Robert Haug is Associate Professor of History at the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, USA, where he also runs the Middle East Studies programme. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections on medieval frontier regions.

• INTRODUCTIONChapter 1 - THE GATE OF IRON: CONCEPTUALIZING THE EASTERN FRONTIER IN MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHIC LITERATUREChapter 2 - SHAPING THE EASTERN FRONTIER: THE SASANIAN EMPIRE AND ITS EASTERN NEIGHBORSChapter 3 - THE ARAB-MUSLIM CONQUESTS AND THE LATE ANTIQUE IMPERIAL SHATTERZONEChapter 4 - THE FRONTIER BEYOND THE CALIPHATE: KHURASAN AND THE SECOND FITNAChapter 5 - EXTENDING THE FRONTIER: THE UMAYYADS IN SOGDIANA AND BEYONDChapter 6 - THE UNSETTLED FRONTIER: THE ABBASID AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS AND THE EASTERN FRONTIERChapter 7 - UNIFYING THE FRONTIER: THE FORMATION OF GREATER KHURASANCONCLUSION: AT THE END OF THE FRONTIER

The book is not only about an important problem in the history of empire, but also a very useful introduction into the history of this region ... This is an important book, a contribution to the revision of the view of caliphate as well as other empires as monolithic structures.

Robert Haug is Associate Professor of History at the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, USA, where he also runs the Middle East Studies programme. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections on medieval frontier regions.

• INTRODUCTIONChapter 1 - THE GATE OF IRON: CONCEPTUALIZING THE EASTERN FRONTIER IN MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHIC LITERATUREChapter 2 - SHAPING THE EASTERN FRONTIER: THE SASANIAN EMPIRE AND ITS EASTERN NEIGHBORSChapter 3 - THE ARAB-MUSLIM CONQUESTS AND THE LATE ANTIQUE IMPERIAL SHATTERZONEChapter 4 - THE FRONTIER BEYOND THE CALIPHATE: KHURASAN AND THE SECOND FITNAChapter 5 - EXTENDING THE FRONTIER: THE UMAYYADS IN SOGDIANA AND BEYONDChapter 6 - THE UNSETTLED FRONTIER: THE ABBASID AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS AND THE EASTERN FRONTIERChapter 7 - UNIFYING THE FRONTIER: THE FORMATION OF GREATER KHURASANCONCLUSION: AT THE END OF THE FRONTIER

The book is not only about an important problem in the history of empire, but also a very useful introduction into the history of this region ... This is an important book, a contribution to the revision of the view of caliphate as well as other empires as monolithic structures.

Robert Haug is Associate Professor of History at the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, USA, where he also runs the Middle East Studies programme. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections on medieval frontier regions.

• INTRODUCTIONChapter 1 - THE GATE OF IRON: CONCEPTUALIZING THE EASTERN FRONTIER IN MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHIC LITERATUREChapter 2 - SHAPING THE EASTERN FRONTIER: THE SASANIAN EMPIRE AND ITS EASTERN NEIGHBORSChapter 3 - THE ARAB-MUSLIM CONQUESTS AND THE LATE ANTIQUE IMPERIAL SHATTERZONEChapter 4 - THE FRONTIER BEYOND THE CALIPHATE: KHURASAN AND THE SECOND FITNAChapter 5 - EXTENDING THE FRONTIER: THE UMAYYADS IN SOGDIANA AND BEYONDChapter 6 - THE UNSETTLED FRONTIER: THE ABBASID AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS AND THE EASTERN FRONTIERChapter 7 - UNIFYING THE FRONTIER: THE FORMATION OF GREATER KHURASANCONCLUSION: AT THE END OF THE FRONTIER

The book is not only about an important problem in the history of empire, but also a very useful introduction into the history of this region ... This is an important book, a contribution to the revision of the view of caliphate as well as other empires as monolithic structures.