In the Shadow of the Sword

If I were to surmise this magisterial work in a single verse, there is no denying i would term it "monumental" , a erudition that intertwine and conjoin the epochs- that Islamist term as Jahilliya or ignorance to the iapooge of their civilisation, steered initially by Ummayads, ulemas and later on by Abbasids, and during this narrative criss-crossing and swirling cogently and lucidly through the eras epitomised by the grandeur of the ancient Romans of the east, the spiffy Sasanids of the Persia, the greatgame in the fertile cresecent and the eventual rise of the illiterare loonies from the deep deserts of Arabia. How is it that Arabs who were not even a derided as barbarians for that too was a word too generous for these dwellers of desert coalesced into a congregation, moulded into mighty armies , guided solely by the enlightened words of their prophet and undoubtedly aided by the vicissitudes of the the times, that grizzly 'death game' played between the Sasanids and Romans coupled with series of scourges like Plague that decimated not the men but also the inherent powers of these superpowers , leading to a hollowed vacuum which these raucous, uncouth, violent Arabs filled defeating each of the contemporary superpower piecemeal and unfortunately also fatally. How they rose and the speed of their conquest is beyond doubt a mysterious shibboleth of history, an idiosyncravcy which only the creator may answer for these Arabs had never been anything beyond a nuisance till than but what they impacted is something that concern us till today. As author correctly synopsizes in the last para , perfectly elucidating the gist of the 430 pages" Pen is mightier than a sword and neither the Caesars, shanshahs or caliphs survived but it is the teachings of rabbis of Sura, the bishops that met at Nicea and the work of ulema at Kufa is what is timeless and still shape this world of ours even in the twenty first century.

Loved it.

This book will open your worldview about what you thought you knew about Islam. Derisively called the 'Revisionist school', this way of looking at the origins of the Arab world and hence Islam shouldn't really upset the apple cart in the Islamic world. What it proves is that like all religions and Ideologies, Islam too is a mythology (in the positive sense of the word). This should be an essential reading especially for the muslims of the Indian subcontinent.

I just finished reading this book. First of all, only half of this book is extensively about Islam i.e. second half. The first half of the book is about Romans, Persians, Jews, Christians etc. I understand that it was important to set the back drop in which Islam was born but i believe it was too stretched. I was expecting to know more about Islam for eg, the schism of muslim between Sunni and Shia, more about Muhammad and his deeds as how he became a prophet and leader of Arans etc. I believe if you are already aware about Islam then you can read it. Now, i will buy another book about the history of Islam which speak about it more extensively.

Very enlightening

Simply superb.

Fantastic work by Tom Holland as usual. The illustrations of events from the founding of Constantinople, to the forging of Baghdad as the new center of the World in the 700s, are too intensely vivid and real. He does an immensely detailed, and spectacular job in making some very real, very specific and profound claims about how islam did not just rise on its own, but was probably the most formidable empire forged of antiquity, in almost-perfect conditions for it to flourish, with the decline of New Rome and Iranshahr (Persia) in the late 500s. He subtly alludes to the effect of the outbreak of plague, and almost 'end-of-world' level conflict between the then two superpowers, and how that influenced and affected the Arabs, and how they in turn reacted under the proxy wars being waged in the region. One of the reviewers misrepresents a lot of the work of Holland here above, he says Holland makes wide sweeping claims about Islam with no intention to back them up. I request you to ignore those misguided comments, and instead, pick up this book that shines a light on the rise of the prophet, the Ummayads and the ensuing rise of the muslim religion. He has incredible scholastic rigor, and treats the subject with respect, as well as investigates historic claims critically.

The 1 star is for the physical quality of the book. It's made of poor quality recycled paper. It's thin and crumbles. The cover isn't any different. Given the physical quality or the lack of it, I think this book should be reasonably priced at 100 or 150 max. The prose is a bit literary but mostly manageable. I'm not sure if this is an isolated case or if all British authors write like this. It gets very dense and long winded at some points but is overall manageable. I think it's an acquired taste. The author's take is very nuanced while maintaining historical objectivity and narrative quality.

The book describes an interesting era but in my opinion feel a bit chaotic in the description of the events

C'est après la chute de l'empire romain d'orient, et celle de l'Iran, qui permit aux arabes, coincé entre deux empires pour sortir de leur péninsule, et envahir l'Afrique du nord et l'Iran. C'est une lecture roborative du Coran, dont l'auteur constate l'importance, au contraire des hadiths dont il conteste l'historicité, se demandant même quelle existence a eu le prophète et la Mecque dont le livre parle si peu.

The book describes chronologically what happened in Constantinople, the Fertile Crescent, Arabian Peninsula and the Iranian Highlands (between the Zagros and the Oxus) from the mid 5th century to the mid 8th century. It gives a clear panorama of this period (that he calls Late Antiquity) that is normally treated just as an irrelevant Dark Age in the frontier between Antiquity and Middle Age. Holland gives the period the importance it deserves as the cradle of the three religions of the book. He puts the focus on Islam but without ignoring the interconnection with the other two. It is fascinating to witness how the cataclysmic political and social events that take place in the period, shape the intellectual panorama of the centuries to come. The book could perfectly bear the subtitle “The most grandiose story never told”, with millennial civilizations falling and rising, and the reader converted in an immortal being surviving thirty generations to witness the radical change of landscape that each of them pushes forward in the transit of the religious common sense from the polytheistic classic antiquity to the monotheistic, the anteroom of contemporary thinking. In the minus from me there is something that is probably a more for other people. The tone that Holland uses is what we can call a Victorian tone that is very appropriate to the grandiosity of the events he is narrating and that manages to not be cloying and grandiloquent by using clever understatements and sarcastic remarks. So no problem with the tone. What rattles to me is the use of anachronisms in the vocabulary to make situations more familiar to the reader. Sometimes the situation is presented as so familiar that part of the charm and mystery is lost. All in all, a great reading for readers who like History books and do not look for detailed discussion on sources, archaeological debates and theological philosophy.

Een zoveelste meesterwerk van de briljante Engelse historicus en schrijver Tom Holland, uitstekend gedocumenteerd zowel met voetnoten als illustraties. Inhoudelijk een echte 'eye' opener.

I am reviewing the paperback edition. The index is substantial, the notes section is thorough, and the bibliography is outstanding. Terrific work on the editing and publication. I wish the publisher had included a few blank pages at the back for notetakers like me. Tom Holland establishes the evidence that Islam is a product of the ideas that were bubbling through the ancient middle east after the fall of the Roman and Persian empires. (58-59) The caliphate of the 7th century was the last of the ancient empires. The first portion of the book (roughly the first 300 pages, including the introduction) develops the history and philosophies at play in that area of the world at that time. This is fascinating and well-documented. Some interesting ideas developed in the second half of the book: - The Koran is the only documentation of Mohammad's life (341) - Some of the Koran is obviously filched from other major religions and philosophies. (341) - Only in Arabia of the 7th century did the ancient promiscuity of pagan and heretic cults endure. (355) - Mohammad intended to found a new empire (372). The Koran supports this - men were to abandon their tribe and home and flock to God's standard, and therby inherit the earth. (373-374) - Twin themes in the Koran can be traced to palestine: War in the name of God + Contempt for earthly pleasures. Conquering the world and scorning its seductions. These were big ideas in Post-Roman palestine. (382) - Pilgrimages to Holy Sites was also fundamental to Palestinian worship trends in 7th century Palestine (403) - The Saracens and Franks lived as squatters in the ruins of vanished empires (405) - The "religion of truth" was knitted together from Jewish, Christian, Samaritan, Zoroastrian, and Manichaen philosophies that were part of the cultures of the palestinian area (406) - Religion is submission. Religion is islam. (430) - Arab rule depended on the vanquished knowing their place. Economically, defeated peoples were enslaved and taxed. Conversions were not welcome because the economy of the new islamic empire depended on the infidel being enslaved/taxed. - Page 445 shows the Zoroastrian customs appropriated by Islam. - Islam grew out of Syria and Palestine, NOT Arabia or Mecca or the Fertile CRescent (384) Fascinating information about the "Constitution of Medina" on page 383. The principles were: 1) Consciously build an empire 2) forge a new "umma" people 3) fight in the path of God 4) a starring role for Jews as believers Incredibly valuable research in this book. I'm keeping it to re-read it