Faith and sword : a short history of Christian-Muslim conflict / Alan G. Jamieson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jamieson, A. G. (Alan G.), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and other religions--Islam--History.

Christianity and other religions.

Islam.

History.

Physical Description:

261 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

Second expanded edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Reaktion Books Ltd, 2016.

Summary:

Faith and Sword gives a wide-ranging and detailed survey of what has arguably been the longest conflict in human history - a conflict that continues, in a new form, to this day. The overtly religious Christian-Muslim struggle lasted for nearly thirteen centuries, and for most of that period the Muslims were in the ascendant. The Christians eventually halted the tide of Arab conquest, but their counterstroke in the Crusades ended in failure and the Muslim threat was renewed by the Ottoman Turks. Only after 1600 did the Christians finally begin to gain the upper hand, with the fall of the Ottoman empire after the First World War seeming to mark the final victory of the Christians victory. Between 1918 and today, however, the conflict has continued, albeit in different guises: Christendom became the largely secularised West, while religious fundamentalism revived on the Muslim side and the USA became its principal target. In this revised paperback edition, Alan G. Jamieson brings the story right up to date -from the original seventh-century Arab conquest to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - to show how the present situation has emerged in countries ranging from Morocco to Indonesia and from Russia to Somalia. With a new Introduction and a new chapters on current conflicts this authoritative and readable study will appeal to scholars, students and general readers, giving an accessible overview to one of the most important issues of our time. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introducing the Longest War 9

2 The Arab Conquests, 622-750 16

3 Byzantine Defiance, 750-1000 29

4 Rise of the West: Christian Advances in the Eleventh Century 41

5 Muslim Reaction: Victory over Outremer, Defeat in Spain, 1100-1300 56

6 Rise of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1500 73

7 Ottoman Challenge: The Sixteenth Century 88

8 Ottoman Revival and Decline, 1600-1815 105

9 Triumph of the West, 1815-1918 124

10 Breaking Free, 1918-1979 143

11 Challenging America, 1979-2005 165

12 The 9/11 Wars (to 2015) 187

13 Conclusion: A New Conflict? 203.

ISBN:

1780236727

9781780236728

OCLC:

959534040