You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Goldziher, the greatest Islamicist of his day, and one of the most profound and original scholars in Europe in an age that produced veritable giants in this . eld, is presented here with what he considered his great opus, first published in 1920 in Leiden. Since his study tour in the East, 1873-1874, he had such a command of Arabic so as to discuss matters of dogmatics, fiqh, poetry, and syntax with local scholars. The work is largely based on his study and translation of Arabic primary sources. He treats the evolution of the science of tafsir from its most elementary stage, the 'Uthmanic' recension, down to early twentieth century interpretations of Rashid Rida and Syed Ameer Ali, touching upon dogmatics, asceticism, mysticism as well as rationalism. The translator, an old hand at translating Goldziher, displays a sensible, pragmatic attitude towards the considerable problem presented by Goldziher's style.
This volume brings together a set of key studies on the history of medieval Central Europe (Bohemia, Hungary, Poland), along with others specially commissioned for the book or translated, and a new introduction. This region was both an area of immigration, and one of polities in expansion. Such expansion included the settlement and exploitation of previously empty lands as well as rulers' attempts to incorporate new territories under their rule, although these attempts did not always succeed. Often, German immigration has been prioritized in scholarship, and the medieval expansion of Central Europe has been equated with the expansion of Germans. Debates then focused on the positive or negati...
In August 955 a battle took place that effectively ended the incursions of steppe nomads into Western Europe. The forces of Otto the Great annihilated a huge army of Hungarian mounted archers in an encounter that is generally known as the battle of Lechfeld, a broad plain near Augsburg in southern Germany. Since even after a defeat these elusive warriors surely could have fled back to the Carpathian Basin to rebuild their strength and resume their raids, the total annihilation of the Hungarian army is mysterious. This book provides the first satisfactory explanation for the decisive nature of Otto's victory. Based on a detailed analysis of all contemporary, and often contradictory, sources, ...
This volume examines the development and evolution of the war galley known as the Dromon, and its relative, the Chelandion, from first appearance in the sixth century until its supercession in the twelfth century by the Galea developed in the Latin West. Beginning as a small, fully-decked, monoreme galley, by the tenth century the Dromon had become a bireme, the pre-eminent war galley of the Mediterranean. The salient features of these ships were their two-banked oarage system, the spurs at their bows which replaced the ram of classical antiquity, their lateen sails, and their primary weapon: Greek Fire. The book contextualizes the technical characteristics of the ships within the operational history of Byzantine fleets, logistical problems of medieval naval warfare, and strategic objectives. Surviving Byzantine sources, especially tactical manuals, are subjected to close literary and philological analysis.
A complete survey of the military campaigns of the early Saxons, tactics, strategy, and logistics, demonstrating in particular the sophistication of the administration involved. Over the course of half a century, the first two kings of the Saxon dynasty, Henry I (919-936) and Otto I (936-973), waged war across the length and breadth of Europe. Ottonian armies campaigned from the banks of the Oder in the east to the Seine in the west, and from the shores of the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Adriatic and Mediterranean in the south. In the course of scores of military operations, accompanied by diligent diplomatic efforts, Henry and Otto recreated the empire of Charlemagne, and established th...
The inner workings of early medieval societies cannot be understood without also studying their links - religious, cultural, economic and political - with their neighbours. In this collection Karl Leyser shows how Ottonian and Salian Germany both influenced and was influenced by the societies with which it came into contact. While the author's central interest is in Germany, his work is of value for the study of medieval European society as a whole.