Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century

Download or read book Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century written by Irfan Shahîd and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fourth installment of Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century resumes the previous volume's discussion of the Ghassanids by examining their economic, social, and cultural history. First, Irfan Shahîd focuses on the economy of the Ghassanids and presents information on various trade routes and fairs. Second, the author reconstructs Ghassanid daily life by discussing topics as varied as music, food, medicine, the role of women, and horse racing. Shahîd concludes the volume with an examination of cultural life, including descriptions of urbanization, Arabic script, chivalry, and poetry. Throughout the volume, the author reveals the history of a fully developed and unique Christian-Arab culture. Shahîd exhaustively describes the society of the Ghassanids, and their contributions to the cultural environment that persisted in Oriens during the sixth century and continued into the period of the Umayyad caliphate.