Between Empires: Arabs, Romans, and Sasanians in Late Antiquity

by Greg Fisher

In Between Empires Greg Fisher tackles the problem of pre-Islamic Arab identity by examining the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Empire of Sasanian Iran, and a selection of their Arab allies and neighbours, the Jafnids, Nasrids, and Hujrids. Fisher focuses on the last century before the emergence of Islam and stresses the importance of a Near East dominated by Rome and Iran for the formation of early concepts of Arab identity. In particular, he examines cultural and religious integration, political activities, and the role played by Arabic as factors in this process. He concludes that interface with the Roman Empire, in particular, played a key role in helping to lay the foundation for later concepts of Arab identity, and that the world of Late Antiquity is, as a result, of enduring interest in our understanding of what we now call the Middle East.

Genres: History, Middle East

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2011

About the author

Dr. Greg Fisher is a Canadian scholar of classical antiquity. Although born in the U.K., he emigrated to Canada at the age of 16. Professor Fisher worked at McGill University (Montreal, Quebec) for several years before returning to school. He earned his D.Phil. from Keble College at the University of Oxford in 2008, and is Associate Professor in the Department of History and College of the Humanities at Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario).

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5ish

This boo analyzes the interaction between the Jafnids and the Roman Empire. My biggest issue with the book is the title, as the Sasanians were barely discussed and don't really warrant so prominent a place. At best, their relationship with the Nasrids felt like an addendum meant simply to draw a comparison with the Jafnids. This was fine within the book itself, but it makes the title somewhat misleading. The third chapter was also a bit of a mess; the overall argument was unclear and it addressed a lot of issues that felt like they should have been their own chapters. Fisher, however, does develop a good argument about the role of elites, personal connections, and imperial borderlands in the development of political identities and polities. Not for casual history readers.