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Arabs and Empires Before Islam
Arabs and Empires before Islam illuminates the history of the Arabs before the emergence of Islam, collating nearly 250 translated extracts from an extensive array of ancient sources. Drawn from a broad period between the eighth century BC and the Middle Ages, the sources include texts
originally written in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Persian, and Arabic, inscriptions in a variety of languages and alphabets, and discussions of archaeological sites from across the Near East. More than twenty international experts from the fields of archaeology, classics and ancient history, linguistics
and philology, epigraphy, and art history provide detailed commentary on and analysis of this diverse selection of material.
Richly illustrated with sixteen colour plates, fifteen maps, and over seventy in-text images, the volume provides a comprehensive, wide-ranging, and up-to-date examination of what ancient sources had to say about the politics, culture, and religion of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic period. It offers a
full consideration of the traces which the Arabs have left in the epigraphic, literary, and archaeological records, and sheds light on their relationship with their often more-powerful neighbours: the states and empires of the ancient Near East. Arabs and Empires before Islam gathers together a host
of material never before collected into a single volume--some of which appears in English translation for the very first time--and provides a single point of reference for a vibrant and dynamic area of research.
originally written in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Persian, and Arabic, inscriptions in a variety of languages and alphabets, and discussions of archaeological sites from across the Near East. More than twenty international experts from the fields of archaeology, classics and ancient history, linguistics
and philology, epigraphy, and art history provide detailed commentary on and analysis of this diverse selection of material.
Richly illustrated with sixteen colour plates, fifteen maps, and over seventy in-text images, the volume provides a comprehensive, wide-ranging, and up-to-date examination of what ancient sources had to say about the politics, culture, and religion of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic period. It offers a
full consideration of the traces which the Arabs have left in the epigraphic, literary, and archaeological records, and sheds light on their relationship with their often more-powerful neighbours: the states and empires of the ancient Near East. Arabs and Empires before Islam gathers together a host
of material never before collected into a single volume--some of which appears in English translation for the very first time--and provides a single point of reference for a vibrant and dynamic area of research.
- GenresHistoryMiddle EastIslam
608 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2015
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About the author
Greg Fisher
37 books9 followersDr. 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).
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April 2, 2021
Almost every single book regarding the "history" of Arabs commences with the birth of Islam. Not only does this automatically make "Arab" and "Muslim" synonymous terms but it feeds into the modern myth that Arabs are "colonisers" and "imperialists" that suddenly sprang out of Yemen, conquering vast swathes of land from north-western Africa to India. This collection of publications by academics whose expertise eclipse the illiterate opinions of the general populatiom presents a reality that is often overlooked, misinterpreted or misconstrued out of ignorance, prejudice, religious fervour and racism from both sides of the fence.
The authors employ epigraphic and philological evidence in their unveiling of a pre-Islamic history spanning 16 centuries from the 9th century BC to the early 7th century AD. The earliest attestation of the name "Arab" and their activities is not to be found in Yemen but rather in the periphery of the Assyrian Empire as part of a broader Levantine insurrection comprised of Israeli, Judean, Aramaen and Arab city-states and kingdoms. Interestingly enough, some of the rebellious Arab kingdoms in the northern Arabian peninsula are led by queens. Overall, the Arabian Peninsula was home to pagan, Jewish and Christian kingdoms including Jerrha' around modern Qatar, Mazun in Oman, Saba, Ma'in, Hadhramaut and Himyar in the south, the Nabataens and Ghassanids in the Levant and the Lakhmids in southern Mesopotamia.
Contrary to the leading foundation story of the Arabs, the Yemenites never identified as Arabs until the advent of Islam made it convenient to do so. Prior to that, they explicitly referred to Arabs as the "other" in their inscriptions. Linguistically, they were closer to the Ethiopians. Nor were the pre-Islamic Arabs savage, untamed and ignorant ("jahil") people that racists and religious fundamentalists attempt to depict them as. In fact, the Roman and Persian superpowers spent centuries and literal tonnes of gold employing them as allied states to protect their frontier provinces and control the lucrative Eastern routes. In fact, Rome dubbed the southern peninsula "Arabia Felix" for its abdundant wealth built on the lucrative frankincense industry.
The early Quranic scholar Abd-Allah bin Al-Abbas (d. 687) wrote "if you read anything in the Book of God you could not understand, then go look in the poetry of the Arabs". Pre-Islamic poetry was not only held as the gold standard for grammarian and scholars but came to be used in the articulation of honourable Arab values and behaviour. Famous writers such as At-Tabari and Yaqut Al-Rumi focused on the final Lakhmid king, Al-Mundhir bin Nu'man, famed for his conversion to Christianity and powerful ally of the Sasanian Empire, as the ideal Arab that later Abassid caliphs sought to emulate.
Overall, the book does well in guiding the reader through a semi-mythical past. It shows the reality of the past and how future generations would come to view it through the lens of Islam. Quranic verses that seemed vague were explained by either referring to famous events of a bygone era or placing famous figures in past events for which there is no evidence. While the text utilises Roman and Muslim publications, inscriptions in a plethora of languages and archaeological evidence, its scope does not provide for an all-encompassing guide to Arab society before Islam. For example, the clerics of the Church of the East are mentioned in passing when discussing Al-Mundhir and his dynasty's connection to Christianity. Prior to the advent of Islam, the Arabian coast along the Gulf was dotted with Christian communities. Some Arabian bishops even attended the synod of 410 in which Seleucia-Ctesiphon became an independent patriarchate, one which grew to eclipse the rest of the Church in Europe in Europe and spanned the entirety of Asia.
The authors employ epigraphic and philological evidence in their unveiling of a pre-Islamic history spanning 16 centuries from the 9th century BC to the early 7th century AD. The earliest attestation of the name "Arab" and their activities is not to be found in Yemen but rather in the periphery of the Assyrian Empire as part of a broader Levantine insurrection comprised of Israeli, Judean, Aramaen and Arab city-states and kingdoms. Interestingly enough, some of the rebellious Arab kingdoms in the northern Arabian peninsula are led by queens. Overall, the Arabian Peninsula was home to pagan, Jewish and Christian kingdoms including Jerrha' around modern Qatar, Mazun in Oman, Saba, Ma'in, Hadhramaut and Himyar in the south, the Nabataens and Ghassanids in the Levant and the Lakhmids in southern Mesopotamia.
Contrary to the leading foundation story of the Arabs, the Yemenites never identified as Arabs until the advent of Islam made it convenient to do so. Prior to that, they explicitly referred to Arabs as the "other" in their inscriptions. Linguistically, they were closer to the Ethiopians. Nor were the pre-Islamic Arabs savage, untamed and ignorant ("jahil") people that racists and religious fundamentalists attempt to depict them as. In fact, the Roman and Persian superpowers spent centuries and literal tonnes of gold employing them as allied states to protect their frontier provinces and control the lucrative Eastern routes. In fact, Rome dubbed the southern peninsula "Arabia Felix" for its abdundant wealth built on the lucrative frankincense industry.
The early Quranic scholar Abd-Allah bin Al-Abbas (d. 687) wrote "if you read anything in the Book of God you could not understand, then go look in the poetry of the Arabs". Pre-Islamic poetry was not only held as the gold standard for grammarian and scholars but came to be used in the articulation of honourable Arab values and behaviour. Famous writers such as At-Tabari and Yaqut Al-Rumi focused on the final Lakhmid king, Al-Mundhir bin Nu'man, famed for his conversion to Christianity and powerful ally of the Sasanian Empire, as the ideal Arab that later Abassid caliphs sought to emulate.
Overall, the book does well in guiding the reader through a semi-mythical past. It shows the reality of the past and how future generations would come to view it through the lens of Islam. Quranic verses that seemed vague were explained by either referring to famous events of a bygone era or placing famous figures in past events for which there is no evidence. While the text utilises Roman and Muslim publications, inscriptions in a plethora of languages and archaeological evidence, its scope does not provide for an all-encompassing guide to Arab society before Islam. For example, the clerics of the Church of the East are mentioned in passing when discussing Al-Mundhir and his dynasty's connection to Christianity. Prior to the advent of Islam, the Arabian coast along the Gulf was dotted with Christian communities. Some Arabian bishops even attended the synod of 410 in which Seleucia-Ctesiphon became an independent patriarchate, one which grew to eclipse the rest of the Church in Europe in Europe and spanned the entirety of Asia.
August 6, 2025
كتاب “العرب وممالك ما قبل الإسلام”، بتحرير كريج فيشر، عمل أكاديمي يستعرض تاريخ العرب وممالكهم قبل الإسلام من خلال مقالات لباحثين متخصصين. يغطي الكتاب جوانب سياسية، اقتصادية، وثقافية لممالك مثل الغساسنة وكندة وحمير و الـ نصر ، ويسلط الضوء على تفاعلات العرب مع الفرس والبيزنطيين.
يتميز الكتاب بتنوع وجهات النظر الأكاديمية واعتماده على الشواهد الأثرية، مما يجعله مرجعًا قيمًا للمهتمين بالتاريخ القديم. لكن بعض الفصول، مثل فصل الشواهد الأثرية على الغساسنة وبني نصر، مكتوبة بأسلوب شديد التخصص يشبه حوارًا بين خبراء، مما يصعب فهمه على القارئ غير المتخصص.
يعاني الكتاب أيضًا من الإطالة والتكرار، خاصة في فصلي الشواهد الأثرية والعرب والنصرانية، مما يقلل من جاذبية القراءة. أما الترجمة العربية فهي الأضعف، إذ تبدو كمسودة أولية مليئة بالأخطاء الإملائية والتحريرية، مع نقل غير دقيق للأسماء والمصطلحات. يبدو أن المترجم غير ملم بالموضوع، وغياب المراجعة واضح، حتى مع وجود متخصص مثل د. حمد صراي.
ولقيمته الأكاديمية، تحتاج الترجمة العربية إلى تصحيح وإعادة تحرير ومراجعة شاملة وإعادة إخراج فني ليصبح أكثر إتاحة. أمنحه 3 من 5 نجوم بسبب تراجع جودة الترجمة، وأنصح به للباحثين المتخصصين، مع تحذير من مشكلات الترجمة التي قد تعيق الاستمتاع به
يتميز الكتاب بتنوع وجهات النظر الأكاديمية واعتماده على الشواهد الأثرية، مما يجعله مرجعًا قيمًا للمهتمين بالتاريخ القديم. لكن بعض الفصول، مثل فصل الشواهد الأثرية على الغساسنة وبني نصر، مكتوبة بأسلوب شديد التخصص يشبه حوارًا بين خبراء، مما يصعب فهمه على القارئ غير المتخصص.
يعاني الكتاب أيضًا من الإطالة والتكرار، خاصة في فصلي الشواهد الأثرية والعرب والنصرانية، مما يقلل من جاذبية القراءة. أما الترجمة العربية فهي الأضعف، إذ تبدو كمسودة أولية مليئة بالأخطاء الإملائية والتحريرية، مع نقل غير دقيق للأسماء والمصطلحات. يبدو أن المترجم غير ملم بالموضوع، وغياب المراجعة واضح، حتى مع وجود متخصص مثل د. حمد صراي.
ولقيمته الأكاديمية، تحتاج الترجمة العربية إلى تصحيح وإعادة تحرير ومراجعة شاملة وإعادة إخراج فني ليصبح أكثر إتاحة. أمنحه 3 من 5 نجوم بسبب تراجع جودة الترجمة، وأنصح به للباحثين المتخصصين، مع تحذير من مشكلات الترجمة التي قد تعيق الاستمتاع به
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews