{"product_id":"the-center-of-the-world-a-global-history-of-the-persian-gulf-from-the-stone-age-to-the-present-9780520398559","title":"The Center of the World: A Global History of the Persian Gulf from the Stone Age to the Present","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis sweeping history reorients our understanding of the Middle East, placing the Gulf at the heart of globalized trade and cross-cultural encounters.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e World history began in the Persian Gulf. The ancient port cities that dotted its coastlines created the first global seaboard, a place from where faiths and cultures from around the world set sail and made contact. More than a history, \u003ci\u003eThe Center of the World\u003c\/i\u003e shows us that contradictions that define our modern age have always been present. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For over four thousand years, the Gulf--sometimes called the Persian Gulf, sometimes the Arabian Gulf--has been a global crossroads while managing to avoid control by the world's greatest empires. In its history, we see a world of rapid change, fluctuating centers of trade, a dependency on uncertain global markets, and intense cross-cultural encounters that hold a mirror to the contemporary world. Focusing each chapter on a different port around the Gulf, \u003ci\u003eThe Center of the World\u003c\/i\u003e shows how the people of the Gulf adapted to larger changes in world history, creating a system of free trade, merchant rule, and commerce that continues to define the region today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAllen James Fromherz\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of History and Director of the Middle East Studies Center at Georgia State University. He is author of \u003ci\u003eQatar: A Modern History\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eIbn Khaldun: Life and Times\u003c\/i\u003e and editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Gulf in World History: Arabia at the Global Crossroads\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50889521922322,"sku":"9780520398559","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_42edb53b-b142-4191-a224-6ab812a00bd9.jpg?v=1738162763","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-center-of-the-world-a-global-history-of-the-persian-gulf-from-the-stone-age-to-the-present-9780520398559","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}