This book presents an innovative and detailed study of the ports of the Crown of Aragon in the initial stage of the maritime expansion of medieval Catalonia, comparing them to the Tuscan coast and port-city of Pisa in the decades that witnessed the apogee of its power in the Mediterranean, and looking for common, or contrasting, traits and patterns of development. The approach is multilevel and multidisciplinary, stressing geomorphological, geographical, political, and commercial factors, and drawing on archaeological investigations as well as published ad unpublished historical documents.

This book is a collaborative contribution that expands our understanding of how interfaith relations, both real and imagined, developed across medieval Iberia and the Mediterranean. The volume pays homage to the late Olivia Remie Constable’s scholarship and presents innovative, thought-provoking, interdisciplinary investigations of cross-cultural exchange, ranging widely across time and geography. Divided into two parts, “Perceptions of the ‘Other’” and “Interfaith relations,” this volume features scholars engaging with church art, literature, historiography, scientific treatises, and polemics, in order to study how the religious “Other” was depicted to serve different purposes and audiences. There are also microhistories that examine the experiences of individual families, classes, and communities as they interacted with one another in their own specific contexts. Several of these studies draw their source material from church and state archives as well as jurisprudential texts, and span the centuries from the late medieval to early modern periods.

This book is a study of architecture and urban design across the Mediterranean Sea from the 12th to the 14th Century, a time when there was no single, hegemonic power dominating the area. The focus of the study--four cities on the Italian peninsula, and four in Syria and Egypt--is the interconnectedness of the design and use of urban structures, streets and open space. Each chapter offers an historical analysis of the buildings and spaces used for trade, education, political display and public action. The work includes historical and social analyses of the mercantile, social, political and educational cultures of the eight cities, highlighting similarities and differences between Christian and Islamic practices. Sixteen new maps drawn specifically for this book are based on the writings of medieval travelers.

Explores the impact of drugs introduced by the Arabs on medieval Mediterranean medicineFor more than one thousand years Arab medicine held sway in the ancient world, from the shores of Spain in the West to China, India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the East. This book explores the impact of Greek (as well as Indian and Persian) medical heritage on the evolution of Arab medicine and pharmacology, investigating it from the perspective of materia medica a reliable indication of the contribution of this medical legacy.Focusing on the main substances introduced and traded by the Arabs in the medieval Mediterranean including Ambergris, camphor, musk, myrobalan, nutmeg, sandalwood and turmeric the authors show how they enriched the existing inventory of drugs influenced by Galenic-Arab pharmacology. Further, they look at how these substances merged with the development and distribution of new technologies and industries that evolved in the Middle Ages such as textiles, paper, dyeing and tanning, and with the new trends, demands and fashions regarding spices, perfumes, ornaments (gemstones) and foodstuffs some of which can be found in our modern-day food basket.Key FeaturesAssesses the assimilation of theoretical and practical Greek, Indian and Persian medicine into Arabic medical cultureReconstructs and presents a list of medicinal substances distributed by the Arabs as a result of their conquestsTells the stories of 33 new Arabic drugs within the context of their natural historyDescribes the contribution of the Arabs to the daily medieval cultural material (medicine, cosmetics, perfumery, dyeing of materials, industrial products and precious stones)Includes 35 colour illustrations

This volume contains 11 articles from an international conference on ancient ports in the Greek and Roman world from the Classical period to Late Antiquity.0The Graeco-Roman civilization was, to a large extent, built on a constant flow of people, goods and ideas between various parts of the Mediterranean. This volume treats the function, character and connectivity of ports in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean. The following topics are discussed: the role of river and sea ports locally, regionally and Mediterranean-wide; the freighting on rivers; the infrastructure of large harbours; the role of the hinterland; sea-routes; connectivity and the social character of harbour cities through time.

The cutting-edge papers in this collection reflect the wide areas to which John Pryor has made significant contributions in the course of his scholarly career. They are written by some of the world's most distinguished practitioners in the fields of Crusading history and the maritime history of the medieval Mediterranean. His colleagues, students and friends discuss questions including ship construction in the fourth and fifteenth centuries, navigation and harbourage in the eastern Mediterranean, trade in Fatimid Egypt and along the Iberian Peninsula, military and social issues arising among the crusaders during field campaigns, and wider aspects of medieval warfare. All those with an interest in any of these subjects, whether students or specialists, will need to consult this book.

The medieval Mediterranean world has inspired a rich variety of archaeological studies aimed at trying to piece together its past. This volume presents seven case studies that reveal the complexities of and possible solutions for exploring various areas of the Mediterranean basin. Individually, they offer models of interdisciplinary study that move beyond the disciplinary boundaries of archaeology to integrate evidence from other fields ranging from history to town planning. As a whole, they provide the only collection of studies of their kind for the medieval Mediterraean. They thus provide readers with a view of a field that is vibrant, nuanced, and utilizes a methodological approach that is capable of greatly increasing our knowledge of the medieval Mediterranean world. Contributors are Tasha Vorderstrasse, Jon van Leuven, Cédric Devais, Michelle Hobart, Giulia Annalinda Neglia, Johnny De Meulemeester, and Sauro Gelichi.

This book reconstructs the business world of the eleventh-century Geniza merchants and, in doing so, rewrites medieval Islamic and Mediterranean economic history.

How important has the sea been in the development of human history? Very important indeed is the conclusion of this ground-breaking four volume work. The books bring together the world's leading maritime historians, who address the question of what difference the sea has made in relation to around 250 situations ranging from the earliest times to the present. They consider, across the entire world, subjects related to human migration, trade, economic development, warfare, the building of political units including states and empires, the dissemination of ideas, culture and religion, and much more, showing how the sea was crucial to all these aspects of human development. The Sea in History - The Early Modern World covers the period from around the end of the fifteenth century up to the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. It examines the establishment and growth of 'the Atlantic World', but also considers maritime developments in the Indian Ocean, Southeast and East Asia and Africa, and highlights the continuing importance of the North Sea and the Baltic. A very wide range of maritime subjects is explored including trade, which went through a huge global expansion in this period; fishing; shipping, shipbuilding, navigation and ports; the role of the sea in the dissemination of religious ideas; the nature of life for sailors in different places and periods; and the impact of trade in particularly important commodities, including wine, slaves, sugar and tobacco. One particularly interesting chapter is on the Hanse, the important maritime commercial 'empire' based in north Germany, which extended much more widely than is often realised and whose significance and huge impact have often been overlooked. 33 of the contributions are in English; 42 are in French. CHRISTIAN BUCHET is Professor of Maritime History, Catholic University of Paris, Scientific Director of Océanides and a member of l'Académie de marine. GÉRARD LE BOUDEC is Emeritus Professor of the University of South Brittany.

This volume draws examples of work from around the Mediterranean basin to demonstrate the variety of archaeological studies being carried out, and the benefits each of these studies has enjoyed through the use of an interdisciplinary approach.