The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate, livre ebook

An analysis from archaeological evidence describing the vital role of the Red Sea in medieval trade networks and the development of political control throughout the region with the rise of Islam
This book examines the historic process traditionally referred to as the fall of Rome and rise of Islam from the perspective of the Red Sea, a strategic waterway linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and a distinct region incorporating Africa with Arabia. The transition from Byzantium to the Caliphate is contextualized in the contestation of regional hegemony between Aksumite Ethiopia, Sasanian Iran, and the Islamic Hijaz. The economic stimulus associated with Arab colonization is then considered, including the foundation of ports and roads linking new metropolises and facilitating commercial expansion, particularly gold mining and the slave trade. Finally, the economic inheritance of the Fatimids and the formation of the commercial networks glimpsed in the Cairo Geniza is contextualized in the diffusion of the Abbasid 'bourgeois revolution' and resumption of the 'India trade' under the Tulunids and Ziyadids. Tim Power's careful analysis reveals the complex cultural and economic factors that provided a fertile ground for the origins of the Islamic civilization to take root in the Red Sea region, offering a new perspective on a vital period of history.
Red Sea Studies The Chronological Parameters of Investigation The Geographical Parameters of Investigation The Late Roman Erythra Thalassa (ca. 325-525) Introduction The Formation of Late Antiquity in the Red Sea Northern Ports and Hinterlands Emporia and Merchants Southern Ports and Hinterlands Development of Commerce and Communications Contested Hegemony (ca. 525-685) Persian Hegemony (ca. 570-630) Arab Hegemony (ca. 630-85) The 'Long' Eighth Century (ca. 685-830) Hijazi Ports and Hinterlands Yemeni Ports and Hinterlands Sudanese Ports and Hinterlands The Early Islamic Bahr al-Qulzum (ca. 830-970) Sudanese Ports and Hinterlands Southern Ports and Hinterlands Conclusion: The 'Long' Late Antiquity from the Perspective of the Red Sea Muslim Conquests and the Caliphate in the Red Sea Legacies: Creating the World of the Cairo Geniza Gazetteer of Sites Bibliography of Latin, Greek, Coptic, and Syriac Sources Bibliography of Arabic and Persian Sources Bibliography of Secondary Literature