Yeah, what she said. Read the books first.
Couple of comments:
Tolkien by profession was a philologist as well as a Hebrew scholar. He was one of the translators of The Jerusalem Bible and was initimately familiar with Egyptian mythology.
Tolkien himself said:
Quote:
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The Numenorians of Gondor were proud, and archaic, and I think are best pictured in (say) Egyptian terms. In many way they resembled 'Egyptians' - the love of, and power to construct, the gigantic and massive. And in their great interest in ancestory and in tombs. (But not of course in 'theology': in which respect they were Hebraic and even more puritan - but this would take long to set out: to explain indeed why there is practically no overt 'religion', or rather religious acts or places or ceremonies among the 'good' or anti-Sauron peoples). I think the crown if Gondor was very tall, like that of Egypt, not set straight back but at an angle.
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That and his interest in Hebrew and Semitic language does go a long way towards explaining his choice of names and his creation of the various languages (he was also an amateur linguist).
Consider Gollum: The Golem is a figure in Jewish folk-lore. It is a robot-like entity, usually without powers of speech much like Tolkien's Gollum.
Here's an interesting link:
>>> link <<<<
Yes, Fab - Tolkien was also a luddite.
Now on to Ottoman empire and how far it stretched. Even at it's largest the Ottoman empire never extended further east than present day Iraq.
Here are some interesting maps:
>>>> link <<<<
Islam in South East Asia was spread not by any Ottoman connection but by traders and merchants (many of Indian origin). The Europeans and Islam arrived in South East Asia around the same time. Previously there was a mix of indigenous/animistic and variants of Hinduism and Buddhism. The latter two were brought more by missionaries and traders from India and present day Sri Lanka.
For a long time Muslims were a minority in the region until series of upheavals in Java and Sumatra over a two hundred year period saw the rout of the classical Hindu empires and the growth of Islam based entities.
Sumatra, Java and Southern Malaya (West Malaysia) centered around Melacca is where Islam took hold and then eventually spread. I would recommend a reading of the history of the Melccan Kingdom and Tun Perak in particular.
Now Frank Herbert and Dune fans can now discuss the Arabic/Arabic Sounding words he used. Hail Muad'Dib!
Cheers,
Zunaid
Yes, LOTR and Dune Fan.
But you must also read Anthony Scott Card and the Ender's series!