San Antonio College Library

Since the age of Alexander the Great, waves of foreign armies have invaded the Middle East and South Asia to plunder their vast treasures. In Imperial Designs, Deepak Tripathi offers a powerful and unique analysis of how this volatile region has endured the manipulation and humiliation of such wars. He argues that these foreign invasions to gain access to others' wealth and the consequent ignominy of the defeated peoples of the regions have had far-reaching...

In the wake of 11 September 2001, there has been much talk about the inevitable clash between "East" and "West." This book presents an alternative approach to understanding the genealogy of contemporary events. By taking students and the general reader on a guided tour of the past five hundred years of Middle Eastern history, this book examines how the very forces associated with global "modernity" have shaped social, economic, cultural, and political...

"An epic historical consideration of the Mongol conquest of Western Asia and the spread of Islam during the years of non-Muslim rule. The Mongol conquest of the Islamic world began in the early thirteenth century when Genghis Khan and his warriors overran Central Asia and devastated much of Iran. Distinguished historian Peter Jackson offers a fresh and fascinating consideration of the years of infidel Mongol rule in Western Asia, drawing from an impressive...

In this program, art critic Waldemar Januszczak travels through the heart of the Middle East and beyond to study a wide range of Islamic architecture, decoration, and art objects. Providing helpful historical background on the faith-with an eye on the explosive spread of early Islamic culture-the program examines the pristine beauty of India's Taj Mahal as well as one of the world's oldest surviving mosques, and what may be its most spectacular: the...

Mankind's awesome fascination with dreams and the occult is ageless. Between the covers of The Interpretation of Dreams and Portents in Antiquity readers will find many of the earliest examples of this fascination. Collected for the first time are some of the basic works used by ancient seers. Here, in their own words, are their interpretations of dreams, unraveling of signs, and their views on the significance of many kinds of unusual occurrences....

Muhammad's first year in Medina, in year 622 of the Christian era, marks the beginning of the Muslim era and the birth of a new religion, civilization, empire, and calendar. The Hegira, Muhammad's visit to the Mecca in Medina, also marks a major change: from then on, believers will pray in the direction of this new sacred place and no longer in the direction of Jerusalem.

No region in the world today is more important than the Middle East: no people more misunderstood than the Arabs. In this definitive masterwork, distinguished Oxford historian Albert Hourani offers the most lucid, enlightening history ever written on the subject. From the rise of Islam to the Palestinian issue, from the Prophet Mohammed to Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi. A History of the Arab Peoples chronicles the rich spiritual, political, and cultural institutions...