Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires
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- Author：Tim Mackintosh-Smith
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Summary
A riveting， comprehensive history of the Arab peoples and tribes that explores the role of language as a cultural touchstone
This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3，000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances。 Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language， rather than the advent of Islam， Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic， both spoken and written， has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia。
Mackintosh-Smith reveals how linguistic developments—from pre-Islamic poetry to the growth of script， Muhammad’s use of writing， and the later problems of printing Arabic—have helped and hindered the progress of Arab history， and investigates how， even in today’s politically fractured post–Arab Spring environment， Arabic itself is still a source of unity and disunity。
This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3，000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances。 Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language， rather than the advent of Islam， Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic， both spoken and written， has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia。
Mackintosh-Smith reveals how linguistic developments—from pre-Islamic poetry to the growth of script， Muhammad’s use of writing， and the later problems of printing Arabic—have helped and hindered the progress of Arab history， and investigates how， even in today’s politically fractured post–Arab Spring environment， Arabic itself is still a source of unity and disunity。
Reviews
Beatriz
，
If you are looking for a concise account of Arab history I would not turn you to this book first。 If you are looking for an account of how identity was so closely developed with language and that explores this throughout thousands of years， this is the book for you。 What Mackintosh-Smith gives in terms of oral and linguistic history is phenomenal。 It is an account of history so closely tied with language。
Richard Hall
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It was a interesting and very informative read but I think my lack of knowledge of Arabic language made it a difficult read but it has encouraged me to learn more
Hassan Hayastani
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Great lucidity and insight
Annikky
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One of my books of the year， but it’ll require some time to write a proper review。
Arun
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Magisterial。 This is a book which could only have been written by someone who has lived among the Arabs for decades （like the author did。） Inticately researched and lyrically written。
Mary Foxe
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DNF。
Leo Africanus
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If like me you've been wondering whatever happened to Tim Mackintosh-Smith after writing those fabulous books on the travels of Ibn Battuta， wonder no longer。 He'd been busy working on a riveting history of the Arabs - 3，000 years of People， Tribes and Empires。 The narration is absorbing （but the pronunciation of Arab names and terms mangled to the point of parody） and the insights into the Arabic language itself as a socio-linguistic glue are excellent。 If like me you've been wondering whatever happened to Tim Mackintosh-Smith after writing those fabulous books on the travels of Ibn Battuta， wonder no longer。 He'd been busy working on a riveting history of the Arabs - 3，000 years of People， Tribes and Empires。 The narration is absorbing （but the pronunciation of Arab names and terms mangled to the point of parody） and the insights into the Arabic language itself as a socio-linguistic glue are excellent。 。。。more
Sean
，
Huge amount of information in this book。 Extremely tough read， but happy to have the knowledge regarding this very misunderstood area。
Cian Mac Lochlainn
，
A truly engrossing and enlightening read about a part of the world that is deeply underappreciated by contemporary Westerners for its contributions to human civilisation。 Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a talented and articulate writer who combines his deep love of the Arab World with rigorous historical research to show an incredibly human side to history。Having grown up with the Arab world being associated with conflict and instability， I have endeavoured to understand more about that place that inter A truly engrossing and enlightening read about a part of the world that is deeply underappreciated by contemporary Westerners for its contributions to human civilisation。 Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a talented and articulate writer who combines his deep love of the Arab World with rigorous historical research to show an incredibly human side to history。Having grown up with the Arab world being associated with conflict and instability， I have endeavoured to understand more about that place that intersects between East and West。 Mackintosh-Smith uses the metaphor of Arabs being perched on a rock between two lions: those lions being powerful empires East and West of the Fertile Crescent。 The tragedy of Arab Civilisation is that there are brief moments of unity between its people amid a sea of despair。 Despite 400 million people speaking Arabic， and a world conquering faith， Arabs have been subjects more than rulers in their 3，000 year history。 Despite this， their culture， customs， and language remains unshakable。This book inspired me with hope。 Why hope？ As I have stated， many people are quick to associate the Arab world as unstable， and peace in the wider Middle East to be， at best， an elusive vanity project for Western governments and， at worst， a fantasy。 This book strongly rejects this view; the power of rhetoric can bring people together as much， if not more， as divide them。 Just as the Prophet Muhammad brought the Arab tribes together under the unifying banner of Islam in the 7th century CE， so too does that potential exist today。 For those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the Arab World and Middle East， or wish to see a truly human perspective on history， this book is a must read。 。。。more
Ragnar Bang Moe
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Lydbok。 Strømmet。 Audible。 Engelsk。 3000 år med arabisk historie i en bok， lærerikt og interessant， selvom jeg ble litt skeptisk da forfatteren sa noe om det var ordet og språket som formet virkeligheten eller noe i den dur。 Bra bok lell！Audiobook。 Streamed。 Audible。 English。 3000 years of Arabic history in a book， instructive and interesting， although I became a bit skeptical as the author stated something about the word and the language shaping reality or something like that。 Good book though！
NosNos
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A panoramic look at Arab history that achieves that venerable mix of information， entertainment， and tragedy which every great book of history contains。 The author does not begin his history of Arabs at Islam ground-zero， as some books of the same kind， but before that， and takes you through the ages， the Arabic language itself being the guide。 From Assyrian war logs in 900 BC mentioning a fight with a "Gindibu"， a 1000-camel strong battalion leader， to the current year of 2020。Mackintosh-Smith A panoramic look at Arab history that achieves that venerable mix of information， entertainment， and tragedy which every great book of history contains。 The author does not begin his history of Arabs at Islam ground-zero， as some books of the same kind， but before that， and takes you through the ages， the Arabic language itself being the guide。 From Assyrian war logs in 900 BC mentioning a fight with a "Gindibu"， a 1000-camel strong battalion leader， to the current year of 2020。Mackintosh-Smith is in dialogue throughout the whole book with towering figures of Islamic/Arab historiography and culture。 Al-Jahiz， Ibn Khaldun， Al-Baladhuri， Ibn Battutah， Adonis， Muhammad Al-Jabari， and Taha Husyan， just to mention a few。 The result is a beautiful polyphony of voices from the past and the present， all orchestrated effortlessly by Mackintosh-Smith。 No poem， anecdote， or vignette is spared in this book。 That's not to say that Mackintosh-Smith is a lax scholar， his critical eye is always warning you of possible bias or forgery。 Sometimes fiction can tell us the truth even more efficiently than recorded 'fact'， and the inclusion of these questionable tid-bits is used precisely in this manner。 No book review can really do justice to such an all-encompassing book， but if it's worth anything， I have found it superbly entertaining， rich in information， and more dramatic than most works of literature。 An absolute must-read for anyone who is even slightly interested in Arab history。 。。。more
Jonathan Mckay
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67th，61st books of 2020: Civilization is Just Another Tale。。。 Arabs: a 3000 year journey。 “Ink is thicker than blood” What does it mean to be an Arab？ Western ideology is so enamored with the idea of a nation-state， that it has become difficult for us to imagine the world split on orthogonal axes。 Nobody ever speaks of 'pan-romanism' as an influence in modern affairs， or the 'Romantic speaking world'。 Without nations， peoples， or states to fall back upon， and unable to write histories without t 67th，61st books of 2020: Civilization is Just Another Tale。。。 Arabs: a 3000 year journey。 “Ink is thicker than blood” What does it mean to be an Arab？ Western ideology is so enamored with the idea of a nation-state， that it has become difficult for us to imagine the world split on orthogonal axes。 Nobody ever speaks of 'pan-romanism' as an influence in modern affairs， or the 'Romantic speaking world'。 Without nations， peoples， or states to fall back upon， and unable to write histories without the enforced separation of church and state western historians are often lost when trying to understand العالم العربي 'the Arab world'。 To Mackintosh-Smith， Arab starts with tribes and came into its on through language。 In pre-islamic times there was the distinction between the bedu and hadhr: nomads and civilization that defined the Arabian peninsula。 The Romans may have had a Mediterranean sea trade network， but the empires of the east rose and fell on the land network that encircled the middle east。 The Arabs， perennially sandwiched between other more powerful empires， were pawns on an imperial chessboard。 All changed with Islam of course， but more than anything， what it meant to be Arab changed， as Arabs became a ruling class that Arabicized and Islamicized the lands they conquered， from Spain to India。 The rightly guided caliphs were something like the military aggression of the Roman Empire combined with the melting pot salad bowl of 19th century America。 In the same way that American identity has evolved， Arab identity necessarily went through a substantial revision in the Islamic golden age。 Succession proved to be the achilles heel of the Islamic empire， and the initial explosive expansion was able to hide underlying tribal feuds for about a generation before internecine warfare and inevitable decline took over。 After all， “if a man hates at all he will hate his next door neighbor。” Like the fall of Rome， the Umayyad and Abbassid caliphates took centuries to wither and fade， to be finally subdued by new groups of militant nomads - the mongols from the east and Turks from the north。 In the ‘long sleep’ of the Ottoman empire， Arab identity was nearly completely subdued， kept alive only through the unassailable redoubt of Arabic language and Islam。 To succinctly describe this arc， the Islamic golden age was a “brief period of greatness followed by a long mourning of its fall” The post-imperial middle east provided some of the right ingredients for an Arab renaissance， but through internal dictators and self-interested meddling from new neighboring empires， has led to a global age of disappointment。 The identity of Arabness was more linguistic than cultural， with prominent Egyptians stating: “We live not in a country， but in a language。”Destiny Disrupted: Western Version of Islam’s AutobiographyWhile we may ignore Islamic culture， they haven’t ignored us: “It’s harder to ignore the rock you are under than the rock you are on。”Unlike the Arabs， who have a history reaching to antiquity， Islam is an almost modern invention。 The true golden era was not the post WW2 boom， but rather the post-Islamic expansion after the rightly guided caliphs exploded onto the global arena in the 7th century。 Later on， crusaders were little more than buzzing flies， compared with the god-defying disaster from the Mongols and utter devastation （~10m casualties！） from Tamerlane。 The Ottoman empire and a few others rose out of the ashes， but never flourished in the same way。 Surprisingly， in the 18th century， and out of the barbarian inner forests of Europe， westerners started to infiltrate， dismantle， or otherwise dominate the fractured Islamic empires。 Early waves of indigenous and sometimes militant modernity that started in places such as the Qajar and Mughal dynasties were tried and discarded as ineffective， leading to the conservative shift that has been pervasive across the islamic world post WW2。 In the rump state of the Ottoman Empire， militant modernism won out， carving out the modern state of Turkey while leaving the rest of the Arab world to its own devices and whims of imperialist schemes。 。。。more
Ziemek
，
Beautifully written and a wealth of information， but often also excessively wordy。
Peter Goodman
，
“Arabs: a 3，000-year history of people， tribes and empires，” by Tim Mackintosh-Smith （Yale， 2019）。 Roll out the superlatives， gang: brilliant， extraordinary， superb， etc。 Mackintosh-Smith wrote this from Yemen during the war that is still going on。 Occasionally he drops a comment about the slogans， the dead boys， the bombing going on around him。 It is hard to imagine such an immense project as this---tremendously detailed， covering as the （this time justified） subtitle says， 3，000 years。 The wri “Arabs: a 3，000-year history of people， tribes and empires，” by Tim Mackintosh-Smith （Yale， 2019）。 Roll out the superlatives， gang: brilliant， extraordinary， superb， etc。 Mackintosh-Smith wrote this from Yemen during the war that is still going on。 Occasionally he drops a comment about the slogans， the dead boys， the bombing going on around him。 It is hard to imagine such an immense project as this---tremendously detailed， covering as the （this time justified） subtitle says， 3，000 years。 The writing is exceptional， which is only fair because one of the essential points the author makes again and again is that Arabic itself is a fundamental part of being Arab。 MS （I will use this rather than that long， awkward British name） does all the translations---everything scans and rhymes， in English！ His knowledge is， without cliché， encyclopedic: he throws off asides about Charles Ives and Walt Whitman as easily as he goes through the complex genealogy of the tribes。 This is stereotyping， but it fits: the Arabs’ nomadic culture is based on raiding， ravishing， theft and feud。 That is what the Arabs did as they gradually emerged as a cultural entity。 It is how they continued to behave even during the height of their own， barely united empire。 They never really achieved unity except for a few years under Muhammad; all the rest of the centuries were filled with fighting， assassination， betrayal， grudges， enmity。 At the same time， their culture was also defined by the beauty of the language itself---poets were as valued as caliphs; they told stories， spread ideas， commented on the world as it happened。 And their architecture and plastic arts， are also beautiful。 Islam， of course， is as much political as it is religious。 It was almost impossible to separate one from the other during all the centuries。 MS explains how this relatively small population was able to swarm out of the desert and conquer territories from al-Andalus （Iberia） to India。 This is the only book I have read that made me truly feel that the West is not the center of the world and never has been。 If anything， considering the geographic spread， the centuries of dominance， the great influence of language， that world was an Arab world。 But the Arabs themselves， always split， always plotting， far too often slaughtering each other， do not seem capable of taking any great place in the world today。 One factor， he says， is that the written language itself was almost impossible to achieve in print （digitization has changed that）。 Btw， within this immense sweep of time and place， MS places Israel as a dagger and a wound， geographically， psychologically， and spiritually， in the heart of the Arab world。 And， much as I hate to consider this， he makes sense。http://www。mackintosh-smith。com/ 。。。more
Renzo
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This is a brilliant book for anybody trying to understand the Arab world in it entire magnitude
Moustafa Badwy
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Truly an exceptional book！ Seldom have I read such a poetic history book！ I especially like the accent on language and its undeniable influence on the course of history。 Moreover， this book is refreshingly free of dogmas and prejudices， which is a rare thing considering its subject matter。 All in all， a grand work！
Lozza
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Enlightening and fascinating read about the history of the Arab peoples， specifically through their language and culture。
Shanthanu
，
A fascinating work on the history of the Arabs， going back far into the pre-Islamic past and tracing the continuity and changes to faultlines and communities within Arabdom。 This is a pretty approachable read for an outsider， full of fun anecdotes like the one about the Himyari king who addressed an Arab man who'd come to him for an audience， standing on the terrace wall。 The king ordered him to Thib （which meant jump in Arabic， the language of the desert tribesman）， while meaning sit in the ton A fascinating work on the history of the Arabs， going back far into the pre-Islamic past and tracing the continuity and changes to faultlines and communities within Arabdom。 This is a pretty approachable read for an outsider， full of fun anecdotes like the one about the Himyari king who addressed an Arab man who'd come to him for an audience， standing on the terrace wall。 The king ordered him to Thib （which meant jump in Arabic， the language of the desert tribesman）， while meaning sit in the tongue of the settled Himyari civilization。 The poor man jumped to his death， and inspired the Yemeni saying， 'When in Zafar， speak as the Himyaris speak'。Another episode about an Andalusian， who was reminded that Arab cartographers depicted the map of the known world in the form of a bird， and Andalus was situated on the east-facing bird's behind， and retorted that only the peacock could represent the magnificence of creation， and Andalusia is rightfully part of the peacock's tail — its most striking feature。On the whole， this book reads like a yarn told by a great raconteur， but you come away without too firm a grasp on the whole narrative （which may be more to do with the myriad players and complex relationships than a failing of the author， though） 。。。more
Jonathan
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This book had me captivated， until we arrived at the modern period。 What started as a brilliantly emphatic history of the Arabs from before Islam till our times， ended in a poor and biased coverage of the most recent hundred or so years。 Written from his home in war-torn Yemen his cynism over the meddling of modern empires like Britain and France， and later of the United States in carving out modern borders can be excused。 What can't be excused is the lack of balance and historical depth in the This book had me captivated， until we arrived at the modern period。 What started as a brilliantly emphatic history of the Arabs from before Islam till our times， ended in a poor and biased coverage of the most recent hundred or so years。 Written from his home in war-torn Yemen his cynism over the meddling of modern empires like Britain and France， and later of the United States in carving out modern borders can be excused。 What can't be excused is the lack of balance and historical depth in the later narrative。 I highly recommend the book for the history of the premodern Arab world， but it wont offer new insights in the recent history of the Arabs。 。。。more
Melanie Filizola Ruiz
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I am far from well versed in Arab history， and I fear much of the content of this work has likely gone entirely over my head， but my experience reading this novel was splendid。 It reads like fiction， easy and flowing naturally。 Completely lacking that dense information dump that is characteristic of many non fiction history texts。 His genuine love for the history is evident and contagious。 An excellent read。 Already anticipating returning to it once I know more。Thank you so much for sharing your I am far from well versed in Arab history， and I fear much of the content of this work has likely gone entirely over my head， but my experience reading this novel was splendid。 It reads like fiction， easy and flowing naturally。 Completely lacking that dense information dump that is characteristic of many non fiction history texts。 His genuine love for the history is evident and contagious。 An excellent read。 Already anticipating returning to it once I know more。Thank you so much for sharing your brain with me for a few weeks。 。。。more
Sergio
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Very interesting although I missed information on the political and historical issues that made the Arabs so important during several centuries and on how they manage to preserve many aspects of the cultural heritage of the classic world。
Nikko
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Not a book i would have picked up if I had not read several published reviews。 I read Hourani’s years ago and thought that was enough。 But this is a case where the magisterial writing elevates the story and transports the reader， making this one of the most engaging， even emotional， histories I have read in a long time。
Tim Pendry
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This is a humane， scholarly but highly readable book by one of that diminishing breed， the sensitive British Arabist who is as much Arab as British and who manages to be both detached in observation and engaged as a liberal who loves his adopted culture。He is based in Yemen。 South Arabian and Yemeni examples and anecdotes pepper the book giving perhaps a slight bias against the Maghreb and Mashriq in favour of the complexities of the Arabian heartlands。 But you can only do so much in 536 pages。 This is a humane， scholarly but highly readable book by one of that diminishing breed， the sensitive British Arabist who is as much Arab as British and who manages to be both detached in observation and engaged as a liberal who loves his adopted culture。He is based in Yemen。 South Arabian and Yemeni examples and anecdotes pepper the book giving perhaps a slight bias against the Maghreb and Mashriq in favour of the complexities of the Arabian heartlands。 But you can only do so much in 536 pages。 Order has to be given to a tale of 3，000 years。 Arab origins in the tension between 'badawah' and 'haradah' and the importance of the Arab poetic heritage are to be found in the Arabian Peninsular and are central to understanding what may be to be an 'Arab'。 The bias is legitimate。I say 'what it may be to be an Arab' because being an Arab is an uncertain business （much as being a European is）。 Mackintosh-Smith does an excellent job in working through those uncertainties and the reinventions and variations on what 'being an Arab' means at any one point in history。He does two things that give perspective。 First， he refuses to tell the tale as the same tale as the rise of Islam giving due weight to the 1，500 years before Muhammed as much as to the 1，450 or so since his arrival as unifier of the Peninsula under a particularly dynamic form of monotheism。The second thing he does is not define Arab by particular uses of the term 'arab as it shifts and changes over time but by its truly salient characteristic which is the use of an Arabic language derived from Arabian poetry （still a political force） and the Quran （a poetic book）。I can express an interest here as not being an Arabist （deliberately so） but having worked with Arabs for a quarter of a century （as well as 'Zionists' for a decade before that） - Saudis and Syrians intimately， Moroccans， Iraqis and Emiratis seriously and many others tangentially。I can attest to the pecularities of the culture， its simultaneous unity and divisions， the effects of foreign empires， the continuing importance of rhetoric and the poetic phrase， the brutal realism， the intellectual melancholy and the ambiguities involved in truth-telling。Mackintosh-Smith brought it all together for me quite nicely and gave this experience context。 It confirmed an intuition that cultures taken as a whole （whether English or Chinese， Arab or Persian） have deep roots where the use of language helps to frame the freedom of any individual。The book is not really a straight narrative so much as a chronological exploration of themes that becomes increasingly anecdotal towards the end。 The last section （from 1800） is the weakest only because the anecdotes seem most disconnected and most affected by the author's sentiment。The author does something I do not usually forgive （as you will see in my other reviews） but will forgive in him - distract us in the final moments of the book with the current existential despair of the modern liberal trying to cope with the monstrosities in view。In this case， I forgive because his despair comes from having been at his post in war-torn Yemen， come under fire and stood his ground as long as he could in the tradition of many a medieval Arab intellectual and because he wears his liberal politics as lightly as his conscience permits。And I forgive him for the insights and the fundamentally sound and substantial weaving of a deep knowledge of the Arabic language and sympathy for the speakers of the language with the tough realism of the natural historian。He is also subtle enough （without abandoning his 'English' liberal values） to show respect for the possibility that the things that might make him despair about Arab political culture are a matter for Arabs to work through and not for outsiders。So， we have a strange situation by the end of the book where he is trying to square his anger at the cruelty of 'anarcharchs' and 'demonocracy' and the Arab world's uneven （to say the least） relationship to truth-telling with his acceptance of it as a unique and independent culture。My own experience and the book's solid exposition of the 'soul' of the Arab in history （slippery though the concept is through three thousand years of existence） could create a natural 'despair' that the culture will ever become 'good' like 'ours'。 But is it really any of our business？Of course， 'ours' is not at all 'good'。 It just has its own rhetoric and a different history that allows the 'bad' to be more limited in scope。 Mackintosh-Smith rightly regrets the lack of institutional structures that allow Arabs to choose their own paths rather than submit to autocrats。But wishes are cheap。 The blundering of neo-conservatives and， before that， of the insertion of Zionism like a wedge into the region （and imperialism before that） has not helped very much in creating the possibilities for organic institutional liberal democratic development。Arabs， in short， have an inchoate but very real and complex culture that is quite separate from Islam yet heavily inflected by it just as Europeans have a very real and complex culture heavily inflected by Christianity but quite separate from it - both with pagan pasts as well。The Arabs though are bound by a language constructed out of a book and tradition whereas， if Europe was also constructed out of a book and its competition with the classical tradition， Europe was to break into competitive languages that helped force through national institutional structures。The Arabic language is both a binder of peoples from Morocco to Oman and Iraq to Sudan and also a 'false friend' insofar as the dialects across the region can be almost unintelligible to each other and the 'high' language tends to bind intellectuals and elites rather than peoples。Arab nationalism （where one suspects the author has some sympathy， at least based on his account of Nasser） attempted to force the pace through radio and print rhetoric but such nationalisms can only be partially forced from above and then only over long periods of time on fertile ground。The messiness of the last half century comes from traditional order-maintaining national autocrats maintaining the fiction of 'Arab-ness' and also trying to manage Islamic sentiment when that sentiment， in fact， does not and cannot include all Arabs and has dissident variants itself。When 'Arab-ness' gets ideologised， it has a tendency to be closer to a form of soft fascism （in European terms） than anything more liberal - although one of the few areas of neglect in the book is the brief incursion of socialist ideas into the region in the last century。 I tend to conservative pessimism on all this （basically Mackintosh-Smith's liberal pessimism but without the undercurrent of suppressed outrage） but I agree with him when he suggests that it is for Arabs and not outsiders to define themselves。The tide of Islamism now seems to have partially abated。 This is probably as much to do with the passing of generations as to any 'counter-terrorist action'。 But， as it recedes， the association of Arabism more firmly with Islam crowds out the very secular nationalisms that are its best hope。Mackintosh-Smith is bitter about Bashar Al-Assad （as many liberal Arabs must be） but， in the brutal context between even 'moderate' Political Islam and secular nationalism， the Baathist may be a last bulwark against an inappropriate Sunni appropriation of an entire linguistic culture。We might liken this to the neo-confucian appropriation of what it is to be Chinese by the Chinese Communist Party or the attempts （so far beaten off） to 'rediscover' Europe as a Christian entity by the emergent European populist Right。Being Chinese or European or Arab is not coterminous with being Neo-Confucian， Christian or Muslim。 In the first case because China is a multiplicity of traditions in itself and in the last two because these religions are global and yet not everyone in either culture accepts them。Perhaps Nasser's main error was to construct out of very little a general Arab nationalism instead of accepting that there was the potential for many collaborating Arab nationalisms based on the many inheritances of the Arab conquests but where secularism had room for respected minorities。But that was then and this is now。 The error was historically comprehensible。 All Arab 'errors' are historically comprehensible and， thanks to this book ， we cannot say we cannot comprehend them。 President Nonsense bin Nonsense might have benefited from it had it existed in 2003。Ironically， the only modern Arab Leader who may be 'getting it' is MBS in Saudi Arabia， the heartland of the Arabs， who is busy building up a possibly viable Saudi nationalism as an ideology which permits greater difference within an historically determined Islamic framework。 And yet the general view of the West has to be that MBS is the autocrat's autocrat at the moment and he is not even King yet。 The methodology is that of Henry VIII and Francis I。 Both monarchs were consolidators of national feeling into a viable nation state with the dynastic as means。 So， all in all， for all the anecdotalism， an excellent guide to the creation and history of the Arab community that respects its subject and its readers and which I can strongly recommend。 Incidentally， I also want to praise Yale for the attractive design and binding of this edition。 。。。more
V
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Five stars for ambition。 I was never going to read Ibn Khaldun （the majority of the source material） so I appreciate his undertaking。 He has made me think （more than twice） about how I use my words。 I read this with a dictionary in my other hand。
Sagheer Afzal
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This book deserves to be remembered as a modern day classic of scholarship。 Tim Mackintosh Smith writes with great lucidity and insight， and he has a way with words。 Throughout the book there are some nice alliterative flourishes。 For instance describing the Abbasid Caliphate as ‘200 years of pathos， and 300 years of bathos’ as well some very insightful comments about Islam such as: ‘The Quran was embalmed in sanctity and shrouded in layers of exegesis。 Public ritual tended to be more important This book deserves to be remembered as a modern day classic of scholarship。 Tim Mackintosh Smith writes with great lucidity and insight， and he has a way with words。 Throughout the book there are some nice alliterative flourishes。 For instance describing the Abbasid Caliphate as ‘200 years of pathos， and 300 years of bathos’ as well some very insightful comments about Islam such as: ‘The Quran was embalmed in sanctity and shrouded in layers of exegesis。 Public ritual tended to be more important than private spirituality。’ An insight that is eloquent， profound and absolutely true。Tim vividly describes the Arab culture from which Islam gestated。 Any religion needs to be understood in the context of the time in which it was purveyed。 Tim made me aware of a scarcely known fact。 That in pre-Islamic Arabia， a man’s veracity was indicated by his eloquence and this fact was the major marketing force for Islam。 This is also alluded to in a few places within the Holy Quran when the challenge is thrown to the unbelievers: ‘And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad]， then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah， if you should be truthful。’The book also reveals that during the time of the Holy Prophet （PBUH）， there were solitary individuals called Hanif’s who were monotheists and like the Holy Prophet （PBUH） secluded themselves in caves for a short periods of time。 And amongst the Sabatean （the Arabs who resided in South Arabia） it was a habit to make a pilgrimage to a temple during which no physical relations were permitted， similar to the Hajj。 The Bedouin Arabs were a people who loved raiding and poetry and I did feel that at times the author’s reverence for the Arabic language perhaps skewered some of his observations。 He belabours a point that it was the classical High Arabic which gave the Arabs a sense of unity。 If this were true why was internecine warfare between different tribes so frequent and bloody？ He also seemed to suggest that a matador crying ‘Ole’ when confronted with a bull was reminiscent of an Arab footballer exclaiming: ’Allah’。 I think you can more justifiably say the author got a little carried away with flights of fancy。 There were however aspects of his research that I disagreed with。 I felt that his description of the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan as a ‘Capable and hands on ruler’ contradicted the fact that Uthman ibn Affan’s nepotism caused widespread unrest culminating in his death。 I also found his reticence of the rule of Hazrat Ali ibn Talib to be puzzling。 For an Arabphile he doesn’t seem to think that Nahjal-al balagha is worth mentioning。 Even though it is commonly regarded as a book of eloquent classical Arabic。 Tim makes what I feel to be a hugely important point when you consider the trajectory of Islam from its genesis to the present day。 A failed objective of the mission of the Holy Prophet （PBUH）。 That Arabs regard their kinship of faith superior to their tribal ones。 This highlights another point the author makes:"Blame it as they might on other peoples’ empires， Arabs had never been a happy family: not since the division of the spoils of Islam; not since the pre-Islamic War of al-Basus， that forty-year super-squabble over grazing rights。 They had never really been a family at all， except in tribal fictions of shared descent。 If empires were to blame， it was as much as anything for inspiring， by reflex， the myths and mirages of unattainable union。 Imperialists certainly divided and ruled， but more often than not they were driving their wedges into old splits。"A lot of my Muslim brethren are burdened by historical grievances。 But their bitterness towards the colonising superpowers of that time and the current time needs to take into an account an important fact。 The Imperial English exploited the fissures that were already present within the Arabs。 The influence of today’s Superpowers is due to the complicity of erstwhile Arab rulers who in their greed for power and riches happily co-opted overseas allies。 The history of the Arabs is for a significant part the history of Islam。 Here the author has some interesting and revelatory things to say。 I liked his observation regarding the Hadith: ‘The Hadith literature needs a cautious approach。 Collectors of Hadith amassed as many as million which works out about one for every eight minutes of the Holy Prophet （PBUH） walking life。 Of the million around 5，000 are supposed to be reliable。。。200:1 for the proportion of reliable hadith。’ The Arabs loved to memorise lists。 Every tribe had a poet who could quote lineage for the past five hundred years。 Quite a feat。 As such I don’t think it is unreasonable to say this throws into doubt the legitimacy of ‘Isnads’ the chains of transmission for Hadith。 The latter part of the book shows how Pan Arabism， that need for Arabs to feel part of a nation， was born and died。 I found this to be a very salient point。 As a second generation Pakistani， I was often told that Pakistan was a renaissance for Islam， a homeland for Muslims。 That to disparage Pakistan is to disparage Islam。 The reality of Pakistan is about as incompatible as you can get with the reality of Islam。 And I think the same can be said for the Arab states。 Nationalism is a British construct， the most successful part of their destructive legacy。 But Tribalism predates nationalism， and is the reason why nationalism failed to unite Muslims。 Why ‘liberated countries’ such as Iraq failed to prosper under the canopy of democracy。 Because as Tim rightly points out that freedom for an Iraqi any Arab means freedom to be dominated by someone of your own tribe or failing that， protection from someone from a different tribe。 Not giving people ballot boxes through which they can democratically elect their leader。 This is the book to read if you want to understand the history of Arab。 Forget Bernard Lewis’s ‘The Arabs In History。’ It pales into insignificance when compared with this very comprehensive and illuminating book。 。。。more
Danny
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Arabs is as much a history of Arabic speaking peoples as it is a history of the language that somewhat tenuously unites them。 The other author has a couple of main themes that run throughout this 500+ page book。 The first is that Fusha （Modern Standard or Hight Arabic）， the language supposedly unites these peoples， is a myth。 It is not spoken on the streets， in homes， or in day-to-day life。 When compared to the vastness of their number， few Arabs now， or ever have truly mastered the language of Arabs is as much a history of Arabic speaking peoples as it is a history of the language that somewhat tenuously unites them。 The other author has a couple of main themes that run throughout this 500+ page book。 The first is that Fusha （Modern Standard or Hight Arabic）， the language supposedly unites these peoples， is a myth。 It is not spoken on the streets， in homes， or in day-to-day life。 When compared to the vastness of their number， few Arabs now， or ever have truly mastered the language of the high Arabic。 The variety of Arabic， or should I say， Arabics has contributed both the language's success and the disunity of its peoples。 This theme runs throughout the book。 A second theme that runs through this book is the tension between the settles （hadar） and the nomadic （badw） peoples in the Arabic speaking world。 He touches on this theme again and again trying to explain the disunity that has plagued this part of the world。 While the book is not without its faults， it is packed with insights into the history of the region and the language。 It is one of the few books I've found that gives significant insight into the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula。 Because of the breadth of the time period covered， it is lacking in detail on several important events （particularly modern events）。 The author has a meandering writing style and it is not the best narrative history I've read on the Middle East， but given its scope and the author's mastery of his adopted language and homeland， there were several linguistic insights that I quite enjoyed。 I would recommend this to anyone who has a grounding in the region's history and language but would like to delve a little deeper。 For someone primarily concerned with better understanding contemporary events in the region， I would recommend something else。 。。。more
John
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I found this pretty hard to read。 It seems to assume a working knowledge of the subject and isn't super accessible if you're new to it。 I found this pretty hard to read。 It seems to assume a working knowledge of the subject and isn't super accessible if you're new to it。 。。。more
Subhaan
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Arabs: A 3，000-Year History of Peoples， Tribes， and Empires by Tim Mackintosh-Smith is undoubtedly one of the best books written on Arab history。 The amount of research which went into this book is astounding and it manages to cover the history of thousands of years in a succinct and concise manner。 Writing on such a topic does prove challenging， especially considering the fact that the material for pre-Arab history is scarce but Tim Mackintosh-Smith writes about Arab history well without relyin Arabs: A 3，000-Year History of Peoples， Tribes， and Empires by Tim Mackintosh-Smith is undoubtedly one of the best books written on Arab history。 The amount of research which went into this book is astounding and it manages to cover the history of thousands of years in a succinct and concise manner。 Writing on such a topic does prove challenging， especially considering the fact that the material for pre-Arab history is scarce but Tim Mackintosh-Smith writes about Arab history well without relying too much on conjecture and assumptions， albeit some conjecture is used which would be unavoidable when dealing with a topic such as this。 I do feel that the book runs out of steam so to speak once it gets to the decline stage。 It is still highly enjoyable to read but the lack of structure and cohesion makes it difficult to read and follow。 Past 450， it does get quite boring and I feel he focuses too much on cramming information in without considering the readability of the entire chapter。 Another criticism I have with this book is the poor understanding of the Qur’an。 For example， in page 274， he writes that the Qur'an mentions Adam was taught the names of things in Arabic。 This is not actually true and nor does the Qur’an allude to the fact that he was given the names of things in Arabic。 It does seem that he uses imported knowledge from the Judeo Christian tradition and applies it to the Qur’an without making a distinction。 It does seem that the crusades were glossed over and I would have liked a short section explaining the crusades， the Islamic golden age， and the philosophical arguments which were being had。 He also does not seem to go too much into the Sunni/Shia split and nor does he focus on the Mutazilla， the canonised Hadith literature， the Sunnah which had a substantial impact on Arab culture， Islamic jurisprudence and its role in developing Arab culture， Persian influence on Islam， Judeo Christian influence， the Shafi influence， or the role of thinkers in Islamic and some of the important discoveries made。 The core components have been touched on but it does seem that the foundation was not properly layed and it almost feels as if he glossed over some of the most important aspects and so for someone who has some knowledge of arab history and Islamic history， this is not so much a trivial mistake as it is a substantial error which leaves a giant gaping hole in Arab history。 Had this book been slightly longer， it would have been much better as there is still some important information missing。 The political aspect of the book towards the last hundred pages is not really readable， it's quite dense with information and it lacks a cohesive element which does not bind the information together。 Overall， this is a well written book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but it could do with some editing and an additional 200 or so pages。 。。。more
ⵎⵓⵏⵉⵔ
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This was， overall， a pretty good book。 One of its best aspects is the eloquent style and the depth of the author's knowledge of the subject matter。 Unfortunately however， his knowledge seems to be biased towards the Middle East proper （Arabia， Levant， Mesopotamia， Egypt） about which he writes profusely， whereas the Maghreb is depicted with only some sketchy less satisfying details。 Thus many uninformed readers might assume that history unrolled in a more or less similar manner in the Maghreb， as This was， overall， a pretty good book。 One of its best aspects is the eloquent style and the depth of the author's knowledge of the subject matter。 Unfortunately however， his knowledge seems to be biased towards the Middle East proper （Arabia， Levant， Mesopotamia， Egypt） about which he writes profusely， whereas the Maghreb is depicted with only some sketchy less satisfying details。 Thus many uninformed readers might assume that history unrolled in a more or less similar manner in the Maghreb， as it did in the Middle East， and project the same events， mentalities， and aspirations on the the western part of the so-called "Arab world"， and its population。 This could not， however be further from the truth。 While the author addressed some historical events， such as the Banu Hilal invasion in the 11-13th century， he did not explain how they contributed to the slow Arabization process of the Maghreb， and how most of the Arabization in fact， took place in the 20th century， under governments that sought to eradicate any aspect of non-Arab culture or language。 Indeed， at the beginning of the 20th century， both Morocco and Algeria had a majority Berber （aka Amazigh）-speaking population， while literacy in Standard Arabic， even after the independence from France was less than 5%。 Aggressive Arabization policies succeeded， in less than 3 generations， to bring the number of native speakers of Amazigh from above 60-70% （conservative estimates） to less than 30%。 And yet， even modern Moroccan， Algerian， and Tunisian cultures and dialects bear heavy influences from the old Amazigh culture and languages， open for view to those willing to look。 It seems rather unfair to lump these countries in such a facile manner into an "Arab world"， without looking at their individual differences。 This is something that the author alludes to， but does not explicitly mention more than once perhaps， since it would shake the whole premise of the book （a common thread of Arab history， woven through the ages）， or even bring it to naught。 Indeed， this little fact lifts the mystery as to why "Arabs never unite"， or are "always united in division"， because the answer is really simple: there is no Arab world， there never has been and never will be。 At least not in a wide geographical sense encompassing the whole region of MENA。 It would be like trying to squeeze all of Europe into a "Latin world" and force Europeans to use Latin as the sole official language。 It would not work。What is called the "Arab civilization"， was in fact a network of interconnected civilizations that relied heavily on the use of Arabic for religious， intellectual， and administrative purposes， and shared a common religion， Islam。 But beyond that， there was little resemblance。 The Moorish civilization in the territory of modern-day Morocco， Southern Iberia and West Algeria， had its own characteristics， such as a unique architecture， traditional clothing， cuisine， etc that distinguished it from the rest of the so-called "Arab world"。 I once sat with a Syrian colleague and we started comparing traditional dishes between our countries， with the assistance of Google Images。 We could not find a a single common dish between Morocco and Syria， not a single one， zero， zilch。 How can this be the "same civilization" or the "same culture"， when not even the most basic thing， what people put on their tables， has anything in common？This was however a nice ride through time to understand the evolution of the Middle East and North Africa， and I find the book quite valuable if only to provide good material for criticism。 What failed the author in the end， is the very thing that he only shyly admitted: that there is no "Arab world"， that it is in fact multiple intermingled worlds each with their own evolution and history， and that attempting to weld them into a single melting pot has most often resulted in disaster。 A book that tries to draw "Arab history" into a common thread， would by definition have to fail in a similar manner。We should simply stop this futile exercise， and each of our countries should figure out its own solutions for its own problems， build its own identity based on its own history and endemic properties， perhaps learning from each other， but not copy-pasting。 。。。more
Steven Tone
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