Sea of Faith

the long version

In a magnificent book Stephen O'Shea evokes the epochal moments of this encounter between the two imperial faiths, bringing to life the instances of conflict and coexistence that were at once the marvel and the talk of an entire world. His story lights on all shores of the Mediterranean and provides a cogent reminder of a shared history. The fall of the Christian Middle East at Yarmuk, Martel's 'wall of ice' at Poitiers, Byzantium's rout at Manzikert, all the way through to Saladin at Jerusalem, Lazar at Kosovo and the suicidal defence of Malta against the Ottomans - these and other fragments of our collective memory come alive and together as part of a huge canvas in this fresh, narrative history. For all those who care about the present day, and the continuing coexistence of these two cultures, history has never been so timely.