Includes bibliographical references and index.

PART I
RELIGION AND LAW
1• Islam by
JONATHAN BERKEY;
2 • Sufism by
ALEXANDER KNYSH;
3 • Varieties of Islam by
FARHAD DAFTARY;
4 • Islamic law: history and transformation by
WAEL B. HALLAQ;
5 • Conversion and the ahl al dhimma by
DAVID J. WASSERSTEIN;
6 • Muslim societies and the natural world by
RICHARD W. BULLIET;
PART II
SOCIETIES, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
7 • Legitimacy and political organisation: caliphs, kings and regimes by
SAID AMIR ARJOMAND;
8 • The city and the nomad by
HUGH KENNEDY;
9 • Rural life and economy until 1800 by
ANDREW M. WATSON;
10 • Demography and migration by
SURAIYA N. FAROQHI;
11 • The mechanisms of commerce by
WARREN C. SCHULTZ;
12 • Women, gender and sexuality by
MANUELA MARIN;
PART III
LITERATURE
13 • Arabic literature by
JULIA BRAY;
14 • Persian literature by
DICK DAVIS;
15 • Turkish literature by
CIGDEM BALIM HARDING;
16 • Urdu literature by
SHAMSUR RAHMAN FARUQI;
17. History writing by
LI GUO;
18 • Biographical literature by
MICHAEL COOPERSON;
19 • Muslim accounts of the dar al barb by
MICHAEL BONNER AND GOTTFRIED HAGEN;
PART IV
LEARNING, ARTS AND CULTURE
20 • Education by
FRANCIS ROBINSON;
21 • Philosophy by
RICHARD C. TAYLOR;
22 • The sciences in Islamic societies (750 1800) by
SONJA BRENTJES WITH ROBERT G. MORRISON;
23 • Occult sciences and medicine by
S. NOMANUL HAQ;
24 • Literary and oral cultures by
JONATHAN BLOOM;
25 • Islamic art and architecture by
MARCUS MILWRIGHT;
26 • Music by
AMNON SHILOAH;
27 • Cookery by
DAVID WAINES

Robert Irwin's authoritative introduction to the fourth volume of The New Cambridge History of Islam offers a panoramic vision of Islamic culture from its origins to around 1800. The chapter, which highlights key developments and introduces some of Islam's most famous protagonists, paves the way for an extraordinarily varied collection of essays. The themes treated include religion and law, conversion, Islam's relationship with the natural world, gover nance and politics, caliphs and kings, philosophy, science, medi cine, language, art, architecture, literature, music and even cookery. What emerges from this rich collection, written by an international team of experts, is the diversity and dynamism of the societies which created this flourishing civilisation. Volume 4 of The New Cambridge History of Islam serves as a thematic companion to the three preceding, politically oriented volumes, and in cover age extends across the pre modern Islamic world.