Vol. I. The dawn of civilization: earliest times to 700 B.C.

Vol. II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250

Vol. III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750

Vol. IV. The Age of Achievement: A.d. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. Part I: The historical, social and economic setting

Vol. IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. Part II: The achievements.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, Francis Robinson, ed. (1989)

The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Denis Sinor ed. (1990). Essays on pre-Mongol Inner Asia by the best experts on that difficult history. While the volume can be read through with profit, its rather dry and often detailed emphasis on political history does not encourage the casual reader. The value of the book can be really appreciated as one begins to acquire enough knowledge to put the essays into a meaningful broader context.

The Cambridge History of China, Denis Twitchett and John K. Fairbank, general editors (Cambridge [Eng.]; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1978-). Of a projected 15 volumes, the following volumes have been published to date: v. 1. The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220 -- v. 3. Sui and T'ang China, 589-906, pt. 1 -- v. 6. Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368 -- v. 7. The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644, pt. 1 -- v. 8. The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644, pt. 2 -- v. 10-11. Late Ch`ing, 1800-1911 -- v. 11. Late Ch`ing, 1800-1911, pt. 2 -- v. 12-13. Republican China, 1912-1949 -- v.14-15. The People's Republic.

The Cambridge history of Iran (Cambridge: University Press, 1968-). Contents: v. 1. The land of Iran / edited by W. B. Fisher -- v. 2. The Median and Achaemenian periods / edited by Ilya Gershevitch -- v. 3. The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods / edited by Ehsan Yarshater (2 pts.) -- v. 4. The period from the Arab invasion to the Saljuqs -- v. 5. The Saljuq and Mongol periods / edited by J. A. Boyle --v. 6. The Timurid and Safavid periods / edited by Peter Jackson and Laurence Lockhart--v.7. From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic / edited by Peter Avery.

Reference Works for the Islamic World

*Index Islamicus, 1665-1905 : A Bibliography of Articles on Islamic Subjects in Periodicals and Other Collective Publications. Wolfgang Behn, comp. (Millersville, Pa.: Adiyok, c1989);
*Index Islamicus. An ongoing bibliography starting with coverage from 1906. Some libraries have a CD-ROM version which covers 1906-1999 and may be accessed on-line by members of the subscribing institution. Quarterly supplements are issued in hard copy.

*The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 10 vols. to date (2nd ed.) (Leiden: Brill, 1960-). For the end of the alphabet, one can still consult the first edition, but the material there is now quite dated. The first 9 volumes of the second edition (A-S) and supplements are now most conveniently accessed on a CD-ROM at workstations in many libraries. The CD-ROM version has the advantage of linked cross-referencing. This is an authoritative reference work, somewhat difficult of access until one learns the correct formal transliteration system which is used for the entries. A Turkish translation of the first edition exists, to which new entries have been added concerning Turkish topics.
*Islamic Desk Reference. Compiled from The Encyclopaedia of Islam by E. van Donzel (Leiden ; New York: E.J. Brill, 1994).

Other Encyclopedias