Empires in the Middle Ages

A bit of a misnomer, the Holy Roman Empire was never centralized enough to form a cohesive government, language, or system of law, but its political and religious authority reigned over parts of Europe for over a thousand years. Beginning with the papal crowning of Charlemagne in 800 A.D., its transition in the tenth century under Germanic rule through to the House of Hapsburg, and on to its subsequent division via Napoleon Bonaparte, this dramatic text unpacks the legacy of this often-imitated empire.

For approximately six hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, the Muslim community formed a cohesive state called the Caliphate. This book follows the four distinct Caliphates (Rightly Guided, Umayyad, 'Abbasid, and Fatimid) through their periods of leadership, to the state's prolonged downfall at the hands of the Seljuqs and the Crusaders, and its ultimate defeat by the Ottoman Empire. This text includes a focus on contributions made to the arts, literature, medicine, astronomy, science and mathematics, among other disciplines, particularly during the golden age of the Caliphate spanning the eighth and ninth centuries.

Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, a confederation of nomadic farmers transformed into a powerful military force. This text demonstrations how an aggressive empire could have been established from such agrarian roots, inviting the reader to follow the rise of the Mongol Empire from its founding through its expansion into the Golden Horde in the West under the leadership of Batu and his successors and the Yuan Dynasty in the East under Kublai Khan. It also features the Mongol Empire's important role in the development of trade between the East and the West during the Middle Ages, particularly as recorded by Venetian merchant Marco Polo.

One of the most powerful and recognizable empires to emerge from the Middle Ages is that of the Ottoman Turks. At its height, the Ottoman Empire controlled much of the Middle East and all of its trade routes, Asia Minor, parts of Europe, and all of North Africa through Algeria. This text follows the empire from its basis in the dynasty created by Othman in the early fourteenth century through its golden age under the leadership of three consecutive sultans (Bayezid II, Selim I, and Süleyman I the Magnificent) to its ultimate decline and slow burn into the early twentieth century.

Throughout the Middle Ages, various empires reigned across Europe and Asia; a closer look at these empires proves their enduring impact on the world. The Byzantine Empire lasted for more than one thousand years and was one of the world's leading civilizations until its decline in the eleventh century C.E. In this insightful, straightforward text, readers will be led through the rise, the golden age, and the fall of the empire, including the creation of Constantinople and its connection to the Easter Orthodox Christian religion. This immersive book incorporates references to concurrent empires, such as the Ottoman Turks.

Many modern-day readers would consider Christians a peaceful people, but their history is steeped in war and bloodshed. This book focuses on a series of military campaigns known as the Crusades, during which Christian warriors attempted to regain the Holy Land (Palestine) from Muslim rule. This inclusive text begins with the origins of these campaigns, with reference to the Selijuq Turks' defeat of the Byzantine armies and Pope Urban II's Council at Clermont, and leads readers through seven well-known crusades to their decline and ultimate failure. It also contains an in-depth look at three special orders of knighthood: the Knights Hospitallers, the Knights Templars, and the Teutonic Knights.