Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 20460 items
A Concise History of Spain
By Carla Rahn Phillips, William D. Phillips. 2009
The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples,…
and from continual contact with outside influences. This book traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to the key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture. These include its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism, as well as debates over the place of the Church in modern Spain. Illustrations, maps, and a guide to further reading, major cultural figures, and places to see, make the history of this fascinating country come alive.Encountering Islam on the First Crusade
By Nicholas Morton. 2016
The First Crusade (1095–9) has often been characterised as a head-to-head confrontation between the forces of Christianity and Islam. For…
many, it is the campaign that created a lasting rupture between these two faiths. Nevertheless, is such a characterisation borne out by the sources? Engagingly written and supported by a wealth of evidence, Encountering Islam on the First Crusade offers a major reinterpretation of the crusaders' attitudes towards the Arabic and Turkic peoples they encountered on their journey to Jerusalem. Nicholas Morton considers how they interpreted the new peoples, civilizations and landscapes they encountered; sights for which their former lives in Western Christendom had provided little preparation. Morton offers a varied picture of cross cultural relations, depicting the Near East as an arena in which multiple protagonists were pitted against each other. Some were fighting for supremacy, others for their religion, many simply for survival.The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity
By Brian Hayden. 2018
The Power of Ritual in Prehistory is the first book in nearly a century to deal with traditional secret societies…
from a comparative perspective and the first from an archaeological viewpoint Providing a clear definition as well as the material signatures of ethnographic secret societies Brian Hayden demonstrates how they worked what motivated their organizers and what tactics they used to obtain what they wanted He shows that far from working for the welfare of their communities traditional secret societies emerged as predatory organizations operated for the benefit of their own members Moreover and contrary to the prevailing ideas that prehistoric rituals were used to integrate communities Hayden demonstrates how traditional secret societies created divisiveness and inequalities They were one of the key tools for increasing political control leading to chiefdoms states and world religions Hayden s conclusions will be eye-opening not only for archaeologists but also for anthropologists political scientists and scholars of religionGrigory Rasputin
By Enid A. Goldberg, Norman Itzkowitz. 2007
Reading in the Byzantine Empire and Beyond
By Teresa Shawcross, Ida Toth. 2018
Offering a comprehensive introduction to the history of books readers and reading in the Byzantine Empire and its sphere…
of influence this volume addresses a paradox Advanced literacy was rare among imperial citizens being restricted by gender and class Yet the state s economic religious and political institutions insisted on the fundamental importance of the written record Starting from the materiality of codices documents and inscriptions the volume s contributors draw attention to the evidence for a range of interactions with texts They examine the role of authors compilers and scribes They look at practices such as the close perusal of texts in order to produce excerpts notes commentaries and editions But they also analyse the social implications of the constant intersection of writing with both image and speech Showcasing current methodological approaches this collection of essays aims to place a discussion of Byzantium within the mainstream of medieval textual studiesA Day with the Prophet
By Ahmad Von Denffer. 1979
This book invites Muslims and non-Muslims to acquaint themselves with the prophet's practice and teachings, hisSunnah, first hand. Relying exclusively…
upon the sayings and actions of the prophet, which have been selected and translated from authenticated and well-known collections of hadith literature, this book presents a close-up and composite picture of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, described in the Qur'an as the best model for humanity. Ahmad Von Denfferwas born in Germany in 1949. He studied Islamics and Social Anthropology at the Universty of Mainz. He works at the Islamic Centre, Munich, and has translated the Qur'an into German.Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations
By Michael Sells. 1999
Approaching the Qur'án is a major event in religious publishing. Professor Michael Sells has captured the complexity, power, and poetry…
of the early suras of the Qur'án, the sacred scripture of Islam. In this second edition, Sells introduces important new translations of suras and a new preface that addresses the ongoing controversy over teaching about Islam and the Qur'an in American universities. Approaching the Qur'án presents brilliant translations of the short, hymnic suras associated with the first revelations to the Prophet Muhammad. Most of these early revelations appear at the end of text and are commonly reached only by the most resolute reader of existing English translations. These suras contain some of the most powerful, prophetic and revelatory passages in religious history. They offer the vision of a meaningful and just life that anchors the religion of one-fifth of the world's inhabitants. Approaching the Qur'án is enriched by inclusion of free downloadable audio recordings of Quranic reciters, allowing readers an opportunity to hear the Qur'án in its original form. The book includes Sells' Introduction to the Qur'án, commentaries of the suras, a glossary of technical terms, and chapters discussing the sound nature and gender aspects of the Arabic text.Francisco Pizarro: Destroyer of the Inca Empire
By John Diconsiglio. 2009
Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation
By Serhii Plokhy. 2017
From a preeminent scholar of Eastern Europe, a new history of Russian imperialism In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimea and…
attempted to seize a portion of Ukraine. While the world watched in outrage, this blatant violation of national sovereignty was only the latest iteration of a centuries-long effort to expand Russian boundaries and create a pan-Russian nation. In Lost Kingdom, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues that we can only understand the confluence of Russian imperialism and nationalism today by delving into the nation's history. Spanning over 500 years, from the end of the Mongol rule to the present day, Plokhy shows how leaders from Ivan the Terrible to Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin exploited existing forms of identity, warfare, and territorial expansion to achieve imperial supremacy. An authoritative and masterful account of Russian nationalism, Lost Kingdom chronicles the story behind Russia's belligerent empire-building quest.The Fall of France 1940
By Andrew Shennan. 2000
Offering a fresh critical perspective on this momentous event, Andrew Shennan examines both the continuities and discontinuities that resulted from…
the events of 1940. The main focus is on the French experience of the war, but this experience is framed within the larger context of France's - and Europe's - protracted mid-twentieth century crisis.Catherine the Great: Empress of Russia
By Zu Vincent. 2009
The Commandments of Islam: A Qur’anic Summary
By Simon Leitch. 2016
The Qur'an is one of the most important and controversial books ever written, yet the vast majority of people have…
never read it. Is it the work of a dangerous radical, a divine message from the God of Abraham, or a liberal and peaceful doctrine worthy of all humanity? In this short, concise volume the fundamental commandments of Islam have been extracted from the Qur'an, and useful annotations explain the contemporary context and purpose of those commandments. Also containing a helpful introduction to Muhammad and life in medieval Arabia, The Commandments of Islam is an excellent starting point for those wishing to understand the beginnings of this complex religious tradition. In a field beset by polarised political debates, this volume takes viewers directly to the laws as written by Muhammad nearly fifteen hundred years ago, without having to wade through the broader Qur'anic text, and allows the readers to make up their own minds about the Qur'an's author, his times, and his extraordinary book.Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
By Rita Copeland, Jon Whitman, Cohen, Mordechai Z. and Bar-Asher, Meir M. and Copeland, Rita and Berlin, Adele Whitman, Jon, Mordechai Z. Cohen, Adele Berlin, Bar-Asher, Meir M.. 2016
This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special emphasis on the pivotal…
medieval period. It focuses on three areas: responses in the different faith traditions to tensions created by the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its importance vis-à-vis non-literal senses, such as the figurative, spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in which classical rhetoric and poetics informed - or were resisted in - interpretation. Concentrating on points of intersection, the authors bring to light previously hidden aspects of methods and approaches in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This volume opens new avenues for interdisciplinary analysis and will benefit scholars and students of biblical studies, religious studies, medieval studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, comparative religions, and theory of interpretation.Rebel Girls
By Jill Liddington. 2006
Rejecting the deadening conventions of their Victorian elders, the rebel girls demanded new freedoms and new rights. They took their…
suffrage message out to the remotest Yorkshire dales and fishing harbours, to win Edwardian hearts and minds. 16-year-old Huddersfield weaver Dora Thewlis on arrest was catapulted onto the tabloid front-pages as 'Baby Suffragette'. Her life was transformed. Dancer Lilian Lenton waited till her twenty-first birthday - then determined to burn two buildings a week until the Liberal government granted women the vote. Rebel Girls shows how this daring campaigning shifted from community suffragettes to militant mavericks.Napoleon in Love
By R. F. Delderfield. 1959
The Fall of the Berlin Wall (Turning Points)
By William F. Buckley. 2004
Venerable American political conservative, Buckley offers his account of why the Berlin Wall was built, how it ruined German lives…
for nearly three decades, and how it fell -- was pushed actually -- in 1989. He delights in such images as children of Nazis, the undeniable spirit of East German dissenters, and Communist overlords.Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World
By Edward W. Said. 1981
Epicureans and Atheists in France, 1650–1729
By Alan Charles Kors. 2016
Atheism was the most foundational challenge to early-modern French certainties. Theologians and philosophers labelled such atheism as absurd, confident that…
neither the fact nor behaviour of nature was explicable without reference to God. The alternative was a categorical naturalism, whose most extreme form was Epicureanism. The dynamics of the Christian learned world, however, which this book explains, allowed the wide dissemination of the Epicurean argument. By the end of the seventeenth century, atheism achieved real voice and life. This book examines the Epicurean inheritance and explains what constituted actual atheistic thinking in early-modern France, distinguishing such categorical unbelief from other challenges to orthodox beliefs. Without understanding the actual context and convergence of the inheritance, scholarship, protocols, and polemical modes of orthodox culture, the early-modern generation and dissemination of atheism are inexplicable. This book brings to life both early-modern French Christian learned culture and the atheists who emerged from its intellectual vitality.Water Histories and Spatial Archaeology
By Michael J. Harrower. 2016
This book offers a new interpretation of the spatial-political-environmental dynamics of water and irrigation in long-term histories of arid regions.…
It compares ancient Southwest Arabia (3500 BC–AD 600) with the American West (2000 BC–AD 1950) in global context to illustrate similarities and differences among environmental, cultural, political, and religious dynamics of water. It combines archaeological exploration and field studies of farming in Yemen with social theory and spatial technologies, including satellite imagery, Global Positioning System (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping. In both ancient Yemen and the American West, agricultural production focused not where rain-fed agriculture was possible, but in hyper-arid areas where massive state-constructed irrigation schemes politically and ideologically validated state sovereignty. While shaped by profound differences and contingencies, ancient Yemen and the American West are mutually informative in clarifying human geographies of water that are important to understandings of America, Arabia, and contemporary conflicts between civilizations deemed East and West.Ayodhya: Archaeology After Demolition (Revised edition)
By D. Mandal. 2003