''The History of the Saracen Empires'' is a book written by

Simon Ockley Simon Ockley (16789 August 1720) was a British Orientalist. Biography Ockley was born at Exeter. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1697, MA. in 1701, and B.D. in 1710. He became fellow of Jesus College and vica ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and first published in the early 18th century. The book has been reprinted many times including at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1894. It was published in two volumes that appeared a decade apart.

The author

Simon Ockley, vicar of

Swavesey Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives. Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, devoted himself from an early age to the study of eastern languages and customs and was appointed Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic at Cambridge in 1711. The first volume of his work generally known as ''The History of the Saracens'', appeared in 1708 as '' Conquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt by the Saracens'', the second in 1718, with an introduction dated from Cambridge Castle, where he was then imprisoned for debt.

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...

, who admired and used his work, speaks of his fate as “unworthy of the man and of his country.” His ''History'' extends from the death of Mahomet, 632, to that of

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, عبد الملك ابن مروان ابن الحكم, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 ...

, 705; the work was cut short by the author's death in 1720. ''The Life of Mohammed'' prefixed to the third edition of his ''History'', which was issued for the benefit of his destitute daughter in 1757, is by

Roger Long Roger Long (1680 – 16 December 1770) was an English astronomer, and Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge between 1733 and 1770. Roger Long was the son of Thomas Long of Croxton, Norfolk. He was educated at Norwich School and later admitted ...

Reputation and influence of the work

Ockley based his work on an Arabic manuscript in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

which later scholars have pronounced less trustworthy than he imagined it to be.

Stanley Lane-Poole Stanley Edward Lane-Poole (18 December 1854 – 29 December 1931) was a British orientalist and archaeologist. Poole was from a famous orientalist family as his paternal grandmother Sophia Lane Poole, uncle Reginald Stuart Poole and great-uncle E ...

in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' wrote that: citing the opinion of William Robertson Smith in the article on Ockley from the ninth edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. The author in question is now known as pseudo-Waqidi.

Robert Graham Irwin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, ''For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and their Enemies'' (2006), p. 119. Lane-Poole notes that the ''History''

Alfred Rayney Waller Alfred Rayney Waller (1867, York – 1922) was an English journalist and man of letters, known as the co-editor-in-chief with A. W. Ward of ''The Cambridge History of English Literature''. A. R. Waller received an M.A. from Peterhouse, Cambridge. ...

described the author's work: The 1720 play ''

The Siege of Damascus ''The Siege of Damascus'' is a 1720 tragedy by the British writer John Hughes. It was inspired by Simon Ockley's 1708 study '' Conquest of Syria'', and focuses specifically on the Siege of Damascus in 634. Originally staged at the Theatre Royal ...

'' by John Hughes drew inspiration from the first volume of the work.

References

External links

§ 2. Ockley’s ''History of the Saracens''
in ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes'' (1907–21). 1708 books 1718 books 18th-century history books History books about the Middle East Non-Islamic Islam studies literature {{Islam-book-stub