“In this concise history of the Muslim countries [which begins with Rome, Persia, and the pre-Islamic Bedouins and ends with the fall of Bagdad to the Mongols in 1258], Spuler has provided the educated reader with a reliable presentation. The author has succeeded in unraveling the many motivations and influences that went into the making of Islamic history and in lucidly expounding and evaluating them. A highly important feature of the book are the six maps that combine, most happily, political with religious and economic information … a well-planned volume.”
— Journal of Near Eastern Studies