Published originally in 1935, this is an account of twenty two years spent, off and on, among the Bedouins of Arabia, migrating, hunting, raiding, starving, feasting and making wonderful desert friendships. The author writes the book for 'the Lord of his fathers,' the king of Arabia 'Abdel-' Aziz ibn Sa'ud el Wahhab and his governors and chiefs in Neijd, Hasa, Jauf, and Kaf and Amir Nuri Sha'lan, his family and tribe of the Ruala. An intimate account of the tradition and ancestors of the Bedouin.
This second collection of articles by Patricia Crone brings together studies on the development of early Muslim society, above all the army with which it was originally synonymous, from shortly after the Prophet's death until the mid-Abbasid period. The focus is on the changes that the Arab tribesmen underwent thanks to settlement outside Arabia, their strained relations with converts from the conquered population, and their gradual eclipse by them.
A historical novel set in 3500 B.C. in the Middle East. How a Bedouin Arab's mission to avenge the sacrifice of his beloved, young daughter might have led to the beginning of Judaism. Devastated by his daughter's death, Tiras grows determined to find a kinder god and save his two sons and his tribe from their vicious priest and terrifying bull-god. Accompanied only by his donkey, he leaves Saudi Arabia and crosses the dangerous Nefud Desert to sophisticated Sumer in southern Iraq. The Sumerian gods, he'd learned during his tribe's migrations, are sympathetic. In Sumer, he meets Mah Ummia, a scholar who teaches Tiras about the country's gods. After numerous adventures and a forbidden love affair, Tiras returns to his tribe with the roots of a new religion. But he struggles to persuade his suspicious tribe to replace their priest and ferocious bull-god with a new, unseen but loving god, and to stop their threats to his family. Should he continue risking his family's life to help the tribe? "...a captivating, nuanced account...the plot is by turns as gripping as it is moving...a historically impressive work,..." – Kirkus Reviews
This set collects together a range of books that together examine a broad spectrum of issues relating to Kuwait. Two titles examine the key question of Kuwait’s reliance on immigrant labour; another analyses the growth and stability of the oil-dependent economy; other titles focus on aspects of Kuwait’s social experience. Together they are a key reference source on Kuwait, its economy and its people.
This book, first published in 1972, describes a Kuwait normally hidden to the eyes of visitors. The author draws upon a vast experience of the country, from both before and after the discovery of oil, and analyses the changes to the physical appearance of the city as well as the changes to the customs and outlook of its people.
This book provides an historical perspective for modern tensile architecture in the 20th century. It explores the tents of nomad cultures, geographical distribution of tent types, the effect of the dromedary on the distribution of the black tent, and seasonal specialization of Eskimo dwellings.
