This third volume by David Abulafia looks at the interactions between territories, peoples and religions across the Mediterranean, and at the influence of the Mediterranean economy on the world beyond. Topics addressed are trade across the Christian-Muslim frontier; the relative importance of local and long distance trade in economic development; the policies of Frederick II and his successors towards the Jews and Muslims; and the complex political relationships within the western and cent...

The French invasion of Italy under Charles VIII in 1494-95 has long been seen as inaugurating a new and wretched era in Italian history. The present volume, the work of an international team of contributors, seeks to question that assumption by focusing anew on the intricate politics of Renaissance Italy and the long history of Angevin attempts to impose their rule in southern Italy. It was later invasions, it is argued, that did most to reshape the politics of the Italian peninsula. These...

For over three thousand years, the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of world civilisation. From the time of historical Troy until the middle of the nineteenth century, human activity here decisively shaped much of the course of world history. David Abulafia's The Great Sea is the first complete history of the Mediterranean from the erection of the mysterious temples on Malta around 3500 BC to the recent reinvention of the Mediterranean's shores as a tourist dest...

Brought to you by Penguin.WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2020From the award-winning author of The Great Sea, a magnificent new global history of the oceans and of humankind's relationship with the seaFor most of human history, the seas and oceans have been the main means of long-distance trade and communication between peoples - for the spread of ideas and religion as well as commerce. This book traces...

The first landings in the Atlantic World generated striking and terrifying impressions of unknown peoples who were entirely foreign to anything in European explorers' experience. From the first recorded encounters with the native inhabitants of the Canary Islands in 1341 to Columbus's explorations in 1492 and Cabral's discovery of Brazil in 1500, western Europeans struggled to make sense of the existence of the peoples they met. Were they Adam's children, of a common lineage with the peopl...

From the Roman market to digital currencies – how has the market evolved, and what might its future hold? This anthology explores the development of markets and their critical role in shaping the modern world, while also addressing how we might navigate a sustainable future.In thought-provoking essays by international researchers, political leaders, and experts, the market is examined across three phases: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. From ancient Greece to medieval Europe, throu...

Brought to you by Penguin.For over three thousand years, the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of civilization. David Abulafia's The Great Sea is the first complete history of the Mediterranean, from the erection of temples on Malta around 3500 BC to modern tourism. Ranging across time and the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa, Genoa to Tunis, and bringing to life pilgrims, pirates, sultans and naval c...

From the 12th century onwards merchants from the north Italian and southern French towns were able to take advantage of Christian conquests in southern Italy, Sicily and the Levant to penetrate and dominate the markets of these regions and of North Africa. The articles collected in this volume examine the economic, social and religious impact of this combination of trade and conquest . They include studies of the survival of Jews and Muslims in Sicily, of the debate about the 'under-develo...

A pioneering account of the dynastic struggle between the kings of Aragon and the Angevin kings of Naples, which shaped the commercial as well as the political map of the Mediterranean and had a profound effect on the futures of Spain, France, Italy and Sicily. David Abulafia does it full justice, reclaiming from undeserved neglect one of the formative themes in the history of the Middle Ages.

Fully-illustrated, The Passenge r collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world.IN THIS VOLUME: The Sea Between Lands by David Abulalfia; The Liquid Road by Leïla Slimani; The Cold One, the Hot One, the Mad One, and the Angry One by Nick Hunt • plus: the sounds and smells of the Mediterranean; the ceaseless hunt for tuna; the invention of the Mediterranean d...

The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial -- and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages.On March 15, 1348, twenty-two-year-old Joanna I, Queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the Pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next thr...

The most handsome man of his era… yet also the most feared...Cesare Borgia was the most infamous member of history’s original crime family – the Borgias. Son of the scandalous Pope Alexander VI, and brother to the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, he rose above them all to become an icon of power. At the age of twenty-four, he was an accomplished murderer, at twenty-seven he had conquered most of Italy, and by thirty-one he lay dead on the battlefield. Described by some as ‘a rebel agains...