Amira Bennison

Amira K. Bennison is a professor of the history and culture of the Maghreb at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Cambridge.

She then pursued graduate work, with an MA at Harvard in Middle Eastern Studies in 1992, and her PhD at SOAS in Moroccan History in 1996.

She began lecturing at Cambridge University in 1997,[2] before going on to become a fully tenured member of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

[1] She has made several TV appearances to speak about the history of the Middle East and North Africa, and regularly contributes to BBC Radio 4's In Our Time.

[1] Bennison's 2009 book The Great Caliphs: the golden age of the ‘Abbasid empire was reviewed by Hugh N. Kennedy, who said she has "a lively and engaging style", and the book will be "the first port of call for anyone looking for an introduction to the 'golden age of Islam'.