Assignment for Section:
Friday, September 26, 1997

Reading Assignment: Tierney, Middle Ages, 41-75 (cp); Lewis, Islam, 2:124-72

After reading the assignment, write a short essay on the following question:

What, according to Pirenne, was the impact of the Arab conquests on trade relations between Europe and the Middle East? Do you agree or disagree with his thesis? Why? Support your argument by making specific reference to the essay by Dennett in the Tierney reader and to evidence found in sections 38, 39, 45, 47, and 50 of Lewis, Islam, vol. 2.