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Can anyone recommend me to some good military sites/books dealing with the armies of the Abbasid and Seljuk empires from around the 1000's to the 1300s CE? Basically, I'm looking for a good source of information covering the Muslim empires of the early middle ages. :book:
I saw this one book at the local bookstore, Islam at War, some time ago. Don't recall the author, but I can try to look it up. Anyway, it takes a look at the whole thing from Mohammed's struggles with the Meccans through the obscure battles fought between the Arabs, Byzantines and Persians after his death all the way until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and probably even later conflicts. Seemed interesting and mostly unbiased, by what I picked up from leafing through it.
And the chapters start with cool quotes from the Koran. "Warfare is ordained unto you, although it may be hateful unto you; but it may also be that you hate that what is good for you, and love that what is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knoweth not." ~D
The Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour, ed. David Nicolle, from Boydell Press is a collection of very interesting articles about the arms and armour of medieval East Europe, Byzantium and the Middle East. There's an article about 'Abbasid close-combat weaponry and another about the developement of Mamluk hardened leather armor and such armor in general.
And then there's always the trusty De Re Militari, where you can usually find something interesting. Not perhaps exactly what you were looking for, but something informative and interesting in any case. I think this would be the section you'd most immediately be interested in.
The Armies of the Caliphs
This book covers the Muslim Period from 600 to 945. It is a good examination of the essential structure of the military of the Period. This would include the Abbysid Caliphate.
Is this the Islam at War? Islam at War
Looks like it.
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..."Nafziger" ? :dizzy2: No wonder I didn't remember the authors...
Actually, David Nicolle has written some books on this subject himself, you should check them out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Watchman
Hmm.. do you think these books would be in a local Barnes and Noble?