Books by Guy le Strange

Originally published in 1890 and translated from "the works of the medieval Arab geographers," Palestine under the Moslems is a collection of historical and geographical Islamic writings on Syria and Palestine. Palestine is known as the Holy Land with a religious focus on both Judaism and Christianity, but it also holds a position of high importance in Islam, which these writings demonstrate. Presented in two parts, Part I contains translations of Arabic and Persian works that date back to A.D. 650-1500, as well as notes and observations from the editor, while Part II includes an alphabetical geographical dictionary and references to relevant Islamic sources.GUY LE STRANGE (1854-1933) was born in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, as the youngest son of Henry L'Estrange Styleman. He studied Arabic and Persian at the College de France in Paris, after which he spent many years traveling and living abroad in Persia, Florence, and Palestine. He settled in Cambridge in 1907, where he contributed to The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, of which he was a member until his death. Le Strange was the editor and translator of several well-known books on the Middle East and Islam, establishing him as one of the most recognized historical geographers of medieval Islam to write in English.

The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, originally published by Cambridge University Press in 1905, is an anthology of geographical and historical works on Mesopotamia, Persia, and the surrounding areas of Central Asia by medieval Arab, Persian, and Turkish Muslim geographers. The translated works begin with writings from A.D. 864, and conclude with works from the early seventeenth century. While not an exhaustive geographical history, the description of each province includes information on manufacture and trade, towns, roads, bodies of water, and other topical areas of interest. There are also maps of several provinces as well as an extensive index. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate is a complementary work to Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate, and includes some records from Palestine under the Moslems, making this work ideal for any student of Le Strange's translations.GUY LE STRANGE (1854-1933) was born in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, as the youngest son of Henry L'Estrange Styleman. He studied Arabic and Persian at the College de France in Paris, after which he spent many years traveling and living abroad in Persia, Florence, and Palestine. He settled in Cambridge in 1907, where he contributed to The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, of which he was a member until his death. Le Strange was the editor and translator of several well-known books on the Middle East and Islam, establishing him as one of the most recognized historical geographers of medieval Islam to write in English.

Baghdad During the Abbasid Caliphate was first published in 1900 and is, according to the author, the first attempt at a complete history and topographic outline of the city of Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasids, who ruled from 750 to 1258 A.D. In addition to including a chronological timetable, this work contains the history of the foundation of Baghdad, the building of the canals, gates, roads, trenches, quarters, and palaces (all in great detail), and descriptions of the early, middle, and late periods of the Abbasid Caliphate. This work is ideal for scholars of ancient world and Middle East history, especially those interested in early studies of Islam.GUY LE STRANGE (1854-1933) was born in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, as the youngest son of Henry L'Estrange Styleman. He studied Arabic and Persian at the College de France in Paris, after which he spent many years traveling and living abroad in Persia, Florence, and Palestine. He settled in Cambridge in 1907, where he contributed to The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, of which he was a member until his death. Le Strange was the editor and translator of several well-known books on the Middle East and Islam, establishing him as one of the most recognized historical geographers of medieval Islam to write in English.

This detailed study of the physical layout and traditions of the Holy Land and Syria contains an enormous amount of detailed information. For readers who wish to correct their vision of the actual physical geography of Syro-Palestine, this work remains a recommended source.