A History of Islamic Societies

Long considered a classic, A History of Islamic Societies is now that much more useful a reference for general readers and scholars alike. Widely praised for its balanced and comprehensive account, Ira Lapidus' work has been fully revised in its coverage of each country and region of the Muslim world through 2001. It incorporates the origins and evolution of Islamic societies and brings into focus the historical processes that gave shape to the manifold varieties of contemporary Islam. The concluding chapters survey the growing influence of the Islamist movements within national states and in their transnational or global dimensions, including the Islamic revival, Islamist politics and terrorism. An updated discussion of the roles of women in Islamic societies is added, with new sections about Afghanistan and Muslims in Europe, America, and the Philippines. Ira M. Lapidus is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California at Berkeley. His many books and articles include Islam, Politics and Social Movements (University of California Press, 1988) and Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1984).

Lapidus (emeritus, history, U. of California, Berkeley) has revised and expanded his highly regarded history of Islamic societies with extensive new material on the present-day fundamentalist revival. Other new additions include sections or chapters on the Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, women and gender, and global Islamic identity, including treatment of terrorism. In addition to these current issues, the origins of Islam from the time of Mohammad until the 13th century are discussed at length, making this a comprehensive reference and an excellent all-around resource.
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Ira Lapidus' classic history of the origins and evolution of Muslim societies has been completely revised and updated for a second edition. The book traces the evolution of Islam from Muhammad to the present day. It is essential reading for students and for anyone seeking to understand the Muslim peoples.

In the second edition of this classic work, Ira Lapidus explores the origins and evolution of Muslim societies. The book, which has been completely updated, is divided into three parts. The first covers the formative era. The second traces the diffusion of Islamic societies worldwide, while the third explores their reaction to imperialism, and emergence as states. The concluding chapters consider Islam's recent history, the formation of Islamic revival movements and global Islamic identities. The book is essential reading for students and for those seeking to understand the Muslim peoples.

A History of Islamic Societies provides an authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the civilisations and patterns of life of Muslims throughout the world. Part I deals with the formative era of Islamic civilisation from the revelation of the Qur'an to the Thirteenth century and examines the transformation of Islam from a complex of doctrines and cultural systems into the organising principles of Middle Eastern Society. Part II traces the creation of similar societies in the Balkans, North Africa, Central Asia, China, India, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Part III considers the transformation of these societies under the forces of technological change, industrial revolution and European imperialism. It describes the emergence of modern economies, national states and secular ideologies in Muslim countries and seeks to assess the role of past Islamic institutions and present Islamic movements in the shaping of contemporary Muslim society.

This book provides an authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the civilisations and patterns of life of Muslims throughout the world.

Ira M. Lapidus was Professor of Islamic history at the University of California at Berkeley.

Part I. The Origins of Islamic Civilization: The Middle East from c. 600-1200; Introduction; THE PREACHING OF ISLAM 1. Arabia; 2. The Life of the Prophet; THE ARAB-MUSLIM IMPERIUM, 632-945 3. The Arab conquests and the socio-economic bases of empire; 4. The Caliphate; 5. Cosmopolitan Islam: The Islam of the imperial elite; 6. Urban Islam: the Islam of the religious elites; 7. Islamic culture and the separation of state and religion; 8. The fall of the 'Abbasid empire; FROM ISLAMIC CULTURE TO ISLAMIC SOCIETY: IRAN AND IRAQ, 945-C. 1200 9. The post- 'Abbasid Middle Eastern state system; 10. Muslim communities and Middle Eastern societies; 11. The collective ideal; 12. The personal ethic; Conclusion; Part II. The Worldwide Diffusion of Islamic Societies from the Tenth to the Nineteenth Century; Introduction; THE MIDDLE EASTERN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES 13. Iran: the Mongol, Timurid, and Safavid empires; 14. The Turkish migrations and the Ottoman empire; 15. The Arab Middle East; 16. Islamic North Africa and Spain to the nineteenth century; ISLAM IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ASIA 17. Inner Asia from the Mongol conquests to the nineteenth century; 18. The Indian subcontinent: the Delhi Sultanates and the Mughal empire; 19. The formation of Islamic societies in Southeast Asia; ISLAM IN AFRICA 20. Islam in Sudanic, Savannah, and Forest West Africa; 21. Islam in East Africa and the rise of European colonial empires; Conclusion; Part III. The Modern Transformation: Muslim Peoples in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries; Introduction; NATIONALISM AND ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE EAST 22. Iran: state and religion in the modern era; 23. The dissolution of the Ottoman empire and the modernization of Turkey; 24. Egypt: secularism and Islamic modernity; 25. The Arab Middle East: Arabism, military states, and Islam; 26. North Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; SECULARISM AND ISLAM IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ASIA 27. The Indian subcontinent: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; 28. Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; 29. Inner Asia under Russian and Chinese rule; ISLAM IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AFRICA 30. Islam in West Africa; 31. Islam in East Africa; 32. Muslims in Europe and America; Conclusion: secularized Islam and Islamic revival