The Islamic World from Classical to Modern Times: Essays in Honor of Bernard Lewis

by Clifford Edmund Bosworth

Bernard Lewis's work has covered all periods, and most countries, of the Islamic Middle East. This festschrift, written by some of his numerous colleagues, friends, and former students, includes some of the most distinguished orientalists, historians, and social scientists of our time and is a fitting tribute to Professor Lewis's scholarship. The contributions range, geographically, from On Chinese Rhubarb to The Jewish Courtier Class in Late Eighteenth-Century Morocco and, topically, from The Concept of Authority in Islamic Thought to A Forgotten Ottoman Romance and Safety in Numbers: Reflections on the Middle Eastern Balance of Power. Taken together, the fifty-two essays constitute a variegated collection of studies on a many-sided and important civilisation. The collections are assembled under three major headings: The Classical and Medieval Islamic World; Ottoman Studies and The Modern Middle East.

915 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA is an English historian and orientalist, specializing in Arabic and Iranian studies. He received his B.A. degree from Oxford University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Edinburgh University. He held permanent posts at St. Andrews University, Manchester University, and the Center for the Humanities at Princeton University. He is the author of 100s articles in academic journals and composite volumes. His other contributions include nearly 200 articles in the Encyclopaedia of Islam and some 100 articles in the Encyclopædia Iranica, as well as articles for Encyclopædia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana. He's currently a visiting professor at the University of Exeter, where he has held the post since 2004.

His book The Islamic dynasties has been translated to Arabic and Persian. He is the chief editor of the Encyclopaedia of Islam and a consulting editor of Encyclopaedia Iranica.