The Court of the Caliphs: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty Book

In the year 770 a vast empire stretched from the Himalayas to the Pyrenees. It had a new religion - Islam - and a new capital - Baghdad. All this was ruled from the court of the Caliphs - all-powerful, unpredictable and vibrant characters who inspired a Golden Age. This book tells the history of life, love and learning at the court, from the rise to the fall of the Caliphs' dynasty. The court was as artistically and sexually extravagent as Versailles, and as powerful as the White House. Its people wrote 'The Arabian Nights', enjoyed new heights of luxury in costume, food and entertainment, founded a House of Wisdom where they translated Greek philosophy and observed the heavens, invented new cures and advanced understanding of the natural world; but justice was harsh and women were treated as sexual property. AT THE COURT OF THE CALIPHS describes the lives of rulers, servants, courtiers, eunuchs, harem girls and soldiers, and civilisation a world away from today's Baghdad.Read More