The March from Medina: A Revisionist Study of the Arab Conquests [Hardcover]

John Walter Jandora (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 094067033X | ISBN-13: 978-0940670334 | Publication Date: May 1, 1991

This book focuses on the rapid transformation of the early Muslim armies. It deals with recruitment, leadership, and motives for war, and reveals the resourcefulness of the Muslim military establishment. The author explains many problems of source interpretations, discusses the reconciliation of conflicts in the source material, and contrasts popular and romantic notions about the conquests that obscure the process of war. Although the background of The March from Medina begins with the Arabs and the wars of Antiquity, the scope of the book focuses on the first stage of the Muslim conquest movement. Numerous maps accompany the text and two charts of battle array.

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About the Author

John W. Jandora is an experienced Arabist in the Department of Defense. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and was an officer in the Marines during the Vietnam War. He worked with Arab troops during the course of several years' service on a U.S. military assistance program and has managed English-Arabic translation projects in Europe and Saudi Arabia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 155 pages
• Publisher: The Darwin Press, Inc. (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094067033X
• ISBN-13: 978-0940670334
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,083,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Mohammad's military campaigns, January 24, 2009

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William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The March from Medina: A Revisionist Study of the Arab Conquests (Hardcover)

"The March from Medina: A Revisionist Study of the Arab Conquests" by John Jandora. When this book was published in 1990, it was at that time perhaps a nice updated review as to how the Muslim prophet Mohammad developed his Islamic military forces, and how his first four "rightly guided" successors used them in conquering Yemen and Syria. However, the author's descriptions about the various battles are generic: some thousands of soldiers, archers and cavalry on both sides met on a field of battle and hacked away at one another until someone was victorious. The specific details of battle are lacking. A better updated source would be: Richard Gabriel's "Muhammad: Islam's First Great General" and Schwartz-Barcott's "War, Terror and Peace in the Quran and in Islam." The author takes issue with some other war-historians regarding as to why Muhammad was successful, and he concluded that Muhammad's military successes were based more on his infantry strengths rather than those of his cavalry. The first chapter is interesting in that it discusses how various military forces campaigned in Arabia prior to the time of Muhammad. Given the generic and brief details of any particular battle, this book really does not have anything to offer over the aforementioned two books. For a good analysis pertaining to the religious or political aspects as to why these battles occurred, Winn's "The Prophet of Doom" is very informative.