Class Readings in Classical Arab History
Our class readings for weeks 1-5 will include readings from the following classical authors and accounts. All readings are found as PDF files in the G:drive for course at the college.
Prehistory of the Gulf: Ancient Cultures and Civilizations of the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Seas Region
We shall read excerpts from the following:
1) Ibn Ishaq, Sirat ar-rasul allah (translation by A. Guillaume) (Arabic /English translation)
2) Al-Waqidi. Futuh al-Sham (Conquest of Damascus)
3) Al-Baladhuri, Futuh al-Buldan (Conquest of the Countries) (Arabic / English translation)
4) Ibn Sina's autobiography (Arabic / English translation
5) Ibn Munqidh's Autobiography (English translation)
6) Ibn Khaldun's description of education in the Maghrib, Andalusia, Ifriqiyya and the Mashreq (Arabic/English translation)
Documentaries: one or more excerpts from the following documentaries may be shown:
When the Moors Ruled Europe
Jim Al-Khalili, Islam and Science (BBC, parts 1 and 2)
