Islamic Imperialism - A History

304 Pages·2013·37.537 MB·English

by  Efraim Karsh

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ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM
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ISLAMIC
IMPERIALISM
A HISTORY
EFRAIM KARSH
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
Copyright © 2007 Efraim Karsh
This revised edition first published in paperback in 2013
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form
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Set in Minion by J&L Composition, Filey, North Yorkshire and IDSUK
(Data Connection) Ltd
Printed in Great Britain by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Totton, Hampshire
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Karsh, Efraim.
Islamic imperialism : a history / Efraim Karsh.—2nd ed.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–300–19817–1 (alk. paper)
1. Islam—History. 2. Islamic Empire—History. 3 Imperialism—History. 4. Jihad.
I. Title.
BP52.K37 2013
325'.32091767—dc23
2013014354
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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For Matan,Roy,and Rachel
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Contents
List ofMaps ix
Introduction 1
1 The Warrior Prophet 10
2 The Rise and Fall ofIslam’s First Empire 23
3 The Best ofTimes,the Worst ofTimes 43
4 The House ofIslam and the House ofWar 66
5 The Last Great Islamic Empire 88
6 The Price ofEmpire 109
7 Mishandling the Great Game 119
8 The Rise ofthe Arab Imperial Dream 132
9 An Arab Caesar 149
10 A Reckoning ofSorts 170
11 The Tail That Wags the Dog 191
12 Renewing the Quest for Allah’s Empire 212
13 Bin Laden’s Holy War 225
Epilogue 234
PNoosttesscript: Back to the Future 224422
NInodteexs 225713
Index 283
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Maps
page
1 The Middle East on the Eve ofIslam 3
2 Islam’s First Empire 34
3 The Abbasid Empire at its Height 56
4 The Crusading Kingdoms 75
5 The Ottoman Empire in the Late Eighteenth Century 98
6 SharifHussein’s Imperial Dream 136
7 The Sykes–Picot Agreement 194
8 The Contemporary Middle East 209
Figures
1 The Family ofthe Prophet 10
2 The Rightly Guided Caliphs 29
3 The Umayyad Dynasty 39
Tables
1 The Abbasid Dynasty 58
2 The Ottoman Dynasty 105
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