The Armies of Islam 7th 11th Centuries

This MAA book was the first and best offering in a long series of Middle Eastern Ancient to Medieval MAA topics by this team. Whereas the facts and text are generally readable and scholarly, these books are enlivened by the initially wonderfully evocative reconstructed drawings of Angus McBride. I note that with later books, the drawings tend to lose their vitality, poses are repeated and even the anatomy appears "off".

This book provides information and excellent McBride plates on the armies of Islam from the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate to the eve of the Crusades, also detailing western African Moorish and Berber armies, and the Daylami mercenaries of Iran.

This book was very interesting for my sixth grade readers. I found it was very factual and informative. No opinion discolored any of the facts.

Another of Dr. Nicolle's excellent overviews of medieval military organizationa and equipment. The soldiers and mercenaries of the Caliphate, the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties as well as other dynastic and succesor states are illustrated and described. Anyone interested in this period as well as the early Crusades and Muslim Spain will find something of interest. The cross fertilization of equipment, tactics and troop types is especially evident in this work. Dr. Nicolle actually suggests that the kite shield, so often associated with the Normans, could well have come from the Byzantines, via Muslim Sicily or Spain! Cons: insufficient maps. Pros: Angus McBride's beautiful color plates. Thus, 4 stars.

I like Osprey Books, especially the Men at Arms series. I enjoy the lovely color plates, and this book is no exception. Not only do we see the dress of every day military, but also civilian men and women. The color plates are supplememnted by photographs and line drawings. The text describes a small bit about the culture and describes the various equipments, formations, leaders, and some better known units of the time period. The bibliography is helpful for continuing your research into this colorful subject. This is one of those books that you won't want to loan out unless you have a second copy!