Arab-Islamic History: From Tribes to Empires

Tel Aviv University and Campus - the Israeli National Project for Digital Learning via edX

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Details

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Provider

edX
Pricing

Free Online Course (Audit)
Languages

English
Certificate

$189.00 Certificate Available
Duration & workload

8 weeks, 3-4 hours a week
Sessions

On-Demand
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

English

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You will study this course in two parts. The first presents the main political events that set the chronological framework for the course, namely 6th century to the arrival of the Ottomans in the Middle East in the beginning of the 16th century. The second part delves into social and cultural realities of the medieval Middle East.

This course was produced at Tel Aviv University by TAU Online - learning innovation center.

Taught by

Miri Shefer-Mossensohn

Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 24 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Arab-Islamic History: From Tribes to Empires

Karen Carlson @sloopie72

Very good course, with a nice balance between historic events (rulers, battles, invasions) and cultural background (art, religion, ethnicity, values and customs, the realities of everyday life). Materials were varied - video lectures; written docum…

Very good course, with a nice balance between historic events (rulers, battles, invasions) and cultural background (art, religion, ethnicity, values and customs, the realities of everyday life).
Materials were varied - video lectures; written documents; on-camera interviews with a variety of historical, archaeological, and cultural experts; examination of primary sources in translation. I've always found the jumble of peoples and places in the medieval Middle East to be confusing; I found this course very helpful in getting a better handle on it. High production standards as well. I particularly enjoyed the glimpse into manuscripts.

fmi see more detailed post at my personal blog https://sloopie72.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/arab-islamic-history-mooc/
Anonymous

This is one of the best structured, logically smooth, beautifully pictured, and entertaining courses I have taken with the EDX platform. Cannot recommend it more! It provides a solid foundation and a frame of reference to explore the Islamic civili…

This is one of the best structured, logically smooth, beautifully pictured, and entertaining courses I have taken with the EDX platform. Cannot recommend it more! It provides a solid foundation and a frame of reference to explore the Islamic civilization further. This basic course was essential for me, as I love Islamic art but could not clearly picture the history behind it. My congratulations and thanks to those who made it possible.

I was saddened by a comment of one of the participants, who dropped the course because it was made by an Israeli university. His(her) assumption was that the course will be "biased". I am not sure what was meant by "bias" here, but the course promotes the Islamic civilization, makes it look exciting and fascinating. You can see that the people who prepared this course admire Islamic history, culture and art, and pass on their admiration to us, listeners. Well, I guess that person deprived him(her)self of a wonderful experience. I hope you do not make the same mistake.
Anonymous

Um excelente curso! Primeiro ponto, a professora que tem uma didática incrível e estava linda!
Os temas foram muito bem escolhidos. Os recursos utilizados nos vídeos como linhas do tempo, mapas e animações bem como o glossário com as palavras árabes tornaram a experiência de aprendizagem mais fácil. As entrevistas com outros professores e especialistas enriqueceram muito o curso. Um ponto alto foi a edição dos vídeos, de alta qualidade. Recomendo o curso, faria outros da mesma professora ou instituição pelo profissionalismo e simpatia com que levaram esse MOOC. Muito obrigada!
Md. Kohinoor Hossain

History invents novelty from the ancient event. It is under Islamic History & Culture. It will highlight to learn a novel path because Arab based theology spreads a method where the global people are in the second position. Arab civilization has a great tradition. Most of the religions had come here. Their ethics and moral has tried to motivate the people as if the global people trust One-GOD or Allah. To take completed a new motivation in humanities is a great religious literature. Not only Arab tribes to empires but also all empires of the world are venturing a empire from a tribe. I trust that It must help to earn and learn a great knowledge power about Islamic Civilization. So everyone should take parting in this course.
Jane Garrison

As I am a retired person I now have the time to delve into areas that have always fascinated me. This is the perfect way to accomplish that goal. Not only was it very well presented but done with many experts from varying fields. This informed me as to how the Middle East became what it is today. And to virtually be in the places that we were learning about was awesome. I thank you for making this available and for every effort that was put forth.

Thank you Professor.
Boris Contreras

I'm so happy, it was amazing!!.. and so interesting.
The contents and how was made, the details, designs, videos, easy to understand.
Made with professional whom know what they are doing.
Actually extraordanary and gorgeus.
I improved a lot about my knowlegment about Islam, the roots of Islam. (culture, traditions, ecc)
...and why not to improve English language, true intellectual english (religious, political vocabulary)

Thanks,...thanks!!

Boris Contreras
Anonymous

Clear concise wonderful romp through 1000 years of history beginning with Mohammad through the Middle Ages - Arabs, Muslims Middle East, touching on Iberia and Africa.

Material extras: interviews, maps, timelines, thoughtful quizzes and final, historian labs of antiquity for pondering insights, and a presenter/prof who so enjoyed doing this extravaganza.

All done with respect and joy.
Anonymous

I've taken over 30 courses online, and this is by far one of the best. The depth and unique perspectives provided by the instructor and guest speakers really help the learning process. The last three lessons on culture, traditions, and ethnic interactions are particularly illuminating. So many of my "myths" or misconceptions about Islam and the Middle East are broken and corrected by the solid information provided in this course!
Daniela Marín

I can´t be more grateful! I loved this course. The teacher is excellent; all the subjects were very well explained and complete, and really faithful to the history and culture of Islam. Is the perfect mix between the love for history, and the discipline and hard work for wanting to finish it.
I recommend this course to everybody. I can assure you that you will not be dissapointed.
(My english is too bad! Sorry for that)
Anonymous

Completed the course; though I woul skip some parts due to limited time. I did not actively participated in forums and discussion, so I may have missed some other opportunities to engage with other.
I enjoyed Prof. Miri enthusiasm giving the course as well as allo of those she interviewed.
Gonzalo Toloza

This course gave me a thorough idea about the origins and evolution of Arab empires. Although of short duration, you can obtain a complete picture of the facts regarding the history of the region and it has made me study and look for additional information about these fascinating lands that have been so influential in human history. I am very pleased with the course.
Weston Dutson

This course was very informative and the structure of each lesson kept the material interesting! The instructor seemed to possess a lot of knowledge on the topic and presented it in a clear, concise, non-biased manner.
Dave Rawlings

Excellent introduction to the subject matter. Well produced and engaging. Provided an understanding of the complexity of the place and time in a straightforward manner. A nice mix of methods - lectures, scripts, interviews and materials. I enjoyed the course.
Anonymous

Very valuable course on an area of prime importance to understand in this day and age. The instructor was great and so were the visuals. I will review this from time to time as the world turns. I hope another course is forthcoming covering from the medieval period to the present.
Cesar A. D. Palha De Sousa

It was a very good introduction to Arab-Islamic studies. Well organized, addressing issues in methodology besides description and with sufficient analysis to give an ensemble view of the main aspects of its civilization over time. I would take any subsequent sequel course to know more.
Shakiba Bigdeli

It was fascinating, used modern techniques for presenting material, interviews with authorities, live reports from historic site and a competent and knowledgeable instructor, prof. Miri, who engaged students in constructive discussions. I loved the course
Robert Shep

I have taken lots of online courses and probably all that Tel Aviv U. has offered about history. This one is probably the BEST.

Intelligent, easy to deal with, interesting and varied and with good illustrations.

Hopefully there will be MORE.
Ronald Hesson

Very enlightening class. I learned a lot about the beginning and history of Islam. The course gave me insight about the various powers that controlled Islam through its development.
Anonymous

I really appreciate the vast research done by the team of course organizer to design this course and prepare the lectures. It was an amazing experience for me. It helped me a lot to understand Islamic History.
Anonymous

I thought it was a course that was well thought out and presented. I especially liked the variety in the historian's lab and the interaction on the discussion boards.

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