A] fine, arresting book with a clear and novel thesis and a firm grasp of geography. Good stuff, in short ... strongly recommended. NWilliam H. McNeill OThe reader will find here useful information and much food for thought; a book of such a broad scope is rare and has much to recommend it.O NSpeculum " ... encyclopedic ... there is no book quite like this one." NChoice " ... a colorful canvas depicting the torrential movements of Eurasian warriors and merchants on ship-boards and horseback between Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific coasts, between streams of accumulated goods and tensions, religious fervor and insatiable greed ... "NUral-Altaic Yearbook "A healthy antidote to the parochialism that characterizes so much of the run-of-the-mill output of medieval history ... " NAmerican Historical Review Emphasizing geographical, maritime, institutional, and economic factors, Lewis presents a wide-ranging story of the complex rise and fall of civilizations and explores new conceptual frontiers in the study of world history.

• IntroductionPart OneThe Matrix of Old World CivilizationsI. East Asia and Greater IndiaII. The World of Islamic CivilizationIII. Byzantine-Russian CivilizationIV. The Civilization of Western EuropePart TwoNomadic and Western European ExpansionV. The Assault of Western European and Nomadic Peoples, A.D. 1000-1100VI. The Balance Restored: Byzantium, Islam, Western Europe, China, and India, 1100-1195VII. Western European and Mongol Aggression, 1195-1270VIII. Western European and Mongol World Domination, 1270-1368IX. Epilogue, 1368-1500BibliographyIndex

A] fine, arresting book with a clear and novel thesis and a firm grasp of geography. Good stuff, in short ... strongly recommended. NWilliam H. McNeill OThe reader will find here useful information and much food for thought; a book of such a broad scope is rare and has much to recommend it.O NSpeculum " ... encyclopedic ... there is no book quite like this one." NChoice " ... a colorful canvas depicting the torrential movements of Eurasian warriors and merchants on ship-boards and horseback between Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific coasts, between streams of accumulated goods and tensions, religious fervor and insatiable greed ... "NUral-Altaic Yearbook "A healthy antidote to the parochialism that characterizes so much of the run-of-the-mill output of medieval history ... " NAmerican Historical Review Emphasizing geographical, maritime, institutional, and economic factors, Lewis presents a wide-ranging story of the complex rise and fall of civilizations and explores new conceptual frontiers in the study of world history.

• IntroductionPart OneThe Matrix of Old World CivilizationsI. East Asia and Greater IndiaII. The World of Islamic CivilizationIII. Byzantine-Russian CivilizationIV. The Civilization of Western EuropePart TwoNomadic and Western European ExpansionV. The Assault of Western European and Nomadic Peoples, A.D. 1000-1100VI. The Balance Restored: Byzantium, Islam, Western Europe, China, and India, 1100-1195VII. Western European and Mongol Aggression, 1195-1270VIII. Western European and Mongol World Domination, 1270-1368IX. Epilogue, 1368-1500BibliographyIndex

A] fine, arresting book with a clear and novel thesis and a firm grasp of geography. Good stuff, in short ... strongly recommended. NWilliam H. McNeill OThe reader will find here useful information and much food for thought; a book of such a broad scope is rare and has much to recommend it.O NSpeculum " ... encyclopedic ... there is no book quite like this one." NChoice " ... a colorful canvas depicting the torrential movements of Eurasian warriors and merchants on ship-boards and horseback between Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific coasts, between streams of accumulated goods and tensions, religious fervor and insatiable greed ... "NUral-Altaic Yearbook "A healthy antidote to the parochialism that characterizes so much of the run-of-the-mill output of medieval history ... " NAmerican Historical Review Emphasizing geographical, maritime, institutional, and economic factors, Lewis presents a wide-ranging story of the complex rise and fall of civilizations and explores new conceptual frontiers in the study of world history.

• IntroductionPart OneThe Matrix of Old World CivilizationsI. East Asia and Greater IndiaII. The World of Islamic CivilizationIII. Byzantine-Russian CivilizationIV. The Civilization of Western EuropePart TwoNomadic and Western European ExpansionV. The Assault of Western European and Nomadic Peoples, A.D. 1000-1100VI. The Balance Restored: Byzantium, Islam, Western Europe, China, and India, 1100-1195VII. Western European and Mongol Aggression, 1195-1270VIII. Western European and Mongol World Domination, 1270-1368IX. Epilogue, 1368-1500BibliographyIndex