The Middle East: a Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years

THIS OUTSTANDING BIOGRAPHY explores the life and deeds of the legendary warrior-monarch- Saladin. Based on a lifetime of study by Stanley Lane-Poole, who was able to access the rich and colourful chronicles of Arab historians, this should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of the Middle East and the Crusades.

STANLEY LANE-POOLE was an eminent historian who specialised in studies of the Middle East. His works included The Moors in Spain, The Art of the Saracens in Egypt and Cairo. Dr David Nicolle is an acknowledged expert on medieval military history, specialising in the Middle East.

Darussalam is proud to present the abridged English translation of the classic work: Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah, which covers the Caliphate of Bani Umayyah. It starts from the rule of Mu’awiyah bin Abi Sufyan in the 41st year of Hijrah upto the rule of Caliph Marwan Al-Himar in year 132 of the Hijrah.

The Umayyad Caliphate ?(c. 661-750 CE/41-132 AH) was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates established after the death of Rasulallah. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Makkah, their capital was Damascus. At its greatest extent, it covered more than five million square miles (13,000,000 km2), making it one of the largest empires the world had yet seen, and the seventh largest contiguous empire ever to exist.

This introduction was considered as a separate book, taking a form of an encyclopedia, talking about a field of knowledge of legalization, history, geography, economy, social, politic and medicine.