In the shadow of the sword : the battle for global empire and the end of the ancient world /
Holland, Tom.
In the shadow of the sword : the battle for global empire and the end of the ancient world / Tom Holland. - London : Little, Brown, 2012. - x, 526 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
No less than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of an Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history; a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character and achievement. Just like the Romans, the Arabs came from nowhere to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion - except that they achieved their conquests, not over the course of centuries, as the Romans did, but in a matter of decades. Just like the Greeks during the Persian wars, they overcame seemingly insuperable odds to emerge triumphant against the greatest empire of the day - not by standing on the defensive, however, but by hurling themselves against all who lay in their path. IN THE SHADOW OF THE SWORD effectively completes Tom Holland's trilogy describing the Ancient World. It represents an extraordinary achievement by the most exciting and readable young British historian working today.
9781408700082 (pbk.)
2012000207
Islam--History.
Islamic Empire--History.
DS36.85 / .H65 2012
956/.013
In the shadow of the sword : the battle for global empire and the end of the ancient world / Tom Holland. - London : Little, Brown, 2012. - x, 526 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
No less than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of an Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history; a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character and achievement. Just like the Romans, the Arabs came from nowhere to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion - except that they achieved their conquests, not over the course of centuries, as the Romans did, but in a matter of decades. Just like the Greeks during the Persian wars, they overcame seemingly insuperable odds to emerge triumphant against the greatest empire of the day - not by standing on the defensive, however, but by hurling themselves against all who lay in their path. IN THE SHADOW OF THE SWORD effectively completes Tom Holland's trilogy describing the Ancient World. It represents an extraordinary achievement by the most exciting and readable young British historian working today.
9781408700082 (pbk.)
2012000207
Islam--History.
Islamic Empire--History.
DS36.85 / .H65 2012
956/.013
