Revised 3/2025

HIS 251 - History of Middle East Civilization I (3 CR.)

Course Description

Surveys intellectual, cultural, social, economic and religious patterns in the civilizations of the Middle East. Covers Semitic, Indo-European, and Turkic-speaking peoples from pre-Islamic to the present. Part I of II. Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

Investigates social, political, religious and cultural institutions of the Middle Eastern states past and present. Designed to provide a wide range of course experiences to meet the needs of the NOVA student population.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

None.

Course Objectives

• Provide students with an understanding of Middle Eastern social, cultural, economic, political, and religious institutions.
• Examine the origins and evolution of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from a Middle Eastern perspective.
• Provide students an opportunity to complete an independent study project.
• Foster interdisciplinary and critical thinking.

Major Topics to Be Included

• Semitic background
• Pre-Islamic Arabia
• Life and teachings of Muhammad
• Early Muslim conquests
• Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates
• Decline of the Arab world
• Evolution of the Turkic-speaking peoples
• Seljuk empire
• Crusades
• Mongol invasion
• Mongol empires
• Rise and decline of the Ottomans