With the closure of the overland Silk Road in the fourteenth century following the collapse of the Mongol empire, the Indian Ocean provided the remaining vital link for wider cultural, political, and societal integrations prior to the Western colonial presence. Collectively, these studies explore the history of non-metropolitan urban settings c. 1400-1800 in the Indian Ocean realm, from the Ottoman Empire and the African coastline at the mouth of the Red Sea in the west to China in the eas...

Encounters in World History is a collection of primary sources from the human past organized under the overarching theme of “encounters.” With the source materials structured in this way, the book makes it easy for students to analyze these texts in a meaningful comparative context. How, for example, did different cultures conceive of the relationship between humans and the divine? What constituted legitimate authority in different value systems? How did the relationship between t...

Encounters in World History is a collection of primary sources from the human past organized under the overarching theme of “encounters.” With the source materials structured in this way, the book makes it easy for students to analyze these texts in a meaningful comparative context. How, for example, did different cultures conceive of the relationship between humans and the divine? What constituted legitimate authority in different value systems? How did the relationship between t...

The conversation, sometimes heated, about the influence of Christianity on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien has a long history. What has been lacking is a forum for a civilized discussion about the topic, as well as a chronological overview of the major arguments and themes that have engaged scholars about the impact of Christianity on Tolkien's oeuvre, with particular reference to The Lord of the Rings. The Ring and the Cross addresses these two needs through an articulate...