Witnesses to a World Crisis

James Howard-Johnston provides a sweeping and highly readable account of probably the most dramatic single episode in world history - the emergence of a new religion (Islam), the destruction of two established great powers (Roman and Iranian), and the creation of a new world empire by the Arabs, all in the space of not much more than a generation (610-52 AD). Warfare looms large, especially where operations can be followed in some detail, as in Iraq 636-40, in Egypt 641-2 and in the long-drawn out battle for the Mediterranean (649-98). As the first history of the formative phase of Islam to be grounded in the important non-Islamic as well as Islamic sources Witnesses to a World Crisis is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Islam as a religion and political force, the modern Middle East, and the jihadist impulse, which is as evident today as it was in the seventh century.

ISBN 0199694990   Pages 612 ISBN13 9780199694990 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 890 Publisher Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Imprint Oxford University Press   Previous ISBN 9780199208593 Format Paperback   Height (mm) 229 Publication date 20 Jun 2011   Width (mm) 161 DEWEY 909.09767   Spine width (mm) 35 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Postgraduate

1. George of Pisidia; 2. Two Universal Chronicles; 3. Seventh-Century Eastern Sources I: The History of Khosrov; 4. Seventh-Century Eastern Sources II: The History to the Year 682 and the Khuzistan Chronicle; 5. Supplementary Roman Sources of the Seventh Century I; 6. Supplementary Roman Sources of the Seventh Century II; 7. Later Historians: The West Syrian Tradition; 8. Later Historians: Nicephorus; 9. Later Historians: Theophanes; 10. Later Historians at Work in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran; 11. Early Islamic Historical Writing; 12. The Life of the Prophet; 13. Historians of the Middle East in the Seventh Century; 14. The Middle East in the Seventh Century: The Great Powers, Arabia, and the Prophet; 15. The Middle East in the Seventh Century: Arab Conquests; 16. The Middle East in the Seventh Century: A New World Order; Conclusion

[James Howard-Johnston] is admirably clear in describing his approach Chase Robinson, Times Literary Supplement the book abounds with interesting arguments ... Howard'Johnston's critical eye and clarity of exposition are sustained from start to finish ... this volume is a rich and remarkable achievement: it constitutes a truly foundational work for the study of the 'new world order' of the seventh-century East. Brian Croke, English Historical Review Witnesses to a World Crisis will appeal to layman and scholar alike thanks to the balance being struck between critical analysis en detail and the bigger picture of international relations between byzantines, Persians and Muslim Arabs, presented in lucid prose. The reader is never in danger of getting lost on this tour de force, since the analysis of the sources proceeds along chronological lines, which allows Howard-Johnston to weave together the strands of evidence as he goes along, and to lead the reader to an understanding of how developments in this period shaped the following centuries, reaching as far as the present day. Berenike Walburg, The Medieval Journal a pandramatic narrative, limpid and exhilarating in equal measure, as gripping as its emphases are well-judged, with not a word wasted. Professor Aziz Al-Azmeh, Central European University

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