Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean

Climate Change and the Decline of the East, 950–1072

Inbunden, Engelska, 2012

Av Ronnie Ellenblum, Ronnie (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Ellenblum

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As a 'Medieval Warm Period' prevailed in Western Europe during the tenth and eleventh centuries, the eastern Mediterranean region, from the Nile to the Oxus, was suffering from a series of climatic disasters which led to the decline of some of the most important civilizations and cultural centres of the time. This provocative study argues that many well-documented but apparently disparate events - such as recurrent drought and famine in Egypt, mass migrations in the steppes of central Asia, and the decline in population in urban centres such as Baghdad and Constantinople - are connected and should be understood within the broad context of climate change. Drawing on a wealth of textual and archaeological evidence, Ronnie Ellenblum explores the impact of climatic and ecological change across the eastern Mediterranean in this period, to offer a new perspective on why this was a turning point in the history of the Islamic world.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2012-08-02
Mått152 x 229 x 17 mm
Vikt550 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor284
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9781107023352

Tillhör följande kategorier

Part I. The Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean: 1. Presenting the events; 2. Deconstructing a 'collapse'; 3. 950–1027 - an impending disaster; Part II. Regional Domino Effects in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1027–60 AD: 4. The collapse of Iran; 5. The fall of Baghdād; 6. A crumbling empire: the Pechenegs and the decimation of Byzantium; 7. Egypt and its provinces, 1050s–1070s; Part III. Cities and Minorities: 8. Jerusalem and the decline of classical cities; 9. Water supply, declining cities and deserted villages; 10. Food crises and accelerated Islamization; 11. Reflections.

'We have long been familiar with the famines that struck Egypt in the mid-1000s, but Ellenblum is the first to show how these are part of a broad regional pattern. This comprehensive and clearly argued book advances our understanding of the complex political, social, and economic processes of the late tenth and eleventh century in SW Asia and, more broadly, our capacity to link these processes to those underway in other parts of Eurasia.' Stephen Humphreys, University of California, Santa Barbara