Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam (Peoples of the Ancient World)

Finding sources on pre-Islamic Arabia is incredibly difficult, and finding sources in English is doubly so. This is an excellent overview of the subject, well written and well organized. The author gives the broader picture, tying the various peoples of Arabia in to the larger world in each time period, showing ties of diplomacy, war and trade, as well as focusing on what the different groups were doing individually and among themselves. The book is organized in a very standard and useful fashion, giving chapters on each region (internally organized by time period) before moving on to topic-focused chapters. This is a book which rewards a cover-to-cover reading, and is understandable to a novice on the subject; now that I've been through it once, I'll probably read it again at least once in its entirety, as well as using it as a look-up reference for individual bits of information. The notes are interesting and worth reading, without this being a case of all the good stuff being in the footnotes. The only complaint I have is that I'd have liked for each place mentioned more than in passing in the text to have been marked somewhere on one of the maps. More maps and some more detail would have been nice. This isn't an insurmountable problem, however, for anyone who has a good historical atlas, or access to the internet. For someone who's writing a journal article or a dissertation, this is probably too elementary a source. For a person with some historical background who's familiar with the ancient world in general, but lacking foundation knowledge of ancient Arabia, this is an excellent first source and provides many jumping-off points for further research. This is a keeper for me, and I'm sure it'll get a lot of use.

It is not easy to find objective literature on Arabian history that doesn't force everything Islam right down your throat from beginning to end (no different with Jewish history and the Old Testament). Fortunately, "Arabia and the Arabs" is objective literature. Its emphasis is on pre-islamic history, and the level of scholarship is impressive. It particularly shows in the section on language and literature, plus its genuinely massive bibliography. However that also means that it isn't an easy, relaxing read. It requires that one follows the author as he first presents the evidence at hand, then how he reasons what picture one can assemble from it. More often than not this picture must remain incomplete until further evidence, be that through excavations, language analysis or other discoveries, comes to light and is understood in the proper context. Such reading takes concentration and some patience. Of particular interest to me was the last chapter on Arabhood and Arabisation. It did much to illuminate the mistaken but widely held impression that "the Arabs" some day just burst out of their peninsula and onto the scene of European history. After I was done with the book I definitely felt that the realistic understanding it conveyed was well worth the time and effort.

I tried reading this more than a few times, but when I tried reading it to my spouse it was a quick way to bring on sleep! Boring was the complaint. I'd have to agree that this is very detailed and not the easiest book to read. I was hoping for something a little different, but it is certainly detailed. I haven't picked it up and again, but perhaps someday I will. I think you have to be in the mood for this one.

I am an amatuer archeologist, constantly on the lookout for practical, well researched books on the history of the Arabian Penninsula. What is difficult for any writer on Ancient Arabia, is the fact that there are very few texts available on this subject. However, the writer has delved into the society, mores, trade, cultural traditions, and other components of this unique land. All in all, I vote five stars for the effort and interesting writing style.

Very informative about a subject that is rarely covered!! Very recommended.

This is totally scholarly and probably too dense for some but it provides an excellent look at pre- Islamic Arabia. This subject is shockingly undercovered other than this book since most histories of the Arab Middle East start with Muhammad. Ancient Yemen is particularly fascinating.

As an international business consultant I wanted to learn more about the Arabian history. Hoyland's work provided a excellent scholastic view into how historical events have shaped the political, economic, and cultural demographics found today in the Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa.

Book was neat, clean and delivered quickly.

The book covers many topics and contains detailed information, yet it is easy to read, so that a reader will not be puzzled. However, I had read Greg Fisher's Rome and the Arabs Before the Rise of Islam before I read this book. I appreciate many maps, photos and other graphic material in each chapter and extensive bibliography. Although there is much to be discovered, the book fills the gap in our undestanding of pre-Islamic Arabian history and culture. Definitely worth its price. Skilfully written, an indispensable source of reference.

Excellente synthèse sur un sujet rarement abordé : le monde arabe pré-islamique. Abordant l'ensemble de la société de cette époque en seulement 247 pages de texte (notes et bibliographie non comprises), il laisse toutefois un peu sur sa fin si, comme moi, on attendait plus de développement sur l'aspect religieux beaucoup trop rapidement traité et pourtant tellement important.Sur cet aspect particulier comme sur d'autres, il reste possible cependant d'exploiter l'importante et riche bibliographie qui comporte 59 pages.