Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf wrote Ithaf Ahl al-Zaman bi Akhbar Muluk Tunis wa `Ahd al-Aman (Presenting Contemporaries the History of the Rulers of Tunis and the Fundamental Pact) over the course of the 1860s, guided by the thesis that the despotic rule of the Tunisian monarchs was the principal cause of the kingdom's problems. The work began with a Muqaddima (introduction) which introduced the reformist political philosophy undergirding the following history's arguments. Brown (emeritus, foreign affairs, Princeton U.) has translated the Muqaddima, which concludes that "governance limited by law" is the best approximation of the ideal Caliphate and that both revelation and reason have a role in Islamic government. In addition to the translation he provides a introductory essay that places the Muqaddima in historical and intellectual context. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)