This book offers a scholarly, highly readable account of the 11th-12th century rulers of Morocco and Muslim Spain who offered a full range of meanings of jihad and challenged Ibn Khaldun's paradigm for the rise and fall of regimes.Originally West African, Berber nomads, the Almoravids emerged from what is today Mauritania to rule Morocco, western Algeria, and Muslim Spain. Over the course of the century-long lifespan of the Almoravid dynasty, the concept of jihad e...

"[This] book reflects an effective integration of archaeological data with an urban history and can be model for the study of any pre-modern Muslim city." —Jere Bacharach, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Washington, and author of Islamic History through Coins: An Analysis and Catalogue of Tenth-Century Ikhshidid CoinsSet along the Sahara's edge, Sijilmasa was an African El Dorado, a legendary city of gold. But unlike El Dorado, Sijilmasa was a...

The 110 star clusters, nebulae and galaxies of Messier's catalog are among the most popular of all the deep sky objects and are beautiful targets for amateur observers of all abilities. This stunning new atlas presents a complete and lively account of all of the Messier objects. Details for each object given include a thoroughly-researched history of its discovery, historical observations and anecdotes, the latest scientific data detailing its astrophysical findings, and clear observationa...