{"product_id":"postal-systems-in-the-pre-modern-islamic-world-book-adam-j-silverstein-9780521147613","title":"Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World","description":"Adam Silverstein's book offers a fascinating account of the official methods of communication employed in the Near East from pre-Islamic times through the Mamluk period. Postal systems were set up by rulers in order to maintain control over vast tracts of land. These systems, invented centuries before steam-engines or cars, enabled the swift circulation of different commodities - from letters, people and horses to exotic fruits and ice. As the correspondence transported often included confidential reports from a ruler's provinces, such postal systems doubled as espionage-networks through which news reached the central authorities quickly enough to allow a timely reaction to events. The book sheds light not only on the role of communications technology in Islamic history, but also on how nomadic culture contributed to empire-building in the Near East. This is a long-awaited contribution to the history of pre-modern communications systems in the Near Eastern world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51261513957649,"sku":"GOR014211500","price":26.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51285855797521,"sku":"NIN9780521147613","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51497205727505,"sku":"GOR014303834","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52427842912529,"sku":"NLS9780521147613","price":34.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52889778225425,"sku":"CIN0521147611LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0521147611.jpg?v=1750782832","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/postal-systems-in-the-pre-modern-islamic-world-book-adam-j-silverstein-9780521147613","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}