The author's analysis of the internecine strife and fierce clan rivalry rampant in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries puts into perspective the turmoil into which the Lebanon has fallen today. This translation comprises the memoirs of several generations of the Mishāqa family. The author, Mikhāyil Mishāqa (1800-1888), a many-faceted individual, was raised in Dayr al-Qamar, then the princely seat of Mount Lebanon, apprenticed as a merchant in Damietta, Egypt. He served as financial comptroller to the Shihab emirs of Hasbayya and in his later years was a physician and consul to the United States in Damascus. Mishāqa gives a vivid picture of life and history during the period. From his position he was privy to political deliberations and knew intimately the clan chiefs, pashas and princes who were the principal agents of change. The book contains information unavailable elsewhere of importance to political and social historians, on life during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Large portions of the original text that are of particular interest for the study of the interaction of the various ethno-religious groups that inhabit the area, were at one time expunged from the printed Arabic version as too sensitive, but are included in this comprehensive English translation.

Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity explores appropriation in its broadest terns in the ancient world, from brigands, mercenaries and state-sponsored "piracy", to literary appropriation and the modern plundering of antiquities. The chronological extent of the studies in this volume, written by an international group of experts, ranges from about 2000 BCE to the 20th century. The geographical spectrum in similarly diverse, encompassing Africa, the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia, allowing readers to track this phenomenon in various different manifestations. Predatory behaviour is a phenomenon seen in all walks of life. While violence may often be concomitant it is worth observing that predation can be extremely nuanced in its application, and it is precisely this gradation and its focus that occupies the essential issue in this volume. Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity will be of great interest to those studying a range of topics in antiquity, including literature and art, cities and their foundations, crime, warfare, and geography.

Practical and reliable, this reference traces English words back to their Indo-European roots. Each entry features a brief definition, identifies the language of origin, and employs a few illustrative quotations. An extensive appendix includes lists of prefixes, suffixes, Indo-European roots, homonyms and doublets, and the distribution of English-language sources.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1864. With a dictionary and notes. Thirtieth edition.