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Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history

The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire - Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan (Hardcover, Annotated edition): George H... The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire - Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan (Hardcover, Annotated edition)
George H Junne
R4,240 Discovery Miles 42 400 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

The Chief Black Eunuch, appointed personally by the Sultan, had both the ear of the leader of a vast Islamic Empire and held power over a network of spies and informers, including eunuchs and slaves throughout Constantinople and beyond. The story of these remarkable individuals, who rose from difficult beginnings to become amongst the most powerful people in the Ottoman Empire, is rarely told. George Junne places their stories in the context of the wider history of African slavery, and places them at the centre of Ottoman history. The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire marks a new direction in the study of courtly politics and power in Constantinople.

Global History with Chinese Characteristics - Autocratic States along the Silk Road in the Decline of the Spanish and Qing... Global History with Chinese Characteristics - Autocratic States along the Silk Road in the Decline of the Spanish and Qing Empires 1680-1796 (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2021)
Manuel Perez Garcia
R1,652 Discovery Miles 16 520 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This open access book considers a pivotal era in Chinese history from a global perspective. This book's insight into Chinese and international history offers timely and challenging perspectives on initiatives like "Chinese characteristics", "The New Silk Road" and "One Belt, One Road" in broad historical context. Global History with Chinese Characteristics analyses the feeble state capacity of Qing China questioning the so-called "High Qing" (sheng qing ) era's economic prosperity as the political system was set into a "power paradox" or "supremacy dilemma". This is a new thesis introduced by the author demonstrating that interventionist states entail weak governance. Macao and Marseille as a new case study aims to compare Mediterranean and South China markets to provide new insights into both modern eras' rising trade networks, non-official institutions and interventionist impulses of autocratic states such as China's Qing and Spain's Bourbon empires.

The Ottoman Cities of Lebanon - Historical Legacy and Identity in the Modern Middle East (Hardcover): James A. Reilly The Ottoman Cities of Lebanon - Historical Legacy and Identity in the Modern Middle East (Hardcover)
James A. Reilly
R4,572 Discovery Miles 45 720 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Whether defined as essentially 'Turkish', and therefore alien to the Lebanese experience, or remembered in its final years as a tyrannical and brutal dictatorship, the period has not been thought of fondly in most Lebanese historiography. In a far-reaching and much-needed analysis of this complex legacy, James A. Reilly looks at Arabic-language history writing emanating from Lebanon in the post-1975 period, focusing on the three main Ottoman administrative centres of Saida, Beirut and Tripoli. This examination highlights key aspects of Lebanon's current political and cultural climate, and emphasises important points of agreement and conflict in contemporary historical discourse. The 1989 Ta'if Accords, for example, which ended the Lebanese Civil War, were accompanied by calls for reinterpretation of how the country's history could assist in creating a sense of national cohesion. The Ottoman Cities of Lebanon is invaluable to all historians and researchers working on Lebanese history and politics, and wider issues of identity, post-imperialist discourse and nationhood in the Middle East.

Unbounded Loyalty - Frontier Crossings in Liao China (Hardcover): Naomi Standen Unbounded Loyalty - Frontier Crossings in Liao China (Hardcover)
Naomi Standen
R1,625 Discovery Miles 16 250 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Unbounded Loyalty investigates how frontiers worked before the modern nation-state was invented. The perspective is that of the people in the borderlands who shifted their allegiance from the post-Tang regimes in North China to the new Liao empire (907-1125). Naomi Standen offers new ways of thinking about borders, loyalty, and identity in premodern China. She takes as her starting point the recognition that, at the time, ""China"" did not exist as a coherent entity, neither politically nor geographically, neither ethnically nor ideologically. Political borders were not the fixed geographical divisions of the modern world, but a function of relationships between leaders and followers. When local leaders changed allegiance, the borderline moved with them. Cultural identity did not determine people's actions: Ethnicity did not exist. In this context, she argues, collaboration, resistance, and accommodation were not meaningful concepts, and tenth-century understandings of loyalty were broad and various. ""Unbounded Loyalty"" sheds fresh light on the Tang-Song transition by focusing on the much-neglected tenth century and by treating the Liao as the preeminent Tang successor state. It fills several important gaps in scholarship on premodern China as well as uncovering new questions regarding the early modern period. It will be regarded as critically important to all scholars of the Tang, Liao, Five Dynasties, and Song periods and will be read widely by those working on Chinese history from the Han to the Qing.

Gandhi and the Psychology of Nonviolence, Volume 1 - Scientific Roots and Development (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2020): V.K. Kool,... Gandhi and the Psychology of Nonviolence, Volume 1 - Scientific Roots and Development (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2020)
V.K. Kool, Rita Agrawal
R2,901 Discovery Miles 29 010 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The first of two volumes, this book examines Gandhi's contribution to an understanding of the scientific and evolutionary basis of the psychology of nonviolence, through the lens of contemporary researches on human cognition, empathy, morality and self-control. While, psychological science has focused on those participants that delivered electric shocks in Professor Stanley Milgram's famous experiments, these books begin from the premise that we have neglected to fully explore why the other participants walked away. Building on emergent research in the psychology of self control and wisdom, the authors illustrate what Gandhi's life and work offers to our understanding of these subjects who disobeyed and defied Milgram. The authors analyze Gandhi's actions and philosophy, as well as original interviews with his contemporaries, to elaborate a modern scientific psychology of nonviolence from the principles he enunciated and which were followed so successfully in his Satyagrahas. Gandhi, they argue, was a practical psychologist from whom we can derive a science of nonviolence which, as Volume 2 will illustrate, can be applied to almost every subfield of psychology, but particularly to those addressing the most urgent issues of the 21st century. This book is the result of four decades of collaborative work between the authors. It marks a unique contribution to studies of both Gandhi and the current trends in psychological research that will appeal in particular to scholars of social change, peace studies and peace psychology, and, serve as an exemplar in teaching one of modern psychology's hitherto neglected perspectives.

Faded Glory (Hardcover): David Gallup Faded Glory (Hardcover)
David Gallup
R789 Discovery Miles 7 890 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This is a fascinating and hard-hitting account kept in the journal of a young Marine Corps infantryman during his tour of duty in the Vietnam War. The epilogue follows the author back to Vietnam in the 1990's.

From Bharata to India - Volume 1: Chrysee the Golden (Hardcover): M.K. Agarwal From Bharata to India - Volume 1: Chrysee the Golden (Hardcover)
M.K. Agarwal
R1,157 R997 Discovery Miles 9 970 Save R160 (14%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The origin of world civilization can be traced to the Sindhu and Sarasvati river valleys (located in present-day Pakistan) as early as 8,000 BC. Here, innovation and originality in every aspect of human endeavor, from mathematics and science to art and sports, flourished. Yet the importance of this civilization, known as the Vedic period, has been deliberately downplayed.

Thoroughly researched and including an extensive bibliography, "From Bharata to India" rectifies this mistake in the perspective of world history and seeks to offer a comprehensive reference source. Author M. K. Agarwal shows how this early culture, where ideation by enlightened philosopher Brahmin kings, brought material and spiritual wealth that was to remain unchallenged until the colonial era. This Vedic-Hindu-Buddhist legacy subsequently influenced peoples and paradigms around the globe, ushering in an era of peace and plenty thousands of years before the Europeans.

By using original sources in Sanskirt as well as regional literature, Agarwal compares corresponding situations in other civilizations within the context of their own literary traditions and records to prove that Bharata forms the basis of world civilization. This is in direct contrast to the "Greek or Arab miracle" hypothesis put forth by numerous scholars.

The first of two volumes in this series, "From Bharata to India" offers a fascinating, in-depth glimpse into ancient India's contribution to the modern world.

Refugees, Citizenship and Belonging in South Asia - Contested Terrains (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2018): Nasreen Chowdhory Refugees, Citizenship and Belonging in South Asia - Contested Terrains (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2018)
Nasreen Chowdhory
R2,632 Discovery Miles 26 320 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book examines forced migration of two refugees groups in South Asia. The author discusses the claims of "belonging" of refugees, and asserts that in practice "belonging" can extend beyond the state-centric understanding of membership in South Asian states. She addresses two sets of interrelated questions: what factors determine whether refugees are relocated to their home countries in South Asia, and why do some repatriated groups re-integrate more successfully than others in "post-peace" South Asian states? This book answers these questions through a study of refugees from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who sought asylum in India and were later relocated to their countries of origin. Since postcolonial societies have a typical kind of state-formation, in South Asia's case this has profoundly shaped questions of belonging and membership. The debate tends to focus on citizenship, making it a benchmark to demarcate inclusion and exclusion in South Asian states. In addition to qualitative analysis, this book includes narratives of Sri Lankan and Chakma refugees in post-conflict and post-peace Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively, and critiques the impact of macro policies from the bottom up.

The Popular religion and folk-lore of Northern India (Volume II) (Hardcover): William Crooke The Popular religion and folk-lore of Northern India (Volume II) (Hardcover)
William Crooke
R1,000 R905 Discovery Miles 9 050 Save R95 (9%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Classical Arabic Biography - The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Ma'mun (Hardcover): Michael Cooperson Classical Arabic Biography - The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Ma'mun (Hardcover)
Michael Cooperson
R2,823 Discovery Miles 28 230 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Pre-modern Arabic biography has served as a major source for the history of Islamic civilization. In this 2000 study exploring the origins and development of classical Arabic biography, Michael Cooperson demonstrates how Muslim scholars used the notions of heirship and transmission to document the activities of political, scholarly and religious communities. The author also explains how medieval Arab scholars used biography to tell the life-stories of important historical figures by examining the careers of the Abbasid Caliph al- Ma'mun, the Shiite Imam Ali al-Rida, the Sunni scholar Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and the ascetic Bishr al-Hafi, each of whom represented a tradition of political and spiritual heirship to the Prophet. Drawing on anthropology and comparative religion, as well as history and literary criticism, the book considers how each figure responded to the presence of the others and how these responses were preserved by posterity.

From the Oxus to the Indus - A Political and Cultural Study C. 300bce - C. 100 Bce (Hardcover): Suchandra Ghosh From the Oxus to the Indus - A Political and Cultural Study C. 300bce - C. 100 Bce (Hardcover)
Suchandra Ghosh
R1,477 Discovery Miles 14 770 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Visual Histories of South Asia (with a foreword by Christopher Pinney) (Hardcover): Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes, Marcus Banks Visual Histories of South Asia (with a foreword by Christopher Pinney) (Hardcover)
Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes, Marcus Banks
R1,796 Discovery Miles 17 960 Ships in 12 - 19 working days
The Anarchy - The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (Paperback): William Dalrymple The Anarchy - The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (Paperback)
William Dalrymple 2
R395 R353 Discovery Miles 3 530 Save R42 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish a new administration in his richest provinces. Run by English merchants who collected taxes using a ruthless private army, this new regime saw the East India Company transform itself from an international trading corporation into something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business.

William Dalrymple tells the remarkable story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.

Encyclopedia of Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City (Hardcover): Justin Corfield Encyclopedia of Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City (Hardcover)
Justin Corfield
R1,434 Discovery Miles 14 340 Ships in 12 - 19 working days
Of Beggars and Buddhas - The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand (Hardcover): Katherine A. Bowie Of Beggars and Buddhas - The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand (Hardcover)
Katherine A. Bowie
R1,981 Discovery Miles 19 810 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years. The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth.

Commentaries on the Punjab Campaign, 1848-49 - the Battles of the Second Sikh War by an Eyewitness (Hardcover): James Henry... Commentaries on the Punjab Campaign, 1848-49 - the Battles of the Second Sikh War by an Eyewitness (Hardcover)
James Henry Lawrence -Archer
R823 Discovery Miles 8 230 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

An infantry officer's view of the fall of the Sikhs
The author of this book served with No 6 company of HM 24th Regiment-an infantry regiment of the British Army-which saw much service in the Second Sikh War and suffered greatly in the fighting particularly at Chillianwalla. So there could hardly be a more qualified writer-or one with closer connections to other participants-to take on the task of reporting the war. At the conclusion of the First Sikh War there remained a sense of business unfinished. The Sikhs were yet masters of the Punjab and the Khalsa remained one of the most formidable armies the Sub-Continent had ever seen. Most importantly the centre of Sikh power, the seemingly impregnable and daunting fortress of Mooltan remained defiant. Once again the British Empire learnt the lesson of what a formidable foe the Sikhs were as they joined battle with them at Ramnuggar, Chillianwalla, Mooltan and Googerat. Archer takes us through this campaign in compelling detail embellished by an insight only first hand experience can provide.

Transforming Damascus - Space and Modernity in an Islamic City (Hardcover): Leila Hudson Transforming Damascus - Space and Modernity in an Islamic City (Hardcover)
Leila Hudson 1
R4,571 Discovery Miles 45 710 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

In 1860, Damascus was a sleepy provincial capital of the weakening Ottoman Empire, a city defined in terms of its relationship to the holy places of Islam in the Arabian Hijaz and its legacy of Islamic knowledge. Yet by 1918 Damascus had become a seat of Arab nationalism and a would-be modern state capital. How can this metamorphosis be explained? Here Leila Hudson describes the transformation of Damascus. Within a couple of generations the city changed from little more than a way-station on the Islamic pilgrimage routes that had defined the city's place for over a millennium. Its citizens and notables now seized the opportunities made available through transport technology on the eastern Mediterranean coast and in the European economy. Shifts in marriage patterns, class, education and power ensued. But just when the city's destiny seemed irrevocably linked to the Mediterranean world and economy, World War I literally starved the urban centre of Damascus and empowered its Bedouin hinterland. The consequences shaped Syria for the rest of the twentieth century and beyond.

Zadok's Heirs - The Role and Development of the High Priesthood in Ancient Israel (Hardcover): Deborah W. Rooke Zadok's Heirs - The Role and Development of the High Priesthood in Ancient Israel (Hardcover)
Deborah W. Rooke
R8,136 Discovery Miles 81 360 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This unique study is the first systematic examination to be undertaken of the high priesthood in ancient Israel, from the earliest local chief priests in the pre-monarchic period down to the Hasmonaean priest-kings in the first century BCE. It discusses material from the Old Testament and Apocrypha, together with contemporary documents and coins. It challenges the view that by virtue of his office the high priest became sole political leader of the Jews in later times.

Asian Comics (Hardcover): John A. Lent Asian Comics (Hardcover)
John A. Lent
R3,357 Discovery Miles 33 570 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Grand in its scope, Asian Comics dispels the myth that, outside of Japan, the continent is nearly devoid of comic strips and comic books. Relying on his fifty years of Asian mass communication and comic art research, during which he traveled to Asia at least seventy-eight times and visited many studios and workplaces, John A. Lent shows that nearly every country had a golden age of cartooning and has experienced a recent rejuvenation of the art form.

As only Japanese comics output has received close and by now voluminous scrutiny, "Asian Comics" tells the story of the major comics creators outside of Japan. Lent covers the nations and regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Organized by regions of East, Southeast, and South Asia, Asian Comics provides 178 black & white illustrations and detailed information on comics of sixteen countries and regions--their histories, key creators, characters, contemporary status, problems, trends, and issues. One chapter harkens back to predecessors of comics in Asia, describing scrolls, paintings, books, and puppetry with humorous tinges, primarily in China, India, Indonesia, and Japan.

The first overview of Asian comic books and magazines (both mainstream and alternative), graphic novels, newspaper comic strips and gag panels, plus cartoon/humor magazines, "Asian Comics" brims with facts, fascinating anecdotes, and interview quotes from many pioneering masters, as well as younger artists.

History of Southeast Asia - A Captivating Guide to the History of a Vast Region Containing Countries Such as Cambodia, Laos,... History of Southeast Asia - A Captivating Guide to the History of a Vast Region Containing Countries Such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, and More (Hardcover)
Captivating History
R630 R568 Discovery Miles 5 680 Save R62 (10%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Jews and Christians in the Holy Land - Palestine in the Fourth Century (Hardcover): Gunter Stemberger Jews and Christians in the Holy Land - Palestine in the Fourth Century (Hardcover)
Gunter Stemberger
R5,259 Discovery Miles 52 590 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

The fourth century is often referred to as the first Christian century, and for the Jews a period of decline and persecution. But was this change really so immediate and irreversible? What was the real impact of the Christianization of the Roman Empire on the Jews, especially in their own land?

Stemberger draws on all available sources, literary and archaeological, Christian as well as pagan and Jewish, to reconstruct the history of the different religious communities of Palestine in the fourth century.

This book demonstrates how lively, creative, and resourceful the Jewish communities remained.

The Korea Story (Hardcover): John C. Caldwell The Korea Story (Hardcover)
John C. Caldwell
R758 Discovery Miles 7 580 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
The Party Empire - Saga of a Nightmare (Hardcover): H.Yuan Tien The Party Empire - Saga of a Nightmare (Hardcover)
H.Yuan Tien
R741 Discovery Miles 7 410 Ships in 12 - 19 working days
Cultural Tourism in Marwar Region of Thar Desert (Hardcover): Mohanlal Gupta Cultural Tourism in Marwar Region of Thar Desert (Hardcover)
Mohanlal Gupta
R1,050 Discovery Miles 10 500 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Marine Corps Tanks and Ontos in Vietnam - Book Three - 1969 to 1970+ (Hardcover): Ltcol Ray Stewart Usmc Marine Corps Tanks and Ontos in Vietnam - Book Three - 1969 to 1970+ (Hardcover)
Ltcol Ray Stewart Usmc
R1,014 Discovery Miles 10 140 Ships in 12 - 19 working days
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