Baghdad

When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise And Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty
$17.95
This book is a fun read that is well written and designed for the interested layman. It never gets bogged down in academic controversies and finds the fun in the blood, sex, and civilization of a truly unique empire. Unfortunately, there were many historical details, however academic this might sound, that I was hungry to learn about and felt continually disappointed at their light treatment, i.e. how Islam was instituted in the occupied countries (or why it succeeded in taking such firm root), what the sources of Arab power were (faith, organization, economics or some combination thereof?), and why the Abbasids produced some of the greatest cultural works that humanity has ever known? While Kennedy makes it clear that he intended to tell interesting stories, I really wanted much more than he provided. As such, it is good popular history, but not dense enough for my taste.

The Abbasids took power in a revolution from the Ummayads, who were a group from the prophet Mohammed's tribe but not part of his larger family (the Abbasids were cousins of the Prophet). While we get a lot about the intrigues and military aspects, all anecdotal, there is very little about the religious side of the conflict, particularly in tribal context. The Sunnis and Shiites were not yet quite formed, crucial religious history that I wanted to better understand. Then, the Persians were included as vital allies, at the time of their conversion to Islam, also barely covered in the book. This was thus a badly incomplete picture. It is not even clear why the revolution took hold, beyond bare facts like the Ummayads were unpopular due to their Syrian base.

Once power was consolidated, there were some very interesting personalities, such as the shrewd and ruthless Mansur, who established the state's ruling structure with persian viziers and professional army. He is an austere and fascinating figure. Then there is Herun, the ruler in 1000 Arabian Nights, who exemplifies the golden age, though sowed the seeds of civil war that was to lead to the dynasty's downfall 100 years later. They created the Harem and countless other forms that set the standard for all later Islamic regimes, which never equalled their splendor or cultural sophistication and openness. There was even a period of inquiry into the Koran as an historical document, as Greek philosophical influence grew for a brief period. Once again, fun stories, but little hard fact about how the empire was run, why it reached a certain size, why it suddenly became religiously conservative and choked off the development of practical scientific enquiry, and what the foundations of power were. In other words, I wanted more geo-political and social analyses.

The fall of the Abbasids came with their inability to provide orderly successions as well as their dependence on Turkish mercenaries. As chaos rose, the provinces rebelled and even the maintenance of the waterways that had made mesopotamia a breadbasket to unique civilizations for 3000 years were allowed to fall into ruin, never again to be revived. Not only was this the passing of Arabs as a global power, but the end of a united Islam, as the Sunni-Shiite split hardened into separate sects and innumerable regional principates arose. Alas, these details are neglected in favor of personal tales of decapitations, torture, and corruption and betrayal - fun stories, but just a surface gloss.

Recommended. It is a good starting point, but less than half the history.

Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia
$16.00
What a very fine book. I first heard of it while reading reviews here and after picking it up at the local library must now add yet another name to the many good authors whose bodies of work I will have the pleasure of reading (given a few lifetimes...I sure hope there are libraries in whatever afterworld I float off to...in Hell it's always just after closing time!).

Horwitz rather magnificently treads the fine line between personal opinion and unbiased objective reporting (whatever that is) to deliver a series of essays on life in a dozen Middle Eastern countries in the mid to late 1980s. That he was only in his twenties while most of this happened makes his unfailingly intelligent, informed and entertaining writing even more impressive.

This a well-nigh perfect combination of humor and historical perspective that moves along easily even while dealing with very non-breezy topics. The chapters on Israel and its neighbors would make good reading for anyone wondering about the real truth there, and not what we're spoon-fed every day by our media. That it comes from an American Jew makes it all the more powerful, and unusual. Read it and see if you don't agree.

The Yemen tales are hilarious, the Iraq and Libya stories quite frightening, and all in all I feel like I just took a tour through the Middle East with a very engaging and sympathetic guide. I'd absolutely love a 25 years-later sequel. Paging Mr. Horwitz...a Mr. Qaddafi on the line for you...

Highly recommended to both travel and history buffs: this tome has plenty of both, laced with wry wit and a pleasing lack of ego.

Ge Gan-Ru: Fall Of Baghdad; String Quartets Nos. 1, 4 & 5
$8.99

Thief of Baghdad - Movie Poster - 11 x 17
$14.99
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