The Gulf in World History Arabia at the Global Crossroads

A new interdisciplinary approach to Gulf Studies The Gulf sits at an ancient crossroads of cultures and faiths, and at the heart of modern trade stretching back to the origins of civilisation. As a site of both conflict and peaceful contact, it can be studied in the context of world history as a place of cultural and historical interaction. From medieval astrology to museum architecture, from the trade of glass and pearls to the role of Indians, Africans, Christian monks, Mandaeans and merchants, this book spans historical periods and disciplinary approaches. It is united by one overarching theme: the Gulf as a cosmopolitan nexus and space of encounter. The chapters describe a Gulf simultaneously perched on the edge of empires and at the centre of world events. Presenting new evidence, new theoretical approaches and new arguments, this volume aims to change understandings of the Gulf in the world. Key Features - The first interdisciplinary study of the Gulf, incorporating scholarship on cosmopolitan and global connections in archaeology, history and heritage studies - Includes contributions from leading scholars from many disciplines who link the Gulf to the history of the Mediterranean and of the Indian Ocean - Presents new ideas, new evidence and new approaches to the archaeology, theory and history of the Gulf - Focuses on diversity within the Gulf, given its location on the edge of empires Allen James Fromherz is Director of the Middle East Studies Center and Professor of History at Georgia State University. He is the author of Ibn Khaldun, Life and Times (Edinburgh University Press, 2010), The Almohads: The Rise of an Islamic Empire (2012), Qatar, A Modern History (2012) and The Near West: Medieval North Africa, Latin Europe and the Mediterranean in the Second Axial Age (Edinburgh University Press, 2016). Cover image: Folk Ming dish decorating the mihrab of Al-Masjid Al-Ayn in Harat Al-Bilad, Sultanate of Oman (c) Clive Gracey Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-3065-4 Barcode