Letter from the Editors

Abstract

The contributions to this fourth issue of al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā (UW) in its new (online, open-access, peerreviewed) format includes, alongside a set of article-length studies, eight book reviews, including a contribution by Peter Brown (Princeton University); three conference reports; a short notice by Sean Anthony; and Elton Daniel’s obituary of the late and much lamented Ehsan Yarshater. We are particularly delighted to introduce a new feature, a thematic dossier guest edited by Maribel Fierro and Patrice Cressier, entitled “Formulating the Caliphate in the Islamic West: Umayyads, Ḥammūdids, and Almohads.” The dossier comprises five full-length articles preceded by a substantial introduction. Given that the Islamic West—the Maghreb, Sicily, and al-Andalus—has seldom received the attention it deserves in Anglo-American scholarship, we are particularly glad to present these studies.