The Arabs: A Short History

By Philip Khuri Hitti

Book Overview

From the ancient cultures of the Middle East have sprung three of the world's major religions, outstanding accomplishments in literature and science, and seemingly never-ending conflict - compounded now not only by geopolitics, but by the international hunger for oil and the web of global terrorism. But who are the Arabs, these remarkable people who have accomplished so much and who continue to both fascinate and confront the West? Philip K. Hitti's eloquent short history is an acknowledged classic offering the best and quickest grasp of Arab history and culture. Now with a new introduction by renowned MIT historian, Philip Khoury.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895267063
• ISBN13: 9780895267061
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Gateway Editions
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Interesting --- no axe to grind

I found this book interesting and entertaining -- given the time frame when it was written it is less warped and biased by current events and politics. The Ottoman period is missing. Worth reading.

Lesser known history

This history book covers primarily the Islamic Arabian empire, in the period from around 600 AD (the advent of Islam) to around 1500 AD when the last remnants of the empire fell. A few chapters at the beginning and the end address the pre-Islamic Arabs, and also the post empire period through about 1950. I'm pretty sure Professor Hitti is an Arab and a Moslem (though I don't have confirmation), and his perspective is enlightening, though occasionally he comes across as a bit "rah rah". I recommend this book as a good introduction to someone (like me) who doesn't know much about the rise of Islam and the subsequent empire. The book is pretty short so it is something of a summary, but Hitti has a longer work titled "History of the Arabs" which you could move on to.

This is the place to start

At just over two hundred pages, this book is the place to start learning Arabic history. Although it is certainly not the most detailed or precise account, its brevity ensures that a novice will not be overwhelmed with strange names and minute details of unfamiliar events.Hitti's Short History will be quite useful to social studies teachers who want to give their students short articles on Arabic history to read. Each chapter in this book is short enough to serve that purpose. There are also eight nice maps that will help students of all levels develop a better understanding of how Islam changed the world.

A great introduction to a wonderful people

Philip K. Hitti, of Lebanese Christian descent, the father of modern Near Eastern studies in the United States originally published this book in 1943 as a service to U.S. government personel and others whose interest was becoming focused on the Middle East. He portrays a people who had a very rich civilization, whose rulers were studying ancient Greek philosophy at the same time Charlemagne and his advisors in Europe were tyring to learn to write their names. The Arabs rescued the artistic and philosophical treasures of Ancient Greece and ancient Persia and developed standards in Medicine, biology, philosophy, architecture, agriculture that were unprecedented in their day. These achievements Hitti says spread into Europe through Spain and Sicily and were the major factor in sparking the European rennaisance. I particularly enjoyed his description of Abassid Baghdad at its heighth. Consider his description of the daily schedule of the "man of learning" or the institution of the "ghilman" the "beardless young boys" who .....well I won't get into that. He describes the conditions of non-slave non-Moslems as equal though varying depending on the degree of liberalism of the reigning Caliph. At times Jews and Christians had to wear special clothing and fix devils to the fronts of their houses and could not testify against Moslems in court. But more than a few of them rose to high positions in government, in scholarship, in bootlegging. The Jewish community in Baghdad was very active and large and its chief Rabbi was treated with veneration. What caused this relatively glorious civilization to die? The mongol hordes, unequal distribution of wealth, emergence of new competitors, epidemics, ethnic strife, rulers spending more time amassing personal wealth and fornicating with slaves than attending to pubilic affairs and finally the conquest of much of it by Ottoman Turkey. Hitti a few times shows a slight chauvanism. I was dissapointed in his lack of treatment of one of the crucial problems in the Arab world, the sectarian feuds within Islam, particularly Sunni-Shia. If I'm not mistaken Shiism was born out of life of the Caliph Ali and his son Hussein. Hitti says absolutely nothing about this when talking about these two men. He only says that Ali, who ruled from 656 to 661, was very popular but was murdered and that his son Hussein was called "the great divorcer" as a result of his having ruined one hundred marriages by his omniverous fornicating which was his prefered activity in life and he had no interest in the caliphate so he ceded it Muawiyah in return for the payment of a lifetime subisidy.At the end of the book Hitti writes that the Arab people "have thus taken their place among the forward-marching democratic nations of the world and promise to make further contributions to the progress of mankind." It's hard to pin down when exactly that was written but that's obviously a bit too optimistic a statement in todays terms with most of the Arab worl

A Book that Will Make You Fall in Love with Arabs.

Great book on a great civilization. It is interesting to read, and sad to realize that the Arabs lost their long golden-age.It is truely the history of a great culture and people.It is sad that they did not recieve what they deserve from respect and appreciation from us.