First published in 1988 Ira Lapidus' A History of Islamic Societies has become a classic in the field enlightening students scholars and others with a thirst for knowledge about one of the world's great civilizations. This book based on fully revised and updated parts one and two of this monumental work describes the transformations of Islamic societies from their beginning in the seventh century through their diffusion across the globe into the challenges of the nineteenth century. The story focuses on the organization of families and tribes religious groups and states showing how they were transformed by their interactions with other religious and political communities. The book concludes with the European commercial and imperial interventions that initiated a new set of transformations in the Islamic world and the onset of the modern era. Organized in narrative sections for the history of each major region with innovative analytic summary introductions and conclusions this book is a unique endeavour.

Introduction to the history of Islamic societies; Book I. Part I. The Beginnings of Islamic Civilizations The Middle East from c.600 to c.1000: 1. Middle Eastern societies before Islam; 2. Historians and the sources; 3. Arabia; 4. Muhammad: preaching community and state formation; 5. Introduction; 6. The Arab-Muslim conquests and the socio-economic bases of empire; 7. Regional developments: economic and social changes; 8. The caliphate to 750; 9. The 'Abbasid empire; 10. Decline and fall of the 'Abbasid empire; 11. Introduction: religion and identity; 12. The ideology of imperial Islam; 13. The 'Abbasids: caliphs and emperors; 14. Introduction; 15. Sunni Islam; 16. Shi'i Islam; 17. Muslim urban societies to the tenth century; 18. The non-Muslim minorities; 19. Continuity and change in the historic cultures of the Middle East; Book I. Part II. From Islamic Community to Islamic Society: Egypt Iraq and Iran 945–c.1500: 20. The post-'Abbasid Middle Eastern state system; 21. Muslim communities and Middle Eastern societies: 1000–1500 CE; 22. The collective ideal; 23. The personal ethic; 24. Conclusion: Middle Eastern Islamic patterns; Book II. The Global Expansion of Islam from the Seventh to the Nineteenth Century: 25. Introduction: Islamic institutions; 26. Islamic north Africa to the thirteenth century; 27. Spanish-Islamic civilization; 28. Libya Tunisia Algeria and Morocco from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries; 29. States and Islam: North African variations; 30. Introduction: empires and societies; 31. The Turkish migrations and the Ottoman empire; 32. The post-classical Ottoman empire: decentralization commercialization incorporation; 33. The Arab regions of the Middle East; 34. The Safavid empire; 35. The Indian subcontinent: the Delhi sultanates and the Mughal empire; 36. Islamic empires compared; 37. Inner Asia from the Mongol conquests to the nineteenth century; 38. Islamic societies in Southeast Asia; 39. The African context: Islam slavery and colonialism; 40. Islam in Sudanic Savannah and forest west Africa; 41. The West African jihads; 42. Islam in East Africa and the European colonial empires; 43. Conclusion: the varieties of Islamic societies; 44. The global contex

"Ira Lapidus' global history of Islamic societies, first published in 1988, has become a classic in the field. For over two decades, it has enlightened students, scholars, and others with a thirst for knowledge about one of the world's great civilizations. This book is based on parts one and two of Lapidus' monumental A History of Islamic Societies, revised and updated, describes the transformations of Islamic societies from their beginning in the seventh century, through their diffusion across the globe, into the challenges of the nineteenth century. The story focuses on the organization of families and tribes, religious groups and states, depicts them in their varied and changing contexts, and shows how they were transformed by their interactions with other religious and political communities into a varied, global and interconnected family of societies. The book concludes with the European commercial and imperial interventions that initiated a new set of transformations in the Islamic world, and the onset of the modern era. Organized in narrative sections for the history of each major region, with innovative, analytic summary introductions and conclusions, this book is a unique endeavor. Its breadth, clarity, style, and thoughtful exposition will ensure its place in the classroom and beyond as a guide for the educated reader"--