Tomorrow's New York Times will run this: #NewYorkTimes, #Bestsellers, #Newinpaperback

"Mulla's writing is racy & vivid. His prose covers both the glitzy superficiality of deposed royalty on the Riviera & substantive debates about the role of Islam in modern life. His interviews with surviving members are memorable & delightfully intimate."

Many Egyptians trace their origins not to Pharaonic times but to Bedouins of the Arabian peninsula. @YossefRapoport explores the myths and realities behind this.

Was this one of history's great what ifs? One can imagine a very different India, a very different Middle East, a different Islam.

In today's NYTimes @SarahMaslinNir writes about endangered horse breeds. Readers of Raiders, Rulers, and Traders know that the persistence of breeds depends on the persistence of people's way of life. The Caspian horse is disappearing because the Caspian coast is no longer the

A war lasted 40 years, out of covetting a horse. "Qais, out of his great fondness for Dahis , used to feed and rub him down with his own hands . And soon the account of Dahis reached the tribe of Fazarah ; and in the heart of Rabia the flame of envy was kindled . Hadifah also

Last month horse racing restarted in Syria, following the ousting of the Assad regime. Punters and spectators mobbed the event, testifying to the local passion for the Arab horse-- which could also be called the Syrian horse, since the summer pastures of Bedouin breeders reached

In Raiders, Rulers and Traders, we read about traditional steppe horse experts who could identify a good foal based only on the skull of the sire. Will Walden (@waldrenracing) trained a yearling rescued from a Mexican slaughter house for $1,000. The horse, Amazing Hawaiian, won

The latest issue of Caravansarai, published by the Royal Society of Asian Affairs, has a special series on animals in Asia. Find out what role horses played in the Great Game?

See this Instagram post by @_joshreadsbooks https://t.co/Q8haxrq7Dn No prizes for guessing one of the books in this stack

What happens when a horse enthusiast talks to a scholar of Asian history? We find out about why ambling is important, for example. Listen to Jenny Williamson interview me here. https://t.co/EAnfIfPnh7

What makes Afghanistan such a distinctive civilization, despite successive invasions? Warwick Ball tries to answer this; I review his efforts. https://t.co/DdP998H3P7

What makes Afghanistan such a distinctive civilization, despite successive invasions? Warwick Ball tries to answer this; I review his efforts.

Where did Rembrandt ever see this Polish cavalryman? With his quiver of arrows and composite bow, sabre and axe, the proud rider looks like a Tatar straight out of the steppe. To answer the question one has to recall the deep connections between Poland and the steppe. The

William McNeill's Rise of the West was a breakthrough exposition about how interconnected the ancient civilizations were, and how globalization has long prevailed. He did not explain who or what provided that connectivity. I try to answer that question in this interview :Saddled

Shown here, the so-called Sabre of Attila. The one mentioned in the post is not as nicely preserved!

Archaeologists have uncovered a 7th century sword from an Avar grave near Szekesfehervar. It is probably the world's oldest sabre, and evidence that the Avars, and not the later Magyars, brought this weapon into Europe. They also brought the stirrup. So when you wonder how the

If you're in Dubai check out Tim Kent's exhibit, Horse Power, at the JD Malat Gallery. Kent examines the historical and cultural significance of the horse: a universal symbol of power that has shaped art, society, and human innovation for millennia. From early cave paintings to

Last month horse racing restarted in Syria, following the ousting of the Assad regime. Punters and spectators mobbed the event, testifying to the local passion for the Arab horse-- which could also be called the Syrian horse, since the summer pastures of Bedouin breeders reached

You should always learn something from a book-- thanks to @lwestwood for sharing his experience. P