Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Volume 2, Part 2: Economic, Social, and Cultural History reveals the history of a fully developed and unique Christian Arab culture, the Ghassanids, in the sixth century. Irfan Shahîd covers the Ghassanid economy, including trade routes and fairs, and reconstructs Ghassanid daily life, discussing topics as varied as music, food, medicine, the role of women, and horse racing. Shahîd examines cultural life, including descriptions of urbanization, Arabic script, chivalry, and poetry. Shahîd describes the society of the Ghassanids and their contributions to the cultural environment in Oriens during the sixth century and into the Umayyad caliphate.