A History of Muslim Sicily

Book excerpt: The book, now in it's second revised edition, covers the period of Muslim Arab rule on the island from A.D. 827 to the Norman conquest in A.D. 1070. It is the first detailed study in English covering the various aspects of this 243-year period. It incorporates new Arabic sources and draws upon archaeological studies that hitherto have not been used. The book covers the political, social, economic, demographic, and cultural impacts that during this period forever changed the island's character. All aspects of society underwent change, making Sicily part of the Arabo-Muslim world for more than two hundred years. This new edition has now been updated with the latest research on the subject and with improved maps describing Sicily during the times of the Arabs.