Benson Bobrick's The Caliph's Splendor takes us on a journey from the times of the Rashidun (rightly guided) Caliphs (representatives) to the end times of the Abbasid and Umayyad dynasties. It is a fairly unbiased view covering their rise and fall. The book focuses a great deal on the cities of the time: Baghdad, Cordoba, Sicily and others; specifically, the architecture of the buildings, the Hamams (public baths) and overall city planning. There is an entire chapter devoted to Baghdad alone.
Bobrick also touches upon the situation of the society: literacy, culture, religion, occupations and pastimes. He presents a more balanced view of some of the notable Caliphs such as Harun Rashid, stating that he welcomed people of all faiths and encouraged learning and trade. In Baghdad and Andalusia (now in Spain), their seemed to have existed universities where a great deal of development on science, mathematics, physics, chemistry and medicine seems to have taken place. One can imagine them to be like the developed countries of today.
As is the case with most kingdoms and dynasties, the initial Caliphs were pious and the later ones were lavish, and extravagant. Their wealth seems to have been disproportionate and possibly one of the causes of their downfall along with their in-fighting.
The book is not too detailed and tries to weave events into a story. It is a good read on the subject but readers looking for a more detailed account should read "A Short History of Saracens" by Syed Ameer Ali (freely available in the public domain).
