The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5, Jews in the Medieval Islamic World

Description

Volume 5 examines the history of Judaism in the Islamic World from the rise of Islam in the early sixth century to the expulsion of Jews from Spain at the end of the fifteenth. This period witnessed radical transformations both within the Jewish community itself and in the broader contexts in which the Jews found themselves. The rise of Islam had a decisive influence on Jews and Judaism as the conditions of daily life and elite culture shifted throughout the Islamicate world. Islamic conquest and expansion affected the shape of the Jewish community as the center of gravity shifted west to the North African communities, and long-distance trading opportunities led to the establishment of trading diasporas and flourishing communities as far east as India. By the end of our period, many of the communities on the 'other' side of the Mediterranean had come into their own-while many of the Jewish communities in the Islamicate world had retreated from their high-water mark.

Phillip I. Lieberman is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has published widely on medieval Jewish history in the Islamic world, both in books and in American and foreign academic journals. His 2014 book, The Business of Identity: Jews, Muslims, and Economic Life in Medieval Egypt was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Sephardi/Mizrahi Culture. He also served as section editor for the award-winning Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (2010).