Tribal states, which existed for instance in early medieval European society, differed from the absolute state which developed since the late Middle Ages and had its zenith in the absolute monarchies of the seventeenth century.

My father had class? I was completely taken aback. I had never heard my father described that way. To me, he was not a European gentleman but a schlep, someone who preferred chinos to gabardine, comfort to style. My mother used to say that if she hadn't made him go shopping, he would still be wearing the same ugly suits he wore in the fifties.

Powerless to help, I had to watch both him and my horse drown. My boots, leggins, spurs, six-shooter, and ducking coat seemed to weigh tons.

Young Iraqis of both sects obeyed the imams' ruling last week by rushing to conscription offices in hot, dirty, dusty Bagdad to offer themselves or their money for the jihad.