IN THE KINGDOM OF ISHMAEL [4 Volume Complete Set]: Vol. 1: Studies in Jewish History in Islamic Lands in the Early Middle Ages; Vols 2-4: Texts from the Cairo Geniza

In Hebrew. Complete in four volumes. Sewn bindings in green paper-over-board with gilt spine lettering. Some light wear to the extremities, spines a bit sunned, pencil notations to the endpapers, sound and unmarked otherwise. 'In 1983, Moshe Gil of Tel-Aviv University published a three-volume study of the history of Palestine under the first Arab rule (634-1099). Well known by then for his important books and other Geniza studies, he earned the Israel Prize for these monumental achievements, the highest mark of appreciation an Israeli scholar can hope for. Retired since then from teach- ing, Gil continued his studies and has outdone himself with a four-volume series of almost 4,000 pages, astounding in its scope, its continuous quest for precision, and its contribution to our knowledge. Like the previous series, it is only the first volume of the new publication that narrates history; the other three present 846 Geniza documents, care fully transcribed from the originals (most written in Judeo-Arabic) and translated into Hebrew. Many-about one-third-of these documents have been known to specialists and even published, yet now we have a new reading of them with many corrections (e.g., of S. D. Goitein's readings in document no. 742) as well as references to previous scholarship. The same bibliographical virtuosity and quest for precision is repeated in the endnotes that accompany each of the 399 sections of the first volume. The reader is provided with a discussion of the opinions, achievements and, at times, failures of previous scholars. Gil is careful not to claim for this first volume the status of a 'History of the Jews under Moslem Rule.' Rather he uses the term 'studies' in the plural, to denote that he does not intend to compete with the Mediterranean Society of S. D. Goitein (under whom he studied), but wants to clarify some specific issues and problems. Thus, Volume One has four parts, the first dealing with Jews in ancient Arabia, the second (buttressed by 101 Geniza documents) with aspects of the history of the Jews in Babylonia (Modern Iraq and Iran), the third about Sicily and its Jews in pre-Norman times, and the fourth with the economic activity of Egyptian Jews, mostly of the 11th century.' (Joseph Shatzmiller review in Jewish Quarterly).…