Catherine Holmes is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford. She is the author of books including Basil II and the Governance of Empire 976–1025 (2005) and co-editor of Literacy, Education and Manuscript Transmission in Byzantium and Beyond (2002) with J. Waring, Between Byzantines and Turks (2012) with J. Harris and The Global Middle Ages (2018) with N. Standen. Jonathan Shepard was Lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of books including The Emergence of Rus (1996) with S. Franklin, editor of The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire (2008) and co-editor of Byzantine Diplomacy (1992) with S. Franklin, Byzantium and the Viking World (2016) with F. Androshchuk and M. White, Imperial Spheres and the Adriatic (2018) with M. Ančić and T. Vedris, and Viking-Age Trade: Silver, Slaves and Gotland (2020) with J. Gruszczyński and M. Jankowiak. Jo Van Steenbergen is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Ghent University. He is the author of Order out of Chaos (2006), Caliphate and Kingship in a Fifteenth-Century Literary History of Muslim Leadership and Pilgrimage (2017), A History of the Islamic World, 600-1800: Empires, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Islamic West-Asia (2020), and editor of Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia: Eurasian Parallels, Connections and Divergences (2020). Björn Weiler is Professor of Medieval History at Aberystwyth University. He is the author of books including Paths to Kingship in Medieval Latin Europe, 950-1200 (2021), Kingship, Rebellion and Political Culture: England and Germany, c. 1215 – c. 1250 (2007; 2011) and co-editor of How the Past was Used: Historical Cultures, c. 750–2000 (2017) with P. Lambert, Authority and Resistance in the Age of Magna Carta [Thirteenth Century England XV] (2015) with J. Burton and P. Schofield, and Representations of Power in Medieval Germany (2006) with S. MacLean.

'Three medieval civilizations, at least partially derived from the Roman world and based on monotheism, confronted each other in the Mediterranean area. The authors, highlighting similarities as well as differences, have brilliantly explored the evolution of their political cultures (rulers, military class, role of families and women, resource allocation …).' Jean-Claude Cheynet, Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)

• List of figures and maps; Preface and acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; List of contributors; General maps; 1. Political culture in three spheres: introduction Catherine Holmes, Jonathan Shepard, Jo Van Steenbergen and Björn Weiler; 2. Reflections on political culture in three spheres R. Stephen Humphreys; Part I. Sources: 3. Comparing the three spheres through the prism of the sources Jonathan Shepard; 4. The Latin west: sources Björn Weiler and Jonathan Shepard; 5. Byzantium: sources Jonathan Shepard; 6. The Islamic world: sources Jo Van Steenbergen and Jonathan Shepard; Part II. Historical Contexts: 7. The Latin west: pluralism in the shadow of the past Len Scales; 8. Byzantium: one or many? Catherine Holmes; 9. The Islamic world: conquest, migration and accommodating diversity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part III. Norms, Values and their Propagation: 10. The Latin west: expectations and legitimisation Björn Weiler; 11. Byzantium: imperial order, Constantinopolitan ceremonial and pyramids of power Judith Herrin; 12. The Islamic world: community, leadership and contested patterns of continuity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part IV. Practice and Organisation: 13. The Latin west: multiple elites and overlapping jurisdictions Daniel Power; 14. Byzantium: 'To have and to hold' – the acquisition and maintenance of elite power Rosemary Morris; 15. The Islamic world: nomads, urban elites and courts in competition Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part V. Conclusions: 16. Comparisons, connections and conclusions Jonathan Shepard; Appendix; Glossary; Index.

Catherine Holmes is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford. She is the author of books including Basil II and the Governance of Empire 976–1025 (2005) and co-editor of Literacy, Education and Manuscript Transmission in Byzantium and Beyond (2002) with J. Waring, Between Byzantines and Turks (2012) with J. Harris and The Global Middle Ages (2018) with N. Standen. Jonathan Shepard was Lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of books including The Emergence of Rus (1996) with S. Franklin, editor of The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire (2008) and co-editor of Byzantine Diplomacy (1992) with S. Franklin, Byzantium and the Viking World (2016) with F. Androshchuk and M. White, Imperial Spheres and the Adriatic (2018) with M. Ančić and T. Vedris, and Viking-Age Trade: Silver, Slaves and Gotland (2020) with J. Gruszczyński and M. Jankowiak. Jo Van Steenbergen is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Ghent University. He is the author of Order out of Chaos (2006), Caliphate and Kingship in a Fifteenth-Century Literary History of Muslim Leadership and Pilgrimage (2017), A History of the Islamic World, 600-1800: Empires, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Islamic West-Asia (2020), and editor of Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia: Eurasian Parallels, Connections and Divergences (2020). Björn Weiler is Professor of Medieval History at Aberystwyth University. He is the author of books including Paths to Kingship in Medieval Latin Europe, 950-1200 (2021), Kingship, Rebellion and Political Culture: England and Germany, c. 1215 – c. 1250 (2007; 2011) and co-editor of How the Past was Used: Historical Cultures, c. 750–2000 (2017) with P. Lambert, Authority and Resistance in the Age of Magna Carta [Thirteenth Century England XV] (2015) with J. Burton and P. Schofield, and Representations of Power in Medieval Germany (2006) with S. MacLean.

'Three medieval civilizations, at least partially derived from the Roman world and based on monotheism, confronted each other in the Mediterranean area. The authors, highlighting similarities as well as differences, have brilliantly explored the evolution of their political cultures (rulers, military class, role of families and women, resource allocation …).' Jean-Claude Cheynet, Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)

• List of figures and maps; Preface and acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; List of contributors; General maps; 1. Political culture in three spheres: introduction Catherine Holmes, Jonathan Shepard, Jo Van Steenbergen and Björn Weiler; 2. Reflections on political culture in three spheres R. Stephen Humphreys; Part I. Sources: 3. Comparing the three spheres through the prism of the sources Jonathan Shepard; 4. The Latin west: sources Björn Weiler and Jonathan Shepard; 5. Byzantium: sources Jonathan Shepard; 6. The Islamic world: sources Jo Van Steenbergen and Jonathan Shepard; Part II. Historical Contexts: 7. The Latin west: pluralism in the shadow of the past Len Scales; 8. Byzantium: one or many? Catherine Holmes; 9. The Islamic world: conquest, migration and accommodating diversity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part III. Norms, Values and their Propagation: 10. The Latin west: expectations and legitimisation Björn Weiler; 11. Byzantium: imperial order, Constantinopolitan ceremonial and pyramids of power Judith Herrin; 12. The Islamic world: community, leadership and contested patterns of continuity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part IV. Practice and Organisation: 13. The Latin west: multiple elites and overlapping jurisdictions Daniel Power; 14. Byzantium: 'To have and to hold' – the acquisition and maintenance of elite power Rosemary Morris; 15. The Islamic world: nomads, urban elites and courts in competition Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part V. Conclusions: 16. Comparisons, connections and conclusions Jonathan Shepard; Appendix; Glossary; Index.

Catherine Holmes is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford. She is the author of books including Basil II and the Governance of Empire 976–1025 (2005) and co-editor of Literacy, Education and Manuscript Transmission in Byzantium and Beyond (2002) with J. Waring, Between Byzantines and Turks (2012) with J. Harris and The Global Middle Ages (2018) with N. Standen. Jonathan Shepard was Lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of books including The Emergence of Rus (1996) with S. Franklin, editor of The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire (2008) and co-editor of Byzantine Diplomacy (1992) with S. Franklin, Byzantium and the Viking World (2016) with F. Androshchuk and M. White, Imperial Spheres and the Adriatic (2018) with M. Ančić and T. Vedris, and Viking-Age Trade: Silver, Slaves and Gotland (2020) with J. Gruszczyński and M. Jankowiak. Jo Van Steenbergen is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Ghent University. He is the author of Order out of Chaos (2006), Caliphate and Kingship in a Fifteenth-Century Literary History of Muslim Leadership and Pilgrimage (2017), A History of the Islamic World, 600-1800: Empires, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Islamic West-Asia (2020), and editor of Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia: Eurasian Parallels, Connections and Divergences (2020). Björn Weiler is Professor of Medieval History at Aberystwyth University. He is the author of books including Paths to Kingship in Medieval Latin Europe, 950-1200 (2021), Kingship, Rebellion and Political Culture: England and Germany, c. 1215 – c. 1250 (2007; 2011) and co-editor of How the Past was Used: Historical Cultures, c. 750–2000 (2017) with P. Lambert, Authority and Resistance in the Age of Magna Carta [Thirteenth Century England XV] (2015) with J. Burton and P. Schofield, and Representations of Power in Medieval Germany (2006) with S. MacLean.

'Three medieval civilizations, at least partially derived from the Roman world and based on monotheism, confronted each other in the Mediterranean area. The authors, highlighting similarities as well as differences, have brilliantly explored the evolution of their political cultures (rulers, military class, role of families and women, resource allocation …).' Jean-Claude Cheynet, Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)

• List of figures and maps; Preface and acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; List of contributors; General maps; 1. Political culture in three spheres: introduction Catherine Holmes, Jonathan Shepard, Jo Van Steenbergen and Björn Weiler; 2. Reflections on political culture in three spheres R. Stephen Humphreys; Part I. Sources: 3. Comparing the three spheres through the prism of the sources Jonathan Shepard; 4. The Latin west: sources Björn Weiler and Jonathan Shepard; 5. Byzantium: sources Jonathan Shepard; 6. The Islamic world: sources Jo Van Steenbergen and Jonathan Shepard; Part II. Historical Contexts: 7. The Latin west: pluralism in the shadow of the past Len Scales; 8. Byzantium: one or many? Catherine Holmes; 9. The Islamic world: conquest, migration and accommodating diversity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part III. Norms, Values and their Propagation: 10. The Latin west: expectations and legitimisation Björn Weiler; 11. Byzantium: imperial order, Constantinopolitan ceremonial and pyramids of power Judith Herrin; 12. The Islamic world: community, leadership and contested patterns of continuity Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part IV. Practice and Organisation: 13. The Latin west: multiple elites and overlapping jurisdictions Daniel Power; 14. Byzantium: 'To have and to hold' – the acquisition and maintenance of elite power Rosemary Morris; 15. The Islamic world: nomads, urban elites and courts in competition Andrew Marsham, Eric Hanne and Jo Van Steenbergen; Part V. Conclusions: 16. Comparisons, connections and conclusions Jonathan Shepard; Appendix; Glossary; Index.