Thabit A J AbdullahThabit A. J. Abdullah is Associate Professor in the Department of History at York University in Canada. His teaching and research focuses on modern and mediaeval Iraq, the Indian Ocean and the Ottoman Empire. His recent publications include: A Short History of Iraq: From 636 to the Present (2003) and Merchants, Mamluks and Murder: The Political Economy of Commerce in Eighteenth Century Basra (2001). Read More Read Less