The Center of the World : A Global History of the Persian Gulf from the Stone Age to the Present.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fromherz, Allen James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Persian Gulf--History.

Persian Gulf.

Persian Gulf--Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (279 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2024.

Summary:

This sweeping history reorients our understanding of the Middle East, placing the Gulf at the heart of globalized trade and cross-cultural encounters. World history began in the Persian Gulf. The ancient port cities that dotted its coastlines created the first global seaboard, a place from where faiths and cultures from around the world set sail and made contact. More than a history, The Center of the World shows us that contradictions that define our modern age have always been present. For over four thousand years, the Gulf--sometimes called the Persian Gulf, sometimes the Arabian Gulf--has been a global crossroads while managing to avoid control by the world's greatest empires. In its history, we see a world of rapid change, fluctuating centers of trade, a dependency on uncertain global markets, and intense cross-cultural encounters that hold a mirror to the contemporary world. Focusing each chapter on a different port around the Gulf, The Center of the World shows how the people of the Gulf adapted to larger changes in world history, creating a system of free trade, merchant rule, and commerce that continues to define the region today.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Note on Transliteration

Chronology

Introduction. The Global Gulf: Center of the World

1. Dilmun: From the Beginning of World Trade to the Rise of Islam (2800 BCE-632 CE)

2. Basra: Where Islam Became a World Religion (632-1000)

3. Siraf: Boom and Bust in the Medieval Gulf (1000-1500)

4. Hormuz: How the Gulf Shaped a European Empire (1500-1793)

5. Muscat: Oman, the British, and the Long Nineteenth Century (1793-1945)

6. Dubai: The Global Gulf in a Global Age (1945-Present)

Conclusion. The Future of the Global Gulf

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780520398566

0520398564

OCLC:

1446800231