Armies Of God

Islam and Empire on the Nile, 1869-1899

Dominic Green

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English

Arrow
02 June 2008

History; African history; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; Islamic studies; Politics & government

From the writer of the critically acclaimed The Double Life of Doctor Lopez comes the epic nineteenth-century tale of the rise and fall of the world's three most powerful empires

This is the story of what happens when a liberal minded Prime Minister is caught between two sets of fundamentalists, one Islamic, the other Christian. It could be a tale of our time. But this is actually the story of Islam and the Empire on the Nile c. 1869.

In the late 19th century the river Nile became the setting for the first major encounter between the West and Islam in the modern era. In an extraordinary collision between Europeans, Arabs and Africans, three empires rose in the space of thirty years. In the climax of this drama, played out in a remote part of the Sudan, we see the rise of the British Empire to its most glorious heights, but also the seeds of its fall. The personalities are legends- William Gladstone, General Gordon, Winston Churchill and General Kitchener. Yet this is a story also told through the eyes of the outsiders - a missionary, a slave trader, a palace clerk and an ordinary soldier.

Using never before transcribed material from newly translated government papers in Cairo and Khartoum, Green will tell both sides of the story, using his acclaimed skill as a story-teller so that the effect is that of an old photo album whose recurring characters and themes carry a wide sweep of time and events, and tells the story of a time when good intentions became compromised, finally giving way to realpolitik, and how on such changes of attitude empires rise and fall.

By: Dominic Green
Imprint: Arrow
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 277g
ISBN: 9780099487050
ISBN 10: 0099487055
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 02 June 2008
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dominic Green was born in London in 1970. He read English Literature at Oxford University and then became a professional guitar player. He has played and recorded with many world-famous artists including Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello and Dionne Warwick. He was jazz critic for LBC Radio and is the author of Benny Green: Words and Music (Allison & Busby, 2000). His previous book for Century was the critically acclaimed The Double Life of Doctor Lopez.

Reviews for Armies Of God: Islam and Empire on the Nile, 1869-1899

Dominic Green's qualifications for writing about the Mahdist state established in Sudan between 1881 and 1898 are a degree in English from Oxford and a stint playing guitar behind Dionne Warwick. It proves a model education. The story of the Mahdist uprising, the dispatch of General Charles George Gordon, his heroic defence of Khartoum and death in 1885, has been told too often, but rarely with such clarity and panache... * Saturday Guardian Review * The tale has been told many times before but rarely with Green's verve and wit...This is popular history at its best * Sunday Times *