In general, the inclusion of the word “introduction” in book titles adds an unpretentious flavor. Khalilieh’s Islamic Maritime Law: An Introduction, makes one think that this is not necessarily always the case, especially when the book introduces the reader to a hitherto unstudied field. In such cases, the word “introduction” should not be taken at face value, but rather be considered to indicate the pioneering character of the study. This is exactly the case with the book we are examining here, as it opens up a totally new research area which has received little attention from (legal) historians till now.