Part I. The Making of a World (Seventh-Tenth Century) -- 1. A New Power in an Old World -- The world into which the Arabs came -- The language of poetry -- Muhammad and the appearance of Islam -- 2. The Formation of an Empire -- The succession to Muhammad: the conquest of an empire -- The caliphate of Damascus -- The caliphate of Baghdad -- 3. The Formation of a Society -- The end of political unity -- A unified society: the economic bases -- Unity of faith and language -- The Islamic world -- 4. The Articulation of Islam -- The questions of authority -- The power and justice of God -- The shari'a -- The Traditions of the Prophet -- The path of the mystic -- The path of reason -- Part II. Arab Muslim Societies (Eleventh-Fifteenth Century) -- 5. The Arab Muslim World -- States and dynasties -- Arabs, Persians and Turks -- Geographical divisions -- Muslim Arabs and others -- 6. The Countryside -- Land and its use -- Tribal societies -- 7. The Life of Cities -- Markets and cities -- The city population -- Law and the 'ulama -- Slaves -- Muslims and non-Muslims in the city -- Women in the city -- The shape of the city -- Houses in the city -- The chain of cities -- 8. Cities and Their Rulers -- The formation of dynasties -- The alliance of interests -- Control of the countryside -- Ideas of political authority -- 9. Ways of Islam -- The Pillars of Islam -- The friends of God -- 10. The Culture of the 'Ulama -- The 'ulama and the shari'a -- The transmission of learning -- Kalam -- Al-Ghazali -- 11. Divergent Paths of Thought -- Islam of the philosophers -- Ibn 'Arabi and theosophy -- Ibn Taymiyya and the Hanbali tradition -- The development of Shi'ism -- Jewish and Christian learning -- 12. The Culture of Courts and People -- Rulers and patrons -- Poetry and story -- Music -- Understanding the world -- Part III. The Ottoman Age (Sixteenth-Eighteenth Century) -- 13. The Ottoman Empire -- The limits of political power -- Ottoman government -- The Ottomans and Islamic tradition -- Government in the Arab provinces -- 14. Ottoman Societies -- Population and wealth in the empire -- The Arab provinces -- The culture of the Arab provinces -- Beyond the empire: Arabia, the Sudan, Morocco -- 15. The Changing Balance of Power in the Eighteenth Century -- Central and local authorities -- Arab Ottoman society and culture -- The world of Islam -- Changing relations with Europe -- Part IV. The Age of European Empires (1800-1939) -- 16. European Power and Reforming Governments (1800-1860) -- The expansion of Europe -- The beginnings of European empire -- Reforming governments -- 17. European Empires and Dominant Elites (1860-1914) -- The limits of independence -- The partition of Africa: Egypt and the Maghrib -- The alliance of dominant interests -- Control of the land -- The condition of the people -- The dual society -- 18. The Culture of Imperialism and Reform -- The culture of imperialism -- The rise of the intelligentsia -- The culture of reform -- The emergence of nationalism -- The continuity of Islamic tradition -- 19. The Climax of European Power (1914-1939) -- The supremacy of Great Britain and France -- The primacy of British and French interests -- Immigrants and the land -- The growth of the indigenous elite -- Attempts at political agreement -- 20. Changing Ways of Life and Thought (1914-1939) -- Population and the countryside -- Life in the new cities -- The culture of nationalism -- Islam of the elite and the masses -- Part V. The Age of Nation-States (Since 1939) -- 21. The End of the Empires (1939-1962) -- The Second World War -- National independence (1945-1956) -- The Suez crisis -- The Algerian war -- 22. Changing Societies (1940s and 1950s) -- Population and economic growth -- The profits of growth: merchants and landowners -- The power of the state -- Rich and poor in the city -- 23. National Culture (1940s and 1950s) -- Problems of education -- Language and self-expression -- Islamic movements -- 24. The Climax of Arabism (1950s and 1960s) -- Popular nationalism -- The ascendancy of Nasirism -- The crisis of 1967 -- 25. Arab Unity and Disunity (since 1967) -- The crisis of 1973 -- The predominance of American influence -- The interdependence of Arab countries -- Arab disunity -- 26. A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967) -- Ethnic and religious divisions -- Rich and poor -- Women in society -- A heritage and its renewal -- The stability of regimes -- The fragility of regimes -- Afterword 2002 -- Maps -- Genealogies and Dynasties -- The Family of the Prophet -- The Shi'i Imams -- The Caliphs -- Important Dynasties -- Ruling Families in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century.