THE BIRTHPLACE OF three religions and many civilizations, the Middle East was for centuries a major centre of knowledge and ideas, of techniques and commodities and, at times, of military and political power.
In this immensely readable and wide-ranging book Bernard Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East, beginning with the two great empires, the Roman and the Persian; the development of monotheism and the growth of Christianity; the astonishingly rapid rise and spread of Islam; the waves of invaders from the east and the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan; the rise of the Ottoman Turks, and the changing balance of power between the Muslim and Christian worlds.
As well as describing the forces which shaped the history of the Middle East, Bernard Lewis looks at the pervasive impact, in modern times, of Western ideas and technology. Rich in vivid detail, The Middle East is a brilliant survey of the history and civilizations of the region.
'A fine and challenging book...it is a historian's tribute to the people of the Middle East, which refutes on almost every page the common image of social stagnation or cultural irrationality' The Economist.
