DOC Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs (Harvard Middle Eastern Monographs) by Nadia Maria El Cheikh in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Well-researched Arab/ Muslim look at Christianity amidst the long; drawn-out Byzantine empire.By Charles O'ReillyTwo sides help make a full story. Much knowledge here.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. This included Nadia Maria El Cheikh's excellent "Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs"By M.RI'm not really what you'd call a history expert; I'm not even what you'd call a history enthusiast since my interests pertain to Mediterranean cultures and the histories around them as well as certain civilizations in Asia. Yet; when I first got my hands on Lord John Julius Norwhich's History of Byzantium I quickly became enamored with the Byzantine Empire and quickly rushed to learn all I could about it. This included Nadia Maria El Cheikh's excellent "Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs".This is a fairly comprehensive text that dives into every nook and cranny to pull out all of the tasty historical anecdotes and hints as to how Arabic culture viewed Byzantium's culture; people; religion; architecture; learning and so on. It covers all the bases from the rise of Islam to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and everything in between. I was initially worried that this book would be to dense for my less academically attuned brain to follow; but this text was surprisingly easily accessible.I love this book and if the topic interests you then I guarantee that there is no better text out there to better educate; enlighten and entertain.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Stellar work of scholarshipBy KirialaxNadia Maria El Cheikh has produced a tremendous work of scholarship on Arab intellectual history in the Middle Ages. The premise of the book is exactly what the title says. Fortunately; El Cheikh is well-versed in the trends of modern historical scholarship and recognizes early on that the Arab sources rarely provide much "real" information on Byzantium. Instead; as she concludes (p. 223); "Byzantium was also an imaginary category of difference against which Islam defined itself." In sum and as Postmodern history has taught us; the work is not beyond the author: what the Muslims are saying about Byzantium says a lot more about the Muslims themselves than the Byzantines. The book runs from the beginning of Islam in the seventh century A.D. (although the information is quite patchy there) to the fall of Constantinople in 1453; and it covers a lot of topics. Although Muslim views of Constantinople is a favourite theme of the book; El Cheikh covers views on politics; women; and ceremony while providing abundant references. Those abundant references are arguably the book's greatest strength. She has accessed an enormous corpus of Arabic texts; the majority of which are not available in English translation. While some are available in other modern languages; it seems that the bulk of them are inaccessible to those who are unable to read medieval Arabic (like myself); thus having this comprehensive survey is invaluable. In terms of complaints; I only have two musings which may not qualify as complaints. El Cheikh demonstrates in the last chapter the remarkable continuity of Arab views of Constantinople; but then really fails to address just what this did to the long-standing apocalyptic tradition about the city's fall. Surely something more complex happened then what she related. Second; given the title of the book I was disappointed that the voices of non-Muslims Arabs did not make an appearance. I recognize that the ultimate thesis of the work is that the Byzantines served as a foil of Muslim character; but looking at the views of Christian Arabs like Yahya of Antioch would have only enriched the text; although I recognize that it might expand it beyond all reasonable limits. This is a well-researched; indispensable book on the intellectual history of the first seven centuries through their views of Byzantium.