Nadia Maria el-Cheikh’s book Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs has significantly contributed to the study of the relationship between Byzantium and the Arab world. The topic of the lecture focuses on the 14th century and particularly on the work of the historian Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) who was a leading figure in the field of historiography. His main work is the Prolegomena (Muqaddimah) which dates to the year 1377 and is an introduction of universal history with references to science, religion and philosophy. 
The lecture takes place on the occasion of the book presentation of the Greek translation To Βυζάντιο όπως το είδαν οι Άραβες (Enallaktikes Ekdoseis). In this monograph, the author examined the Arabic sources from the seventh century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and outlines the image of Byzantium in the Arab world. 
Nadia Maria el-Cheikh received her PhD from Harvard University. She is a Professor at the American University of Beirut and directs the Centre for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies of the homonymous university. She specialises in the comparative study of Arab and Byzantine culture and is now preparing a new publication on the Women in Abbasid discourse.