Located at the crossroads of world commerce, Arabia was an Important land long before oil, and its history antedates Islam by many centuries. Yet Arabian history, though studied by specialists in bits and pieces, has not so far been the subject of a thorough scholarly survey. The importance of the Arabian countries in the contemporary world makes such a survey an urgent necessity. in his book, a master historian presents the student and the general reader with a complete story of Arabia, from remote antiquity to the emergence of the modern state system in the twentieth century. The subject is projected against the broad panorama of world history, and the details-including the most complex- are condensed into a lucid and highly readable narrative, In a modern world where Arabia is daily in the news, here is a book which is indispensable reading for anyone wishing to gain insights into the rich past of an ancient land which, contrary to the common impression, was never far off the main current world history.