Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One
The Matrix of Old World Civilizations

I. East Asia and Greater India
II. The World of Islamic Civilization
III. Byzantine-Russian Civilization
IV. The Civilization of Western Europe

Part Two
Nomadic and Western European Expansion

V. The Assault of Western European and Nomadic Peoples, A.D. 1000-1100
VI. The Balance Restored: Byzantium, Islam, Western Europe, China, and India, 1100-1195
VII. Western European and Mongol Aggression, 1195-1270
VIII. Western European and Mongol World Domination, 1270-1368
IX. Epilogue, 1368-1500

Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book of 1988A Selection of the History Book Club

Reviews

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.