Full AspenCat Catalog

A sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West, shedding a revealing light on current hostilities The West and Islam--the sword and the scimitar--have clashed since the mid-seventh century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Byzantine emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom. Sword and Scimitar chronicles the significant...

A chronicle of World War I's Arab Revolt that explores the pivotal roles of a small group of adventurers and low-level officers who orchestrated a secret effort to control the Middle East.

This book presents a history of the nation of Turkey and discusses how, by the end of the twentieth century, Turkey could be measured by its gains - strategic international partnerships and an educated populace.

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she's always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn't getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart....

Evaluates the impact of World War I on the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East as a whole, explaining the region's less-understood but essential contributions to the war and the establishment of present-day conflicts. In 1914 the Ottoman Empire was depleted of men and resources after years of war against Balkan nationalist and Italian forces. But as the powers of Europe slid inexorably toward war, the Middle East could not escape the vast and enduring...

"An explosive global history that redefines the historical origins of the modern world through the life of Sultan Selim I and his Ottoman Empire. Long neglected in accounts of world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of flourishing intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the helm of its ascent was the omnipotent Sultan Selim I (1470-1520), who, with the aid of his extraordinarily gifted mother, Gülbahar, hugely...

"A history spanning 600 years - an epic story of a dynasty that started as a small group of cavalry mercenaries to become the absolute rulers of the greatest and longest-lasting Islamic empire. Focusing on the lives and achievements of the Sultans themselves, this history mixes court intrigue, wars and plotting against a backdrop of growing power and wealth. Jem Duducu charts the rise and fall of the dynasty, from the forgotten Sultan Murad IV who...

A bribe, a lie and an empty threat--these were the tools Reverend Asa K. Jennings used to rescue hundreds of thousands of helpless refugees following the 1922 burning of Smyrna, the richest and most cosmopolitan city of the Ottoman Empire. A minister from upstate New York, Jennings had arrived in Smyrna just as the final territorial dispute of World War I was being settled in a brutal war between the army of Greece and a force of Turkish rebels--fighting...

Photographs and text provide information about the country of Turkey.

A Turkish spy for twenty years, Basil Pascali is puzzled by the arrival of a mysterious Englishman posing as an archaeologist.