When originally published in 1901, this volume related for the first time the History of Egypt in the Middle Ages, from its conquest by the Saracens in 640 to its annexation by the Ottoman Turks in 1517 in a continuous narrative apart from the general history of the Muslim caliphate.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1995. Published a few years after the author's death this text offers explanatory notes for his translation of The Thousand and One Nights. The editor Lane had utilized as the main basis for this the Arabic text printed at the press of Biilaq in the suburbs of Cairo established by the Pasha Muhammad 'Ali, but had enriched it by a copious commentary. Since the stories making up the Nights illustrate almost the whole gamut of public and settled domestic life in the Arab Middle Ages, from the opulent surroundings of Caliphs and Sultans to the humblest dwellings of petty tradesmen and bazaar artisans, Lane was able to construct on these foundations a remarkably detailed picture of society as it functioned in the urban centres of Mediaeval Islam.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Stanley Lane-Pool - grand-nephew of the Arabic scholar, Edward Lane - was a professor of Arabic at Trinity College, Dublin from 1898 to 1904. His books included several works on Oriental history. The Barbary Corsairs recounts how the expatriation of the Spanish Moors at the end of the fifteenth century led to their taking vengeance from their new settlements in North Africa and elevating the skills of piracy to a fine art. The Barbary Cost had long been a haunt of pirates for its narrow creeks and natural harbours offered shelter to their boats of shallow draught while denying access to larger vessels. Despite commercial treaties between African and European states, piracy was carried on throughout the Middle Ages, chiefly by privateers from Chrisitan states whose rulers were powerless to stop them.It was to this wild and notorious coast the Barbarossa and his brother came in 1504 from the island of Lesbos. There follows an account of their exploits and those of their successors which kept 'all the nations of Europe in perpetual alarm for three centuries'. The subsequent skirmishes drew heads of state and religious leaders alike into the conflict. Although the failure to besiege the Knights of Malta and the defeat at the Battle of Lepanto marked the end of the age of the great Corsairs, piracy continued on a less spectacular scale for a further two hundred years and more, until the last Corsairs were driven from the Barbary Coast by the events of the nineteenth century.

Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931), archaeologist and historian, was for many years keeper of the coin collection at the British Museum, compiling a fourteen-volume catalogue of Oriental and Indian coins. In 1883 he conducted an archaeological expedition to Egypt. A prolific writer, he produced historical works on Turkey, the Barbary corsairs, medieval Egypt and India. His biographies include 'Saladin'. 'The Moors in Spain', here reproduced in facsimile from the original edition (1887), provided one of the first complete and historically accurate accounts of this period in Spanish history. It was in AD711 that Tarik the Moor landed in Gibraltar (the name of which derives from 'jabal', 'mount' in Arabic, and 'Tarik') at the start of eight centuries of Moorish domination. 'Spain set to all Europe a shining example of a civilised and enlightened State...Art, literature and science prospered. Mathematics, astronomy and botany, history, philosophy and jurisprudence were to be mastered in Spain, and Spain alone.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. Excerpt: ...was, moreover, natural that the Copts, the old inhabitants of Egypt, should have early discovered the method of defeating the warping tendencies of their hot climate by means of a minute subdivision into panels. Taking these various considerations, it is not so rash as it seemed to assume that the art of carving panels in the style characteristic of Coptic screens and Muslim pulpits was native to Egypt, and was the special property of the Copts. The Coptic churches also contain some examples of figure carving, somewhat resembling the hunting figures of Mosil metalwork. A noble triforium screen in the church of St. Barbara, and another in the church of St. Sergius (Abu-Sargah), in Old Cairo, are decorated with warrior saints and beasts much after the model of the horsemen of Mesopotamian art. There may of course be a connection between these and Kalaun's panels, described above, but it is not necessary to trace the two to the same source. There can be no doubt of the Mesopotamian origin of Kalaun's carvings; but those of St. Sergius may not improbably be directly derived FIG. 56.--LATTICE-WORK. (South Kensington Museum.) from Byzantine models, with which they show more affinity than with the Mosil style. Had these carvings been derived from the Mesopotamian school, we should expect to find a prevailing hunting character, interspersed with scenes of festivity, wine-cups, and musical instruments; instead of which the subjects are principally warrior saints of the Byzantine style, and the beasts that accompany them may be due as much to the animal decoration of the Lower Empire as to the hunting-scenes of Persian art. The St. Barbara carvings, however, closely resemble Mosil work, and have even the winged centaur. It is, after all, merely a...

Saladin, or Salah-al-Din (1138-1193), Sultan of Egypt and Syria, is perhaps best known as the implacable warrior who led his Saracen forces against the third crusade (1189-92) under King Richard I - Richard Lionheart. Resolved to drive out the Christians from Palestine, Saladin had earlier defeated them in battle at Tiberius in 1187. He then went on to capture Acre, Ascalon and Jerusalem. These Holy Wars were among the bloodiest in history, for both sides saw it as a responsibility of their faith to kill as many non-believers as possible. Massacres of women and children, and frightful atrocities to the vanquished, stain the reputation of both sides. Saladin, alone, stands as a man of magnanimous spirit and generosity. Even among his enemies he was regarded as a pattern for chivalric courage and honour. As the author himself states: 'If the taking of Jerusalem were the only known fact about Saladin, it were enough to prove him the most chivalrous and great-hearted conqueror of any age." Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931) writes sensitively on his subject and, although first published in 1898, his biography of Saladin remains a primary source for historians. This facsimile of the first edition, complete with original illustrations, will enable a wider readership to acquaint themselves with the life of a remarkable man.