates conditions on the eve of those conquests, mistakes in Byzantine policy toward the Muslims, the course of the military campaigns, and the problem of local official and civilian collaboration with the Muslims. It also seeks to explain how after some terrible losses the Byzantine government achieved some intellectual rationalization of its disasters and began the complex process of transforming and adapting its fiscal and military institutions and political controls in order to prevent further disintegration.
Read more- Comprehensive study of the 'difficult' chapter in Byzantine history by a well-established and highly-respected figure in the writing of Byzantine military history
- Kaegi's treatment is unique: he alone among scholars of the period has read the Arabic sources in depth, and the book will now become the definitive work on the subject
- In dealing with military activities in a much-discussed part of the world, there are links with both the Runciman-type of middle eastern/Byzantine history and with contemporary issues of domination and empire
Reviews & endorsements
"It is good to see military history written competently by someone who knows the sources well and, what is more, has visited the sites of the major conflicts; Kaegi is good on the importance of landscape, strategy and confusion in deciding the outcome....[A] robust approach...." Hugh Kennedy, Times Literary Supplement
See more reviews"It is refreshing to read about the conquests from a Byzantinist's perspective and by one who is also familiar with the Arabic sources....Kaegi has presented a thorough and balanced view of the early Islmaic conquests of Byzantine territories. His assertion, based on a judicious reading of the sources, that these conquests were not inevitable is a welcome addition to the scholarship on this period." Ara Dostourian, Journal of the Society for Armenian State
"...will remain for many years to come the fundamental work on the subject and will be the foundation on which any future historian of the conquests will have to build." Journal of the American Oriental Society
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: March 1995
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521484558
- length: 328 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 153 x 23 mm
- weight: 0.53kg
- contains: 2 b/w illus. 5 maps
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The problem of Byzantium and the early Islamic conquests
2. The Byzantine Empire in an era of accelerating change
3. Difficulties in devising defences for Syria
4. The first Muslim penetrations of Byzantine territory
5. Early tests in southern Palestine
6. Problems of cohesion: the battle of Jabiya-Yarmuk reconsidered
7. The brief struggle to save northern Syria and Byzantine Mesopotamia
8. Byzantium, Armenia, Armenians, and early Islamic conquests
9. Controversy and confidence in the seventh-century crisis
10. Elements of failure and endurance
Bibliography
Index.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×