Customer Reviews

The Arabs: A Short History

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At just over two hundred pages, this book is the place to start learning Arabic history. Although it is certainly not the most detailed or precise account, its brevity ensures that a novice will not be overwhelmed with strange names and minute details of unfamiliar events.

Hitti's Short History will be quite useful to social studies teachers who want to give their students short articles on Arabic history to read. Each chapter in this book is short enough to serve that purpose. There are also eight nice maps that will help students of all levels develop a better understanding of how Islam changed the world.

Philip K. Hitti, of Lebanese Christian descent, the father of modern Near Eastern studies in the United States originally published this book in 1943 as a service to U.S. government personel and others whose interest was becoming focused on the Middle East.

He portrays a people who had a very rich civilization, whose rulers were studying ancient Greek philosophy at the same time Charlemagne and his advisors in Europe were tyring to learn to write their names. The Arabs rescued the artistic and philosophical treasures of Ancient Greece and ancient Persia and developed standards in Medicine, biology, philosophy, architecture, agriculture that were unprecedented in their day. These achievements Hitti says spread into Europe through Spain and Sicily and were the major factor in sparking the European rennaisance. I particularly enjoyed his description of Abassid Baghdad at its heighth. Consider his description of the daily schedule of the "man of learning" or the institution of the "ghilman" the "beardless young boys" who .....well I won't get into that.

He describes the conditions of non-slave non-Moslems as equal though varying depending on the degree of liberalism of the reigning Caliph. At times Jews and Christians had to wear special clothing and fix devils to the fronts of their houses and could not testify against Moslems in court. But more than a few of them rose to high positions in government, in scholarship, in bootlegging. The Jewish community in Baghdad was very active and large and its chief Rabbi was treated with veneration.

What caused this relatively glorious civilization to die? The mongol hordes, unequal distribution of wealth, emergence of new competitors, epidemics, ethnic strife, rulers spending more time amassing personal wealth and fornicating with slaves than attending to pubilic affairs and finally the conquest of much of it by Ottoman Turkey.

Hitti a few times shows a slight chauvanism. I was dissapointed in his lack of treatment of one of the crucial problems in the Arab world, the sectarian feuds within Islam, particularly Sunni-Shia. If I'm not mistaken Shiism was born out of life of the Caliph Ali and his son Hussein. Hitti says absolutely nothing about this when talking about these two men. He only says that Ali, who ruled from 656 to 661, was very popular but was murdered and that his son Hussein was called "the great divorcer" as a result of his having ruined one hundred marriages by his omniverous fornicating which was his prefered activity in life and he had no interest in the caliphate so he ceded it Muawiyah in return for the payment of a lifetime subisidy.

At the end of the book Hitti writes that the Arab people "have thus taken their place among the forward-marching democratic nations of the world and promise to make further contributions to the progress of mankind." It's hard to pin down when exactly that was written but that's obviously a bit too optimistic a statement in todays terms with most of the Arab world dominated by Western backed corrupt and brutal oligarchies. But perhaps its best to keep in mind Hitti's last sentence of the book:"The achievement of the past is the promise of the present for the future."

Surveying this work certainly confirms the general historical facts laid-out one night, by my Lebanese friends a few years ago during an after dinner conversation, regarding the current technological/cultural blight of the Arab world.

Their textured descriptions of traditional Arab ambivalence towards the greater social and material good of the community would probably leave a substantial number of listeners feeling melancholy and perhaps frustrated. As such, the classical and overly pondered question never fails to arise: Why does the latest chapter of the Arab condition in the Middle-east continue to deeply disappoint admirers of its history, Arab or otherwise? Well, needless to state, those scholars and regular enthusiasts have an obviously educated view and understanding of the problem. But for laymen, renowned scholar, Mr. Hitti is a blessing.

Within this particular work, he directly outlines the glorious rise and, glorious downfall of once-upon-a-time Arab/Islamic hegemony - with what seems to be somewhat unfortunately, a translucent, circuitous plea for public mercy from the Western reader and God above. Whether this tactic was premeditated or not, and why, is certainly a risk on the part of this well-respected author. Specifically, Mr. Hitti to his discredit, awkwardly maintains a tedious narrative on a constantly dithering tight rope of monotony - an unceasing, "listed" description of facts-and-figures, thereby insufficiently describing the sociological reasons for the historically uncooperative tendencies of pre-mediaeval Arab man and beyond.

There is the probability of Mr. Hitti trying to spare the lay audience, from frustration towards today's Arab civilization in light of a once existing and certainly progressive Pax Islamica. If so, could this be the clarified risk of unjust paternalization by the author? I would dislike to think so. A sufficient admission of Arab self-criticism was sorely needed in this book. It is the corollary in establishing a truly comprehensive presentation to those interested in basic Arab history, long or short version.

Perhaps for the next revised edition of this title, Mr. Hitti should also elaborate much more on the terribly negative and barbaric influences of the Ottoman Turks imposed on the Arabs furthering their state of eclipse. Overall, no doubt, and with just cause, the emotive aim by Mr. Hitti in declaring Arab history a subject of general inattention is accurate. Quite right he is.

This book was first written in the late 1940s and is a product of that time: the Arab world was under colonial occupation and the crisis in the Middle East was only beginning. As such, this book was intended as an introduction of an unknown civilization to an American audience with very little knowledge of the area. It is written at about the high school senior level. Even worse, it is designed to paint a posiive picture, glossing over anything untoward. Moreover, it is an abridgment of a longer work, a sure sign of its lightness.

This book essentially covers the high points of Arab civilization, from just before Muhammed (7C) to the fall of the Mamluks to the Turks in the 15C. The most interesting portion deals with Islam's golden age, when the empire had expanded and the culture was eclectic, ready to absorb everything it could from the occupied peoples. At this time, the Arab caliphate absorbed not just Greco-Roman ideas at the darkest time of the dark ages, but also Persian and Indian influences. The result was a great flowering of a new synthesis, one of the most important ever to emerge.

Unfortunately, Hitti covers this in such a superficial way that I was continually disappointed, to the point of disgust. For example, when discussing the Muslim contributions to science, he notes that they advanced knowledge and invented something close to the scientific method, but somehow failed to take it far enough. He does not explain what he means, but simply states it that way! Even a single example would have helped...Indeed, much of the book is a simple listing of the great men of the time, most of whom the reader will not know, with virtually no explanation of what they did to advance their fields in context. That is the kind of treatment not acceptable in high school textbooks of today.

As the book is so short, the reader gets the gist of what occurred, which I suppose is all that can be expected. This is certainly useful, but it is handled in a way that fails to stimulate the appetite for more, at least for me. That is a sign of failure. In addition, there are many things that are neglected, such as a full explanation about the Sunni-Shia split, which receives only passing mention. Furthermore, a last chapter is tacked on that is supposed to bring the reader up to the 1970s, but it is utterly useless to explain the rise of such backward looking movements as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Wahabism in Saudia Arabia, or al Qua'ida today, not to forget the dilemma of Israel.

I cannot recommend this book. For the last 2 years, I have been on a binge of books on Islam and the Middle East. I can state without reservation that this one is the worst of the lot.

I found this book interesting and entertaining -- given the time frame when it was written it is less warped and biased by current events and politics. The Ottoman period is missing.
Worth reading.

This history book covers primarily the Islamic Arabian empire, in the period from around 600 AD (the advent of Islam) to around 1500 AD when the last remnants of the empire fell. A few chapters at the beginning and the end address the pre-Islamic Arabs, and also the post empire period through about 1950. I'm pretty sure Professor Hitti is an Arab and a Moslem (though I don't have confirmation), and his perspective is enlightening, though occasionally he comes across as a bit "rah rah". I recommend this book as a good introduction to someone (like me) who doesn't know much about the rise of Islam and the subsequent empire. The book is pretty short so it is something of a summary, but Hitti has a longer work titled "History of the Arabs" which you could move on to.

I heartily echo the poor reviews others give this book. _The Arabs: a short history_ was first published in 1943; why the publisher felt the need to reprint it is a mystery to me, given not only the changes that have taken place in the region, but most significantly in the scholarship that has been done in the last 60 years. This book has not aged well.

First, its few strengths: Hitti does a solid job of explaining Arabia before Mohammed: the culture, societal organization, and the economic and political ties amongst the Bedouin are among the best I have read. To understand Arabic (and by extension, Islamic) civilization, one must first understand the climate from which it was born. In this vein, Hitti also does a tremendous service by connecting these roots of Arabic culture to the growth and expansion of Islam, and the political trials and tribulations of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.

Sadly, the portions of the book that I found disfavor with outweigh these bright points. To begin with, I found myself regularly shaking my head at his repeated references to "the Arabic race" - race is an artifical construct (unless one speaks of the "human race") - there is no more an Arabic race than there is an American race or any other group you wish to define in racial terms. (To be clear: I am not being "politically correct" here, but merely stating an anthropological and sociological fact that illustrates the vast difference 60 years makes in examining a topic.) Hitti does this not only with Arabs, but with Mamelukes as well (Egyptian slaves under the Fatimids, I know of no serious contemporary historian who would make the claim they were a "race"),

To be fair, Hitti's history is one of "the Arabs" - and therefore Mongols, Turks and Persians are out of the scope of the book, to my disappointment. The primary focus of his history is on the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, with only a cursory mention of the Fatimids in Egypt. This is another weakness: I can understand his leaving out the later conquests of the Turks and Persians of the Near East - the Fatimids, though, clearly should be a part of his survey and deserved more attention than the scant nod given here. Another shortcomming was his discussion of the sunni/shi'ii split. To virtually ignore such a critical event is akin to discussing the history of Europe without mention of the Reformation.

Even making allowances for the emphasis on the early Muslim dynasties, Hitti's summary of the rise and fall of these families is at times vague, stating that among the reasons for the collapse of the Abbasids was their "luxurious living with its emphasis on wine and song ... (which) sapped the vitality of family life." The complex web of political ties and rivalries, climatic changes and external political forces should have been made much more apparent.

For those interested in a basic primer on the birth and growth of Islam, or who are seeking a brief history of the early Islamic empires, look elsewhere. Hitti was a man of his time, and it shows in his writing. There are better histories of the region available that reflect more recent scholarship and less loaded language than you will find here.

Great book on a great civilization. It is interesting to read, and sad to realize that the Arabs lost their long golden-age.

It is truely the history of a great culture and people.

It is sad that they did not recieve what they deserve from respect and appreciation from us.

After reading this book a new understanding of the Arabs along with meloncholy set in. Just yesterday this nation was the ruler of almost half the world, with sophisticated culture and centers of learning and a huge government humming under the sun, has now become silent and has acquired an almost vegetative state of that of a Parkinson diseased person. It's sad, and educative to know that the peak and rise of a nation is not something to be taken for granted. Enjoy while it lasts! Once again the the gaping mouth of History taught me humility. Thank you Hitti, for your unbiased and honest presentation of these lions of the desert!