Awarded the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize

Finalist for the Longman–History Today Book Prize

Finalist for the Sheik Zayed Prize

Awarded the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize

Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement

“Deeply thoughtful… A pleasure.” — The Economist

“[A] tour de force… Bevilacqua’s extraordinary book provides the first true glimpse into this history… He, like the tradition he describes, is a rarity.” — New Republic

In the 17th and 18th centuries, a pioneering community of Western scholars laid the groundwork for modern understanding of Islamic culture. They produced the first accurate translation of the Quran, mapped Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote the history of Islam using Arabic sources. The Republic of Arabic Letters is the first narrative of this fascinating lost period of cultural exchange, revealing the deep influence of Catholics and Protestants on Enlightenment understanding of Islam.

“A carefully researched and absorbing study of… those scholars who, after learning Arabic, used their mastery of this difficult language to interpret the Quran, study the career of Muhammad… and introduce Europeans to the masterpieces of Arabic literature.” — Robert Irwin, Wall Street Journal

“Captivating, eloquent, and informative, the Republic of Arabic Letters reveals a world that was later lost, in which European scholars studied Islam with a sense of kinship and respect… A powerful reminder of the ability of science to transcend cultural differences and of the human mind's ability to embrace differences without condemning them.” — Maya Jasanoff

Pages: 368, Year of Publication: 0303, Dimensions: 14x14cm