Description
Out of Arabia by Warwick Ball is a richly illustrated history of the long relationship between the Middle East and Europe, tracing the movement of cultures, peoples and ideas from the East into Europe over thousands of years. Ball challenges the common view that Arab history begins with the rise of Islam, looking instead at the much older connections between the Arab world, its predecessors and European history.
The book examines the Phoenicians and Arabs, their exploration and colonisation around the Mediterranean and beyond, and the expansion of Arab and Islamic culture into regions including Spain, Sicily, southern Italy and parts of France and Switzerland. The arrival of the Arabs in Spain in 711 is presented as part of a much longer process of cultural exchange and expansion rather than an isolated historical event.
The first of four volumes examining the spread of Eastern cultures into Europe, Out of Arabia is a good choice for readers interested in Near Eastern history, archaeology, European history, cultural exchange and the connections between the ancient Mediterranean world and the Middle East.
