Whether you choose to buy a new copy, borrow a library eBook, or (carefully) search for an old public-domain scan, read it with respect. You are holding the lifetime work of a scholar who dedicated himself to showing the West that the Arab heritage is not a strange or exotic "other," but a central pillar of human history.
As a master of Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Akkadian, Hitti used primary sources. He directly quotes classical Arab historians like al-Tabari, al-Mas’udi, and Ibn Khaldun. This gave his work an authenticity that many Western historians lacked. history of the arab philip k. hitti pdf
But why does this specific text, first published in 1937, remain the gold standard? And what should you know before downloading or reading this monumental work? This article provides a comprehensive history of the book, its author, its content, and its modern availability in PDF format. To understand the book, one must first understand the author. Philip Khuri Hitti (1886–1978) was a Lebanese-American scholar who essentially invented the discipline of Arab studies in the United States. Whether you choose to buy a new copy,
Philip K. Hitti did not just write a book; he built a bridge. For nearly 90 years, History of the Arabs has been the first and most reliable crossing for English speakers entering the vast, rich, and complicated world of Arab civilization. He directly quotes classical Arab historians like al-Tabari,