HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES: World Events from 400CE to 1500C

A big and beautiful visual history book, exquisitely produced and presented. The Middle Ages were a time of great change across world seeing the birth of one of the world's great religions, Islam, and ending with the fracturing of another, Christianity. Violent conflicts wracked the mediaeval landscape from the dramatic Mongol conquests to the Hundred Years? War. Nature provided its own challenges, ranging from floods and droughts to the devastating epidemic of the Black Death. At the same time, thriving trade networks like the Silk Roads were established, and technological innovations such as the compass, gunpowder and the printing press set the stage for the world to come. These centuries also saw a flourishing artistic renaissance, ranging from the classical landscape paintings of the Song Dynasty China to the stunning Gothic architecture of European cathedrals. Professor of Medieval History Phyllis G. Jestice gives a fascinating overview of this incredible period across the world, bringing to life the personalities, the technologies, the politics and the culture that defined this period in the development of the world we know today. Includes the rise of Christianity, the astounding advances in the sciences and the arts in the Islamic world, how economic powerhouses developed in Africa and powerful states arose in the Americas, how trade flourished throughout central Asia and China, the terrifying depredations of the Mongol invasions and the Crusades and other conflicts of Europe that marked a so-called era of 'chivalry'. Brought to life with spectacular artwork, colour photos, maps, timelines, line art and drawings, beautiful typography and design and more. 256 large pages. 22.5 x 28cm.