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.
Reviews
I would heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in the affairs and status of the Arabs in the sixth century. For anybody interested in the history of the Arabs immediately prior to the Rise of Islam, it is vital reading * UNRV Website, Ian Hughes *
Greg Fisher provides a fresh contribution to an historical problem of considerable interest, that of the identity, role, and place of the Arabs in contact with the Roman and Sasanian empires before the advent of Islam ... the author offers readers a masterful synthesis ... This is a work of advanced scholarship for advanced scholars. * CHOICE *
Between Empires provides a compact, cogent introduction to, and explanation of, Rome's relationship with its Arab clients. It should be in every serious research library. * Matthew P. Canepa, sehepunkte *
Fisher has made a valuable contribution to the various historical debates he has joined, not least through his surveys, with bibliographical references, of the current state of scholarship. * James Howard-Johnston, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199599271
Author Greg Fisher
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 458g
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 148mm * 24mm