The Near East in history : a 5000 year story / by Philip K. Hitti.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

PART ONE. THE PRELITERARY AGE : I. THE NEAR EAST IN ITS WORLD SETTING ; Claims on our interest - Prehistoric economic revolutions - Scientific debt - Spiritual legacy - Unique geostrategic position – II. THE SETTING OF THE STAGE ; Physical and climatic features - The Anatolian - Iranian plateau - The Arabian peninsula - The valley of the one and that of the two rivers - Syria - Lebanon Palestine – III. FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION THROUGH BARBARISM ; Man as food gatherer - Man, the food producer The original center - As a craftsman: pottery - The wheel - Metallurgy – Bronze – IV. THE DAWN OF HISTORY ; Writing: cuneiform and hieroglyphic - Social organization - Ethnic relationships -- PART TWO. ANCIENT SEMITIC TIMES : I. THE DYNASTIC AND IMPERIAL PERIODS ; Sargon, first empire builder - Egypt under early Pharaohs - Hammurabi, the great lawgiver - Hittites Imperial Egypt - Decline in power - Assyria - The imperial age - Nineveh, mistress of Western Asia - Neo-Babylonia - Enter the Persians - Conflict with Athenians and Spartans - Empire organization - The downfall -- VI. RELIGION AND LITERATURE ; In Mesopotamia - Epic of creation - Epic of Gilgamesh: the deluge - Hammurabi's code - In Egypt - Book of the Dead - Zoroaster and the Avesta -- VII. SECULAR WRITINGS : Wisdom literature – Storytelling – Science - Mathematics and astronomy - The solar calendar - Astrology - Medicine - Art - In Persia – VIII. CANAANITES, ARAMAEANS AND HEBREWS ; Phoenician city-states - Industry - Purple cloth - Maritime activity - Phoenician colonies - Aramaeans - Aram Damascus - Hebrews - In Palestine - The monarchy - Decline and fall: the Aramaeans – IX. CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS: LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS ; The alphabet - Fertility cult – Gods - The extraordinary case of Aramaic - The Aramaean pantheon - Hebrew literature - Prophetism – Monotheism -- PART THREE. THE GRECO-ROMAN AGE ; ALEXANDER AND HIS SUCCESSORS ; Alexander in the East - The break-up of the empire - The Syrian kingdom - Last convulsions of Seleucid kingdom – XI. HELLENISTIC CULTURE ; Greek cities - Phoenician cities Hellenized - Antioch - Alexandria - Persia - Pergamum - Economic prosperity - South Arabia – XII. UNDER ROMAN RULE ; In a world empire - Asia Minor – Syria - Economy flourishing - Influential cities: Antioch Heliopolis - Berytus - Caravan cities: Petra - Palmyra - Judaea – Egypt - Country life – Parthia -- XIII. INTELLECTUAL AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY: CHRISTIANITY ; Slow progress - Persecutions - The Stoic system - Neo-Platonism - Alexandrian school of theology - Church Fathers – Philo - Mystery cults – XIV. IN BYZANTINE DAYS ; Constantinople -Constantine - The Byzantine Empire – Asia Minor – Syria – Egypt – Sasanid Persia – XV. ECCLESIASTICAL, LITERARY AND ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS ; Edessa - Christology - East Syrian Church - The West Syrian Church - Melkites - Berytus' law academy - Mani – Fine Arts – PART FOUR. THE ISLAMIC AGE : XVI. THE ARABIAN PROPHET AND THE KORAN ; Hejaz - Muhammad - The Koran -- XVII. ISLAM THE RELIGION ; Dogmas – Practices - Prayer - Pilgrimage - Holy war – XVIII. THE CALIPHAL STATE: IN MEDINA ; Orthodox caliphate - Early conquests - In Syria - Egypt reduced - Persia overrun - Islam the state - Islam the culture - Favorable external factors - Campaigns lacked design - Administration - Civil strife - First civil war – XIX. THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE ; Mu'awiyah, real founder of the Arab kingdom - New administration - Husayn against Yazid - In Central Asia - Against the Byzantines - North Africa and Spain - In Spain - In France - Damascus - Nationalizing the state - Political administration - Social classification - Intellectual endeavor - Science – Art – xx. THE RISE OF THE ABBASIDS ; Decline of the Umayyads - The revolution spreads - First Abbasids - The prime of the Abbasids - The glory that was Baghdad - Intellectual awakening: translation - Origination: medicine -Alchemy and botany - Astronomy and mathematics - Social science - Philosophy - Jurisprudence - Theology - Fine arts – Education – XXI. SOCIETY IN ABBASID DAYS XXI ; Women, wine and slaves - Economy - Agriculture and dhimmis - Zoroastrians - Shiites - Assassins - Sufism – XXII. THE CALIPHATE DISMEMBERED: SUCCESSOR STATES ; In the West - In the East - Turkish bodyguard - Buwayhids - Saljuqs - Enter the Mongols - The caliphate destroyed - The Fatimids - North Syria – XXII. CRUSADERS, AYYUBIDS AND MAMLUKS ; Period of conquest - Enter Saladin - Ayyubids - Mamluks - The impact of the Crusades - Ayyubid and Mamluk contributions - End of the Mamluks – XX. PART FIVE: IN MODERN TIMES-Ottomans and Persians : XXIV. THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ; Rise of the Ottoman state - The splendor that was Constantinople - Imperial setup - The millet system - Provincial government - Beginning of the decline - Russian aggression - Attempts at reform - The Hamidian regime -- XXV. OTTOMAN CULTURE ; From Byzantium - From Persians and Arabs - Ottoman contributions - Bektashi literature - Impact of the West - Law reform – Education – XXVI. THE YOUNG TURKS AND THE REPUBLIC ; Troubles: foreign and domestic - The Great War - An uneasy truce - Mustafa Kemal - The second World War - A new literature – XXVII. SAFAWID PERSIA ; The meridian of power - Inept shahs - The Afsharids - Artistic and intellectual activity – XXVIII. QAJARS AND INVOLVEMENT IN EUROPEAN POLITICS ; British-French-Russian rivalry - Petroleum - The Great War – XXIX. STIRRINGS OF A NEW LIFE ; Babism - Bahaism - Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani - European missions: Catholic - Protestant - A polytechnic institute - Intellectual production - The constitution – XXX. THE PAHLAWIS AND MODERNIZATION ; Shah Reza - Second World War - Oil nationalized - Reflection in literature -- PART SIX. THE ARAB STATES OTTOMAN BACKGROUND AND HERITAGE ; North Africa - Egypt - Napoleon's invasion - Muhammad Ali - Suez Canal - National uprising - British occupation - First World War - Intellectual centr – XXXII THE ARAB CRESCENT ; Syria - Iraq - Lebanon - Under the Manis - Under the Shihabis - Bashir II - Mount Lebanon a mutasarrifiyah - First World War – XXXIII. THE ARABIAN PENINSULA ; Yemen - Hejaz - Wahhabism - Restoration - Husayn ibn-Ali - Abd-al-Aziz ibn-Saud - Oman and Aden - Eastern Arabia - The Trucial Coast - Arabian oil – XXXIV. THE ARAB CRESCENT AND THE WEST: MODERNIZATION ; Catholic activity - Protestant activity - The printing press - Two universities - Intellectual renaissance - Literary activity - Strain and conflict - Emigration- Two dynamic forces – XXXV. THE MANDATES ; Syria Lebanon - Iraq – Palestine - Israel - Transjordan - Imperialism and independence – XXXVI. INDEPENDENCE ; Radical change in world powers - Egypt - Revolutionary regime - Social progress - Iraq – Problems and progress under the monarchy - Inter-Arab relations - Military republic - Jordan - From crisis to crisis - Syria a republic - Military regimes - Constitutional government restored - Lebanon - Relations with neighbors – Between East and West - Two internal crises -- List of Maps : The Near East Today - Stone Age sites in the Near East - Western Asia when Babylon was supreme: early second millennium B.C. - Egyptian and Hittite empires - Assyrian empire - Canaan before Israel - The Near East са. 1600 в.с. - Palestine in the period of the Hebrew monarchies - Alexander's route - The kingdoms of Alexander's successors ca. 200 в.с. - The Roman Empire in imperial times - Byzantine Empire at its height - The world of Islam today - Arab conquests in the first century of Islam - Islam and Christendom on the eve of the Crusades - Crusading states of Syria ca. 1140 - The Ottoman Empire at its height ca. 1550 - Republic of Turkey - The Safawid empire at its height ca. 1515 - Modern Egypt - Arabian peninsula - Kingdom of Iraq - Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan - Syrian Republic - Lebanese Republic -- List of Coins : Alexander coins found at Persepolis - A tetradrachm of Antiochus IV - A coin of Beirut - A coin of Septimius Severus - An imitation in gold of a Byzantine coin, and a copper coin of Abd-al-Malik - A coin of Salah-al-Din - A coin of Salim I - A coin of Murad III - A coin of Abd-al-Majid - A coin of Mahmud II - A coin of Abd-al-Majid - A coin of Abd-al-Hamid II - A coin of Ismail I - A coin of Abbas I - A coin of Abbas III - A coin of Nadir Shah - A coin of Agha Muhammad - A coin of Fath Ali Shah - A coin of Nasir-al-Din Shah.