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 central Mediterranean in the aftermath of the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers. Attention is also paid to Italian merchants and bankers as far afield as London and Southampton, and to the business affairs of Lorenzo de'Medici. Taken together, these papers present an original, Mediterranean, perspective on the economy, society and politics of central and late medieval Europe.

Abulafia, in this collection of previously published essays (in English, Spanish, and Italian), focuses on the ways in which political developments and economic ones influence one another. The essays consider trade between Christians and Muslims in the 12th century, particularly between Spain and North Africa, in the Crusader States, the city of Ancona, Italy, and in the trade of the industrial arts. Subsequent sections consider the Italians' and Iberians' contribution to trade in the 13th through 15th centuries; the Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples, with an essay on the place in these kingdoms of Jews and Muslims; and the political convulsions that followed the War of the Sicilian Vespers.

Trade, shipping, military conquest, migration and settlement in the eastern Mediterranean of the 10th-15th centuries generated multiple encounters between states, social and 'national' groups, and individuals belonging to Latin Christianity, Byzantium and the Islamic world. The nature of these encounters varied widely, depending on whether they were the result of cooperation, rivalry or clashes between states, the outcome of Latin conquest, which altered the social and legal status of indigenous subjects, or the result of economic activity. They had wide-ranging social and economic repercussions, and shaped both individual and collective perceptions and attitudes. These often differed, depending upon 'nationality', standing within the dominant or subject social strata, or purely economic considerations. In any event, at the individual level common economic interests transcended collective 'national' and cultural boundaries, except in times of crisis. The studies in this latest collection by David Jacoby explore the multiple facets of these eastern Mediterranean encounters and their impact upon individual economic activities, with special attention to the 'other', outsiders in foreign environments, foreign privileged versus indigenous traders, the link between governmental intervention, 'naturalization', and fiscal status, as well as the interaction between markets and peasants.

The Mediterranean has always loomed large in the history and culture of Italy, and since the 1980s this relationship has been represented in ever more varied forms as both national and regional identities have evolved within a globalized context. This interdisciplinary volume puts Italian artists (writers, musicians, and filmmakers) and intellectuals (philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists) in conversation with each other to explore Italy's Mediterranean identity while questioning the boundaries between Self and Other, and between native and foreign bodies. By moving beyond nation-centric models of cultural and ethnic homogeneity based on myths of progress and rationality, these wide-ranging contributions fashion new ways of belonging that transcend the cultural, economic, religious, and social categories that have characterized post Cold War Italy and Europe.

Dante put Muhammad in one of the lowest circles of Hell. At the same time, the medieval Christian poet placed several Islamic philosophers much more honorably in Limbo. Furthermore, it has long been suggested that for much of the basic framework of the Divine Comedy Dante was indebted to apocryphal traditions about a “night journey” taken by Muhammad. Dante scholars have increasingly returned to the question of Islam to explore the often surprising encounters among religious traditions that the Middle Ages afforded. This collection of essays works through what was known of the Qur’an and of Islamic philosophy and science in Dante’s day and explores the bases for Dante’s images of Muhammad and Ali. It further compels us to look at key instances of engagement among Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

From the Straits of Gibraltar to Sicily, the European northern Mediterranean nations to the shores of North Africa, the western Mediterranean is a unique cultural and sociopolitical entity which has had a singular role in shaping today’s global society. The Western Mediterranean and the World is the fascinating story of the rise of that peculiar world and of its evolution from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the present. Uniquely, rather than present the history of the region as a strict chronological progression, the author takes a thematic approach, telling his story through a series of vignettes, case studies, and original accounts so as to provide a more immediate sense of what life in and around the Mediterranean was like from the end of the Roman Empire in the West to the present immigration crisis now unfolding in Mediterranean waters. Emphasizing the development of religion and language and the enduring synergies and struggles between Christian, Jews, and Muslims on both shores of the western sea, Dr. Ruiz connects the region to the larger world and locates the development of Mediterranean societies within a global context. Describes the move from religious and linguistic unity under Roman rule to the fragmented cultural landscape of today Explores the relationship of language, culture, and geography, focusing on the role of language formation and linguistic identity in the emergence of national communities Traces the movements of peoples across regions and their encounters with new geographical, cultural, and political realities Addresses the emergence of various political identities and how they developed into set patterns of political organization Emphasizes the theme of encounters as seen from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives While it is sure to become a definitive text for university courses on Mediterranean history, The Western Mediterranean and the World will also have great appeal among scholars of the Mediterranean as well as general readers of history. Part of The Blackwell History of the World Series The goal of this ambitious series is to provide an accessible source of knowledge about the entire human past, for every curious person in every part of the world. It will comprise some two dozen volumes, of which some provide synoptic views of the history of particular regions while others consider the world as a whole during a particular period of time. The volumes are narrative in form, giving balanced attention to social and cultural history (in the broadest sense) as well as to institutional development and political change. Each provides a systematic account of a very large subject, but they are also both imaginative and interpretative. The Series is intended to be accessible to the widest possible readership, and the accessibility of its volumes is matched by the style of presentation and production.

In British shipping in the Mediterranean Katerina Galani investigates the impact of the French and Napoleonic wars on British maritime economic activity. Due to the close cooperation of the public and private sector at sea, the British adopted flexible business strategies to mitigate economic warfare and sustain shipping and trade in the Mediterranean. The book offers a comprehensive approach by combining the study of international relations, ports, ships, business organisation, deep-sea voyages and intra-Mediterranean navigation. Katerina Galani conceptualises the Mediterranean as an economic entity and she insightfully examines, for the first time, free traders along with the chartered Levant Company. Her analysis draws upon a unique collection of British and Mediterranean sources to construct a multifaceted view of British maritime activity.

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein show that, contrary to previous explanations, this transformation was driven not by anti-Jewish persecution and legal restrictions, but rather by changes within Judaism itself after 70 CE--most importantly, the rise of a new norm that required every Jewish male to read and study the Torah and to send his sons to school. Over the next six centuries, those Jews who found the norms of Judaism too costly to obey converted to other religions, making world Jewry shrink. Later, when urbanization and commercial expansion in the newly established Muslim Caliphates increased the demand for occupations in which literacy was an advantage, the Jews found themselves literate in a world of almost universal illiteracy. From then forward, almost all Jews entered crafts and trade, and many of them began moving in search of business opportunities, creating a worldwide Diaspora in the process.

The first English-language survey of medieval and modern Sardinia, this volume offers access to long-awaited European scholarship on a critical missing link in the Mediterranean. Based on new archaeological fieldwork and current research from a variety of academic perspectives— architecture, colonialism, ecclesiastic history, cartography, demography, law, musicology, politics, trade, and urban planning—the authors provide the foundation to incorporate Sardinia into a broader European history. Among other contributions, archaeology adds critical insight into the relationship between Christian, Muslim, and Jewish inhabitants of Sardinia, through examinations of urban and rural settlement patterns. This volume aims to stimulate further analysis of the critical role Sardinia has played as one of the largest and most strategically located islands in the Mediterranean. Contributors are Laura Biccone, Nathalie Bouloux, Henri Bresc, Marco Cadinu, Roberto Coroneo, Laura Galoppini, Henrike Haug, Michelle Hobart, Rossana Martorelli, Giampaolo Mele, Marco Milanese, Giovanni Murgia, Gian Giacomo Ortu, Daniela Rovina, Olivetta Schena, Cecilia Tasca, Raimondo Turtas, and Corrado Zedda.

This third volume of essays by Peter Linehan deals with matters of perennial interest to all historians of medieval Church and State, and in particular to students of the history of medieval Spain and Portugal and of the papacy in the 12th and 13th centuries. Amongst those discussed and explored are the question of feudalism in the 11th and 12th century, the rise and fall of a royal capital, the city of León, the ritual of king-making, focusing on Castile and Portugal, the interplay of royal influence and papal authority, and the impact of the mendicant orders. A previously unpublished study provides a cautionary tale of a particular bishop in politics. Four essays are devoted to the investigation of individuals and issues central to the history of late 13th-century papal Rome, while two look at medieval and modern historiography.