The Cambridge History Of Islam, edited by P. M. Holt, Anne K. S. Lambton, Bernard LewisThis is the first version, published in 1970 in a 2-volume hardback, and a 4-volume paperback. This is NOT the 6 volume "New" Cambridge History of IslamPREFACEThe aim of these volumes is to present the history of Islam as a culturalwhole. It is hoped that in a single concise work the reader will be ableto follow all the main threads: political, theological, philosophical,economic, scientific, military, artistic. But The Cambridge history ofIslam is not a repository of facts, names and dates; it is not intendedprimarily for reference, but as a book for continuous reading. Theeditors believe that, while it will not be despised by the expert orientalist, it will be useful to students in other fields of history, and particularly to university students of oriental subjects, and will also appeal to those who read history for intellectual pleasure.A standardized system of translation has been employed for propernames and technical terms in the three principal Islamic languages—Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Some anomalies have, however, beeninevitable, and place-names which have a widely accepted conventionalspelling have been given in that form. Dates before the nineteenthcentury have normally been given according to both the Islamic (Hijri)and Christian eras. Footnotes have been used sparingly; principally togive references for quotations or authority for conclusions in the text.The bibliographies are not intended as an exhaustive documentation ofthe subjects to which they refer, but as a guide to further reading. Forthis reason, and to avoid extensive repetition of titles, many of thebibliographies have been consolidated to cover two or more relatedcontributions.The Editors are responsible for the planning and organization ofthe work as a whole. They have tried to avoid gaps and overlaps, andhave given general guidance to contributors, designed to secure someconsistency of form and presentation. The individual authors are, ofcourse, responsible for their own opinions and interpretations.The Editors wish to express their thanks to all who have assisted in thepreparation of this work. They are particularly grateful to those whoundertook the translation of contributions or gave advice and sub-editorial assistance, especially Mr J. G. Burton-Page, ProfessorC. D. Cowan, Dr J. F. P. Hopkins, Dr A. I. Sabra, Professor H. R. Tinker,Col. Geoffrey Wheeler and Dr D. T. Whiteside. They would also like tothank members of the staff of the Cambridge University Press for theirinvariable patience and helpfulness.T H E EDITORS