Simon Ockley (1678-1720) was an English historian and Arabist. The first volume of his work Conquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt by the Saracens, generally known as The History of the Saracens, appeared in 1708. Ockley based his work on an Arabic manuscript in the Bodleian Library. As a historiography, the work is flawed; no mention is made for example, of the battle for Cadesia, which was decisive in the conquest of Persia. The work reads more like a collection of stories than a history book. The work is, however, renowned for its literary quality.