Middle East Books

Written for various periodicals over the course of about thirty years, eighteen richly informative articles are brought together in this volume on Modern Greek history, all by the famous and highly respected historian-scholar Richard Clogg. The articles try with great success to throw some much needed light on what was going on in the "greater" Greek world of the 18th and19th centuries to the east of the tiny but later enlarged Greek state that came into being in 1830 after the Greek War of Independence.
The first chapter, written, unlike the others, specifically for this volume, lays out all the themes and issues to be cover in the rest of the book. It starts by examining the very Greek and historically realistic notion of "our East" that later developed (once the Greek state was firmly established) into the notion and political goal of the "Megali Idea" as first coined and elaborated by the wheeler dealer manipulator Ioannis Kolettis, Ali Pasha's onetime personal physician, in 1844. Both notions came to an inglorious end in 1922 with the ignominious defeat of the Greek military by the Turks and the sad exchange of populations that followed.

Chapter II traces the history of the Greek millet in the Ottoman Empire, which was actually a grouping for administrative and fiscal purposes of all Orthodox Christians under the Patriarch of Constantinople without much regard for national or ethnic origins. Within the Greek millet one "party," including church hierarchs, lay bureaucrats, and wealthy merchants were unalterably in favor of maintaining the status quo, while another group, the protagonists of Hellenism, composed mainly of intellectuals, lower clergy and Diaspora folk, promoted the idea of armed of armed rebellion to gain independence immediately. A. Korais was in favor of raising arms should it become necessary but he insisted that the Greeks, whom he considered mostly ignorant savages, should prepare and educate themselves to fight and then to govern themselves. The sole objective the two "parties" had in common was their desire to instill a sense of "Greekness" into those members of the Greek millet who considered themselves primarily Christian and Greek only as a kind of afterthought if at all. In this chapter Clogg deals with the question of Greek schools and teachers, most of whom were trained at the University of Athens and despite whose best efforts many Greek-speaking villages became entirely Turkophone in the course of the 19th Century. The millet ceased to exist in 1919 and it is pointed out that what is surprising is that it should have lasted (as it did) for nearly a century after the establishment of an independent Greek state.

Chapter III begins by analyzing one of the major problems at the talks (Britain, Greece, and Turkey) that culminated in the tragic exchange of populations following the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. This relates to the large number of Turkophone (ethnic) Greeks in the Ottoman Empire who wanted (and should have been allowed to) stay put but were eventually shipped off to Greece (large numbers of Greek speaking Turks were also uprooted from their homes in Greece and shipped eastward). A major difficulty here for the historian resides in determining how the "karamanlides" (monolingual Turkish speaking Greeks who wrote Turkish in Greek characters) actually identified themselves, with the plot being thickened by Fallmerayer's claim about the non-Greekness of most Greeks, which Clogg reminds us is futile and beside the point. These people, he points out, adopted Turkish as their only vernacular language, surprisingly, as early as the fifteenth century.

Chapter IV is titled "The Byzantine legacy ..." but it is actually a brilliant analysis and description with possibly universal application of how myth, image and symbol can be manipulated and instrumentalized to bring about desired political goals, in this case the Megali Idea, the dominant (some would say only) ideology of the young Greek State. Here Clogg discusses in detail the contributions of Ioannis Kolettis (Hellenized Vlach and onetime personal physician to Ali Pasha), Neophytos Doukas and Rigas Velistinlis (for obvious reasons Korais does not figure in this essay), but the author concentrates on perceptions of the Megali Idea at a more popular level among the unlettered mass of Greeks under Turkish domination and later on, so he explores several of the "prophecies" about the imminent end of the Ottoman Empire that made life bearable for the lower classes and furthered the expansionist interests of Greek politicians. Interestingly, the klephtic warrior Theodore Kolokotronis admitted to having been reared on such prophecies. (This essay should be read in conjunction with Chapter XI).

In Chapter V we are given a valuable introduction to the "Fatherly Instruction" of 1798, and then the Dhidhaskalia itself, integral, in English. The sixth chapter is an exploration of the Greek Enlightenment that preceded the War of Independence in relation to Greek cultural life under the Turks. The contributions of the wonderful Korais are examined in this and later chapters (VII, VIII, XVI).

Chapter VIII deals with 18th and 19th century anticlericalism in the Greek world. The author shows that it was widespread at the popular level but the factors causing it (priestly ineptitude, ecclesiastical corruption) had been effectively eliminated by 1830. The next essay connects a certain attitude of "envy" on the part of Greek merchants with regard to Western Europe (and to the Smyrna rebellion of 1797). What awakened their envy was, of course, the conditions of endemic disorder and institutionalized rapacity under which they themselves were forced to operate within the Empire.

The remaining essays in this volume, while interesting and well written, are mostly of specialist interest. Richard clog has been the preeminent scholar-historian of Modern Greece for several decades and frequently manages to write with what I would consider brilliance. It is hard to imagine that anyone with a serious interest in modern history (not just Greek or Turkish history) would be without this volume.

A part of the series History of World Architecture originally published by Electa in Italian in 1971-7 under a general editorship of Pier Luigi Nervi, it was translated to English and published by Abrams in 1971-80 in b&w only, but at 10 x 11 1/4 inches. Subsequently, the series was reedited, shrunk to 8 5/7 x 9 1/2 inches, and published by Electa / Rizzoli in 1985-9 with a few color photos added including each front cover. In the early 2000's, the series was reissued by Phaidon unchanged except for the front cover photo. It is a pictorial "Ferrari" of history of architecture books. Almost every page contains one or - usually - more than one illustration as photo, plan, section, elevation, axonometric view, etc. of the highest quality. They depict the best examples of topical architecture covering the most significant ones. The text was written by one of the best experts in the field. While relatively concise, it is still comprehensive and complete enough even for students of architecture.
PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS:
(The Abrams' edition combines Ancient and Greek Architecture.)
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE:
(24 and 249 black & white illustrations in non-Abrams' editions.)
Seton Lloyd and Hans Wolfgang Müller describe the beginnings of architecture in the Ancient Near Middle East and Egypt, the brithplace of Western civilisation, where the newly born science of construction merged with an emerging aesthetic practice. This book examines sites and structures from neolithic temples in Anatolia to the royal tombs of Egypt. Each page combines reconstruction drawings of site plans, building perspectives, and decorative elements with photographs of archeological sites including aerial views and details. An extensive section is devoted to Egyptian architecture from its origins to the first century AC. Also included are the first dwellings on a circular plan, dating from the 8th millenium BC in Jordan, the famous site of Catal Hayuk, the ziggurat towers of the Neo-Assyrians and Neo -Babylonians, and the Achaemenids. The book examines the theological requirements, organization, and hierarchies in the architectural practices of the era.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE:
(276 black and white illustrations in non-Abrams' editions.)
This volume presents an extraordinary collection of images and covers the whole range of Greek architecture, from a thorough analysis of Minoan Crete - which marked the beginning of the history of Western architecture - through Mycenae, to the magnificence of the Doric places of worship: from the temples of Corinth, Delphi and the Acropolis to those of Magna Graecia. The book covers the birth and evolution of the doric and ionic orders, religious architecture, and the temples and structures of Classical Greece. There is a substantial section on civic architecture, which closely reflects the formation and evolution of the political community, the most original aspect of ancient Greece. Important centres outside Greece are discussed, including Agrigento and Segesta in Sicily. The final section documents the Hellenic phase, with its unparalleled innovations and its influence on the greater Mediterranean.

I bought this on a whim at the bookstore because it was on sale, and I needed an art reference book for ancient Egypt. I thought I would just use it for the pictures, but I have spent the last 3 days reading it into the wee hours. Despite its massive size, I find it hard to put down. It covers not just the famous pharaohs, but the history of Egypt and human culture there in earlier times, the Christian era, and early and modern archeology. Check out the story of what happened to the mummy of Rameses I! The included CD-ROM seems mostly to duplicate what's in the book, but may be fun for kids to use. It appears this book was published in Australia, so it has a somewhat European flavor (this is a good thing). Overall, this is a great collection of beautiful images and interesting, readable history.

I shared this book with my child, a kindergartner. The pages have good text, good drawings and photographs, weblinks on each topic. The book also provided a text box for each topic explaining how modern day people know about the Egyptians called "How Do We Know". I found this especially interesting.

My son (age 10) chose this book to help him with a school project. I stayed up late that night reading it myself! Lots of interesting facts, a pull out map, a good index, and in a format that is appealing to a variety of ages. You can read it as if you are pretending to go on a trip to Egypt, or just as a collection of interesting pictures with captions. I highly recommend it.

The title of this excellent entry in an excellent series should be 'Egyptology', as it is more about the study of ancient Egypt than the history itself. At 190 pages, it is a little longer than many entries in this series, but the final 30 of those pages are References, Timeline and so on, which provide a good springboard for further study.

Pharaonic Egypt was Earth's first great empire and it lasted for 3 millennia. The author examines the way in which that civilization has been perceived, interpreted and mythologized by, among others, Victorians seeking verification of Biblical stories and by modern, popular culture.

Ian Shaw writes well and comes across as an erudite and objective scholar. He has not used this book as an opportunity to put forward any unorthodoxy of his own, and has not been afraid to include many quotations from other Egyptologists. All of this makes the book a perfect introduction to this fascinating subject.

While Fiona MacDonald's Ancient Egyptians was originally designed to accompany a British TV series, it needn't only be considered for British viewers alone: kids around the world will appreciate this visual treat, packed with color illustrations throughout and providing a survey based on major themes in the history of Ancient Egypt. From temple murders to buried treasure and desert tombs, history comes to life in an unusual manner blending contemporary approaches and images with historical fact.

This is just about the best, funniest book I've read all year--who would have expected this from a book on the ancient Egyptian World?

I'm not an expert on this subject but the writing has the ring of truth and seems to be well-researched.

The authors have a gift for making old topics seem this-minute relevant.
For instance, Egyptian priesthood: "Plucking out your eyebrows and eyelashes may sound painful., but being a priest had advantages. For one thing, you didn't have to pay taxes..." Or, on fashion: "So what would an Egyptian Fashion magazine look like (other than the fact it would be written on papyrus, need only one issue every thousand years or so, and could only be read by a few people since only aobut 1 percent of Egyptians could read?)"

I think the ho-hum title and amazingly dull cover are like displaying a perfect rose in a milk bottle, but you can't have everything.

This is a ten volume set. Each book is complete in its self. They are all richly illustrated in full colour, with photographs, illustrations, maps, diagrams and archive images from Asia, Europe and the USA. These volumes set out to inform and educate, providing the reader with an overview of one of the worlds largest nations.

If you're playing a game of word associations and say "Jordan" and "archaeology" to most people, the snap answer will come: "Petra". Beyond that, Jordan archaeologically is pretty much of a blank, even to those who are otherwise well-traveled and well-read. This book shows just how wrong that is. It covers, with equal diligence, every epoch of Jordan's diverse history: the neolithic ruins in Jordan's northeastern black basaltic desert; the spectacular remains of the Nabataean period; the Roman frontier forts and the elegant provincial town of Jarash; the Umayyad desert castles; the Crusader fortresses of Kerak and Shaubak; and finally the Hajj forts and the Hejaz railway constructed by the Ottomans.

There are introductory chapters presenting background information on the land itself, a quick overview of Jordan's history, and the origins and practice of aerial photography. There follow 14 historical chapters on the different periods of Jordan's history, with typically 15-20 images presented in each, along with explanatory text. Roughly half of the images are full-page in this oversized book (8.25" wide by 12" high). There are spectacular photos of memorable sites like the Roman forts Qasr Bshir and Qasr el-Hallabat, the Umayyad desert castle Qasr el-Kharaneh, and Petra's Khazneh tomb, but I was equally intrigued by the images of the desert "kites" - converging stone walls of enormous length used by early man to funnel gazelles into flower-shaped killing zones - and the wheel and jellyfish house foundations that remain from neolithic times. The photographs were taken at heights ranging from as little as 50-100 feet by helicopter, to 2,000 feet or more from fixed-wing aircraft. All are strikingly clear, revealing, and obviously carefully shot, so that the angle of the sun brings out all the surface detail of those sites where only the bare outline of walls remains. All images are in full color -- or, at least, as many colors as this predominantly dry landscape offers.

This book will be useful to professional and amateur scholars with a serious interest in the sites described, as well as to anyone who is planning a pleasure trip to Jordan and wants to know whether it would be worth their while to visit the Byzantine village of Umm el-Jimal, the Neolithic urban center of Jawa, or the Abbasid family's home village of Humayma. It should likewise be ordered by libraries that serve a patron base consisting of any of these groups.

And if your circumstances are such as to make it unlikely that you'll ever be able to get to Jordan, or to visit such remote sites as Jawa even if you do, then despair not - this book is the next best thing to being there.