This concise book concerns 18th-century Basra and its connections both within the western Indian Ocean region and toward the Ottoman urban world, extending all the way to Istanbul. The author is a former student of Hanna Batatu, the well-known scholar of Iraqi history. Hala Fattah (The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia and the Gulf, 1745–1900) is another influence. The works of M. N. Pearson and C. A. Bayly also help shape this study. The bases of Abdullah's solid research include the India Office Records in London, New Delhi, and Mumbai, and Ottoman records in the Basbakanlik Arsivi in Istanbul, as well as Arabic and Persian sources.