In the second edition of this classic work, Ira Lapidus explores the origins and evolution of Muslim societies. The book, now revised and updated, is divided into three parts. The first covers the formative era of Islamic civilization. The second traces the diffusion of worldwide Islamic societies, while the third explores their reaction to European imperialism, and emergence as independent states. The concluding chapters consider Islam’s recent history, the formation of Islamic revival movements and global Islamic identities. The book is essential reading for students and for those seeking to understand the Muslim peoples.

• No other history of Islam of this magnitude and breadth exists • The second edition brings the story right up to date, exploring the revival of fundamental Islam and Islamic political identity in the twentieth century • An accessible and fluent read for students setting out on their studies, and for general readers wishing to understand the nuances and complexities of Islam and its civilization

Contents
Part I. The Origins of Islamic Civilization: The Middle East from c. 600–1200; Introduction; The Preaching of Islam: 1. Arabia; 2. The Life of the Prophet; The Arab-Muslim Imperium, 632–945: 3. The Arab conquests and the socio-economic bases of empire; 4. The Caliphate; 5. Cosmopolitan Islam: the Islam of the imperial elite; 6. Urban Islam: the Islam of the religious elites; 7. Islamic culture and the separation of state and religion; 8. The fall of the ‘Abbasid empire; From Islamic Culture to Islamic Society: Iran and Iraq, 945–c. 1200: 9. The post- ‘Abbasid Middle Eastern state system; 10. Muslim communities and Middle Eastern societies; 11. The collective ideal; 12. The personal ethic; Conclusion; Part II. The Worldwide Diffusion of Islamic Societies from the Tenth to the Nineteenth Century; Introduction; The Middle Eastern Islamic Societies: 13. Iran: the Mongol, Timurid, and Safavid empires; 14. The Turkish migrations and the Ottoman empire; 15. The Arab Middle East; 16. Islamic North Africa and Spain to the nineteenth century; Islam in Central and Southern Asia: 17. Inner Asia from the Mongol conquests to the nineteenth century; 18. The Indian subcontinent: the Delhi Sultanates and the Mughal empire; 19. The formation of Islamic societies in Southeast Asia; Islam in Africa: 20. Islam in Sudanic, Savannah, and Forest West Africa; 21. Islam in East Africa and the rise of European colonial empires; Conclusion; Part III. The Modern Transformation: Muslim Peoples in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries; Introduction; Nationalism and Islam in the Middle East: 22. Iran: state and religion in the modern era; 23. The dissolution of the Ottoman empire and the modernization of Turkey; 24. Egypt: secularism and Islamic modernity; 25. The Arab Middle East: Arabism, military states, and Islam; 26. North Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; Secularism and Islam in Central and Southern Asia: 27. The Indian subcontinent: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; 28. Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; 29. Inner Asia under Russian and Chinese rule; Islam in Twentieth-Century Africa: 30. Islam in West Africa; 31. Islam in East Africa; 32. Muslims in Europe and America; Conclusion: secularized Islam and Islamic revival.