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The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Hist Atlas) by McEvedy, Colin (1986) Paperback
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First published January 1, 1961
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Colin McEvedy
35 books13 followersColin Peter McEvedy was a British polymath scholar, psychiatrist, historian, demographer and non-fiction author.
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June 22, 2023
The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History, Colin McEvedy, 1961, 96 pages. (also history is the cover price, $2.65! There's also The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History, 1968. And many other Penguin Atlases https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=pe... )
Europe and Near East: 10° west (Ireland) to 70° east (Samarkand); 25° north (Arabia) to 65° north (Scandinavia). 362 CE to 1478 CE. One political map about every 40 years, with a facing page for each telling what happened.
One pattern to notice: when trade collapses, cities evaporate. Piracy and breakdown of order destroy trade.
As of 528, there were still 7 Christian cities 25,000+ (3 of 75,000+). By 737, 1028, 1212, the Islamic world had most of the cities of 25,000+. Finally by 1478, Christian Europe was repopulating with cities. Only Constantinople had 75,000+ all those years. Only it and Salonika, Greece had 25,000 all those years.
362 Roman Empire Sudan to Scotland, heavily taxing peasants to pay soldiers. Persian Empire Caspian Sea through Mesopotamia to Persian Gulf. Ostrogoths Baltic Sea through steppes to Black Sea.
406 Huns took steppe, Caspian Sea through Hungary. Goths crossed Danube, Visigoth cavalry destroyed Roman Legion in Thrace. Rome henceforth depends on barbarian mercenary cavalry. Roman Empire is divided, east & west of mouth of Adriatic. Persia took upper Tigris & Armenia from Rome.
420 Rome is helpless against barbarians, who are impressed by civilization and try to save it. Rome has abandoned Britain, the Rhine, southwest France, and northwest Spain.
450 Attila captured Germanic, Slavic, Baltic land, west past the Rhine, north to Riga & Moscow, south through Balkans: everything north of Roman Empire, which they preyed on. As the White Huns harried the Persians. Vandals, Suevi, Britons took Tunis, Portugal, Brittany, respectively. Jutes have started to settle in southeast England. (See The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles: The Authentic Voices of England, from the Time of Julius Caesar to the Coronation of Henry II, Anne Savage, translator.)
476 After Attila died, Germans beat the Huns, who retreated to land north of the Black and Caspian seas. The Western Roman Empire is reduced to just Dalmatia. Barbarians have all the rest. Vandals control western Mediterranean & North Africa; Visigoths have Spain & southwest France. Slavs again have eastern Europe, but they're fragmented in small disorganized tribes. Angles & Saxons expand into southeast Britain.
528 Goths have Italy, Spain, southern France, Adriatic north to Danube. No more Western Roman Empire. Frankish kingdom has north & west France and western Germany. Germanic tribes west of Elbe, and Bohemia, Moravia, Serbia. Slavs east of them. Anglo-Saxons expanding in southeast England.
528 Religion: Except the Anglo-Saxons, the former Roman Empire is all Christian. But. The proud Gothic rulers of southwestern Europe set themselves apart from their Catholic subjects by adopting the Arian heresy, "God the Son is quite separate from God the Father." Catholics say the two are simultaneously distinct and similar.
528 Trade: Vandal piracy and loss of order withered trade in former Western Roman Empire--and with it withered cities. Rome is reduced to a second-tier city. Only Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria have 75,000+ population each. China (via Turkestan) and India (via Persian Gulf) trade go through Antioch. East Africa (via Red Sea) trade goes through Alexandria. Only other towns of 25,000+ population: Rome; Milan; Carthage (Tunis); Salonika, Greece; and 4 Persian towns.
562 Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian retook Italy, Dalmatia, North Africa, & southern Spain from the Goths & Vandals. Frankish kingdoms expanded through France except Brittany, plus western Germany east to the Elbe. East Asian Turks win land east of Aral Sea--pushing Avars into steppe, where they control from the Volga to the Elbe. Anglo-Saxons have eastern England, north to Hadrian's Wall.
600 Avars control north to Baltic Sea, border Franks and Eastern Roman Empire. Empire has lost northern & southeastern Italy, and all but southernmost coast of Spain, and Armenia. Visigoths have Spain & Portugal. Anglo-Saxons now have nearly the east half of Britain south of Hadrian's wall.
626 After Rome's mercenary army revolted & murdered emperor, empire lost western Balkans, much of Greece, Armenia, Mesopotamia, NE Africa, S Spanish coast. Empire to be known as Byzantine. Avars contract to between the Danube & the Dneistr: Slavs regain the rest. Frankish kingdom divides, roughly E & W of Seine. Anglo-Saxons have England except Wales, Cornwall, Strathclyde (western Northumbria).
650 Arabs have formed a caliphate extending from Persia through Tripoli, ruling from Damascus. These will become known as Sunnis. Persia is reduced to SE Caspian coast. Khazars expand north of Black & Caspian seas. Bulgars take eastern 1/3 of Avar land. Muslim-Khazar-Byzantine stalemate in Armenia. Visigoths have all Spain & Portugal, & N African coast S of Gibraltar. Turks are still E of Aral Sea.
737 With conversion of Berbers, (Sunni) Arabs have everything south of Pyrennes-Mediterranean-Caucasus-Caspian-Aral-Sea, to the east edge of the map (except Persian S fringe of Caspian, & Asturian-&-Basque N coast of Spain.) Byzantines have also lost Italy, land E & W of Black Sea, Cyprus. Bulgars have lower Danube & central Volga. Slavs E of meridian thru N tip of Adriatic. Magyars between Dneistr & Don. Turks W of Aral.
737 Religion: Islam has taken Spain, Syria, Africa. Byzantine emperor, effective head of eastern church, has successfully demanded destruction of religious statues & images--which eastern Christians had been worshiping. (Iconoclasm = image-breaking.) Eastern church comprises Byzantine empire + Crimea + Cyprus + Abasgians on NE Black Sea coast. Western church has Britain, Ireland, France, N & central Italy, N coast of Spain, & Germany W of meridian of N tip of Adriatic, N to Cologne then NW to North Sea.
737 Trade: Arabs relied on overland trade, except via Persian Gulf to India & Red Sea to Africa: only small luxury goods. Constantinople is only city of 75,000+ population--but Arabs have cut off most of its trade. Iconoclasm likely due partly to need to melt gold icons for cash. Of the 14 other cities of 25,000+ population, 11 are Muslim; Rome & Venice Catholic, Salonika, Greece Orthodox Christian. Khazar control of Volga & Don let Black Sea be a trade route to Constantinople.
771 (Sunni) Muslims have founded Baghdad (Iraq) as new capital. Annexed last shred of Persian empire. Turn toward Persia, lose touch with Arabs & Moors. Muslims lost part of N Spain to Galician kingdom. Franks took central Italy for the Pope to rule. Bavarians took part of Slavic western Balkans.
830 Muslims have added Crete & part of Sicily. But. They are splintered into various caliphates & emirates, no strong central control. Largely piracy in Mediterranean. North African caliphate south of Spain is Shiite. Charlemagne created empire encompassing France, Germany including Frisian & Saxon land, most of Italy, the western Mediterranean islands, & Slavic Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, & Croatia. After Charlemagne's death, the empire is too big to control. Scandinavian overpopulation sends vikings into Britain, France, Russia. Swedish principalities at Novgorod, Kiev, Tmutorkan (E of Crimea). Anglo-Saxon Wessex fights Danes in Britain. Bulgars have former Avar land.
888 Frankish kingdom has splintered into France, Germany, Italy, Burgundy (upper Rhone), Provence (lower Rhone). Bretons again independent in Armorica. Danes have E & N England, but Alfred's recapture of London denies Danes domination. (See the wonderful Saxon Stories goodreads.com/series/43581-the-saxon-... by Bernard Cornwell for an engaging fictionalized history of the Danes-vs-Saxons contest for England.) Swedish principalities have expanded into Principality of Russia, encompassing the upper Volga, Dvina, Dneipr, Don. Turks beat Magyars for control of steppe. Emirates S & E of Caspian are Shiite.
923 Christendom continues to be raped by vikings, Muslims, & now Magyars, who've taken Hungary & Moravia. Norse have N England & S Ireland. Shiites have Libya through Morocco, & E Arabia.
998 Raids by Vikings, Muslims, Magyars ebb: English & Irish beat Vikings, who still have Normandy. Burgundians, Italians, Byzantines curb Muslim raiding. Germans beat Magyars, Danes, Slavs, French, reestablish east part of Charlemagne's empire: Seine to Oder, North & Baltic Seas thru central Italy, including Bohemia & Moravia. But the German empire is as ungovernable as Charlemagne's had been. Magyars to become Christian Hungary. Byzantine Empire expands slightly at expense of Bulgars, Muslims. Turks take land east of Aral Sea from Muslims. Mesopotamia is Shiite.
1028 Muslims weak. Turks took emirate east of Caspian. Byzantines retook most of Balkans, Crimea, part of Armenia. Danes temporarily took England & Norway. Poles grabbed land from and antagonized their stronger neighbors Germany, Hungary, & Russia.
1028 Religion: Bohemia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Scandinavia converted to Catholicism; Serbia, Bulgaria & Russia to Orthodox Christianity. Now the Roman church is followed from Hungary and Croatia, through central Italy to northern Spain, north to the British Isles and Scandinavia, south through Poland. The Eastern church has Russia, the Balkans through Serbia, Greece, Anatolia, and the western Caucasus. Islam has most of Spain, Sicily, all of north Africa and the rest of the Middle East. A mix of Shiites and Sunnis.
1028 Trade: Only Constantinople, Cairo, Baghdad have 75,000+ population each. Venice is the only Catholic city of 25,000+ population. Salonika, Greece, is the only other Orthodox city of 25,000 or more population. There are 17 other Muslim cities of 25,000 or more population. There are still no European cities of any size north of Venice. Vikings controlled northern Europe, and did trade, from Iceland to Constantinople—but Vikings traded only where they couldn't plunder. However, small towns were appearing in Northern Europe.
1071 Seljuk Turks (from Turkestan) have taken Persia, Mesopotamia, the eastern Caucuses, as a large sultanate. Byzantine empire has lost its holding in Italy, Serbia, most of Crimea. Non-Muslim (heathen) Turks have taken the steppe of southern Russia, pushed Patzinaks west to occupy eastern Hungary. Christian kingdoms of Leon and Castile in northern Spain and Portugal have expanded, extract homage of divided Muslims. Normans under William the Bastard have conquered England and Brittany (but not Wales nor Scotland). Robert Guiscard conquers southern Italy and eastern Sicily. The Normans William and Guiscard establish the first effectively-organized states (outside Byzantium and Islam) since the fall of Rome. These will be the seeds of the secular state. German empire has absorbed Burgundy and western Poland. Poland also relost land to Hungary and Russia (but kept the enmity of all its neighbors).
1092 Seljuk Turks have destroyed Byzantine army, occupied Anatolia. (Armenians still hold on in Taurus mountains.) Seljuks have also taken Palestine and western Arabia from Fatimids. Byzantines appeal to West for help against Turks. Western fanatics are unconcerned about Byzantium, but want to free the Holy Land from the Turks. Seljuks are recent converts to Islam, deny Christian pilgrims access to Palestine, which the Fatimids had allowed. Shiite Assassins (based south of the Caspian Sea) give their name to political murder they practice throughout the Muslim (but not Christian) world. Christians have retaken Toledo, Spain, from Muslims. England takes southern and central Wales, and expands north to its final border with Scotland. Normandy has split from England and from Brittany.
1130 Seljuk sultanate has splintered. Crusaders took coastal Palestine; Byzantines retook western Anatolia, plus its north coast on the Black Sea and its south coast on the Mediterranean. Byzantium also retook Serbia. England regained Normandy and Brittany when the Duke of Normandy couldn't repay a crusade loan. Russian principalities have coalesced into one.
1173 The most powerful of the Seljuk sultanates, east of the Caspian, fell to a revolt of its mercenaries. Crusades after the first were led by kings who couldn't spend much time in the east. Sunnis unify Egypt, Syria, upper Mesopotamia. Shiites unify southern Spain and North Africa. Christians gain ground in central Spain, but are split into (west to east) Portugal, Leon, Navarre, Aragon (which also holds Provence). Russia resplit into many principalities. As did Poland. Count of Anjou married heiress of Aquitaine, holds all of western France plus England, and captured most of Ireland. Byzantines take Dalmatia, Croatia, and Antioch.
1212 Saladin established sultanate from Egypt & western Arabia through most of Palestine, Syria, upper Mesopotamia, Armenia. Crusaders have a few fingernails of Palestinian coast, & took Cyprus from collapsing Byzantium. After rout by Turks and losses to Hungarians, Venetians, & crusaders, only fragments remain in Greek hands: part of W & N Anatolia, SE Crimea, NW Greece & SW Balkans. Crusaders E & S Greece, European Turkey, NW Anatolia. Venice has islands from Adriatic through Aegean. Hungary has Croatia & Dalmatia. Serbia, Bulgaria independent. French King took most of English land in France, gains wealth & power to control France: France becomes a modern state (no longer a slew of baronies). German "empire" really just assortment of local fiefdoms. Turkish shahdom from Persian Gulf to N of Aral Sea.
1212 Religion: Eastern church has Russia, the Balkans, most of W Anatolia & Black Sea coast, Georgia (Caucasus). Western church has coastal Palestine, Mediterranean islands, most of Greece, Hungary & Poland W thru N & central Spain, British Iles, Scandinavia, Riga. For centuries both protégé & rival of German emperor, pope at start of 13th century is more powerful than ever.
1212 Trade: Now Venice, Constantinople, Cairo, Baghdad 75,000+; 26 others 25,000+, north to Novgorod, Cologne, Paris. Milan, Genoa, Florence, Rome (welcome back after several centuries), Naples, Palermo: in Italy, a money economy has replaced feudalism. Of the 30 cities, 12 are in Catholic hands (including Constantinople, Salonika & Antioch); 1 (Novgorod) Orthodox; 17 Muslim. Flemish cloth merchants controlled northern trade, but Germans were competing in Baltic Sea. Heathen Turks controlling steppe since 11th century block Russia from trade w/Constantinople.
1230 Genghis Khan conquered Asia from Korea to Persia, and died in 1227. His Khanate remained, controlling everything east of the Caspian. The displaced Turks took Azerbaijan & most of Georgia (W of Caspian). Castilians are pushing southward into Moorish Spain. Portugal is assuming its final border. Danes took Estonia; Germans making inroads in Latvia & Prussia. Greeks retook Salonika, most of Greece, & NW Anatolia from Latins. Turks have most of Anatolia.
1278 Mongols exploded to take Persia, most of Anatolia, the steppe & S & E Russia, SW to the Danube, N to the upper Volga. They raided into NW Russia, Poland, Hungary. Then stopped when their Khan died. Germans have Latvia. Russia took Finland from Swedes. Latin Greece reduced to a slice of the south; Byzantine empire has most of Greece & NW Anatolia. Moors have only southernmost Spain. Turks' sultanate covers Egypt, Palestine, W Arabia. Crusaders shortly to be wiped off the map of Palestine. England will shortly subdue all of Wales, and has most of Ireland.
1360 Mongol territory has splintered into many emirates. Ottoman Turks took NW Anatolia from Byzantines, who now have only European Turkey and NW & far-S Greece. Serbs have most of Greece & SW Balkans.
1401 Ottomans now have most of Anatolia & Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Wallachia. Timur (Tamburlane), a Muslim of Turkestan, conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, & Caucasus. Teutonic Knights have all of Baltics (SE of sea). Poland-Lithiuania united to their SE; Scandinavia united under Denmark.
1430 Henry V of England temporarily took N France; repulsed by Joan of Arc & Duc of Burgundy + French king. Poland-Lithuania retook present-day Lithuania from Teutonic Knights. English have lost control of Ireland.
1478 Swiss pikemen have destroyed mounted Burgundian knights. King now controls most of France. Sweden split from Denmark. Constantinople finally fell to the Turks who were at its gates for a century. The West thus lost the eastern trade. Ottomans have Anatolia, Greece, Balkans, Bulgaria, Wallachia (N of Danube).
1478 Religion: The papacy has been in decline. Unable to govern Italian lands, popes fled for safety to Avignon. Schisms set up competing popes & colleges of cardinals. Reformers challenging doctrinal despotism are burned as heretics. Nevertheless, outside far-southern Spain, Greece, the Balkans, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Europe is Catholic from the Dneipr and Dvina valleys, to the Atlantic. Only the Principality of Moscow and Kingdom of Georgia remain Orthodox.
1478 Trade: Now 6 cities of 75,000+ each: Paris, Milan, Venice, Constantinople, Cairo, Tabriz (NW Iran). Total of 38 cities 25,000+: 10 in N Europe, incl. London, Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Lubeck, Novgorod, Moscow. Seville & Barcelona in Christian Spain. Nine in Italy, with Genoa, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo. Seventeen in the Islamic world. incl. Granada, Spain. Coal is being shipped abroad from Northumberland. England exports cloth. Asian trade collapsed with Mongol empire. Dutch dominate Baltic trade. Wind & water mills power machines. Horse collar enables plowing. Portuguese begin coasting Africa.
For more detail, Asimov's Chronology of the World is a terrific 1-volume history of the world, covering from the Big Bang through World War II.)
Europe and Near East: 10° west (Ireland) to 70° east (Samarkand); 25° north (Arabia) to 65° north (Scandinavia). 362 CE to 1478 CE. One political map about every 40 years, with a facing page for each telling what happened.
One pattern to notice: when trade collapses, cities evaporate. Piracy and breakdown of order destroy trade.
As of 528, there were still 7 Christian cities 25,000+ (3 of 75,000+). By 737, 1028, 1212, the Islamic world had most of the cities of 25,000+. Finally by 1478, Christian Europe was repopulating with cities. Only Constantinople had 75,000+ all those years. Only it and Salonika, Greece had 25,000 all those years.
362 Roman Empire Sudan to Scotland, heavily taxing peasants to pay soldiers. Persian Empire Caspian Sea through Mesopotamia to Persian Gulf. Ostrogoths Baltic Sea through steppes to Black Sea.
406 Huns took steppe, Caspian Sea through Hungary. Goths crossed Danube, Visigoth cavalry destroyed Roman Legion in Thrace. Rome henceforth depends on barbarian mercenary cavalry. Roman Empire is divided, east & west of mouth of Adriatic. Persia took upper Tigris & Armenia from Rome.
420 Rome is helpless against barbarians, who are impressed by civilization and try to save it. Rome has abandoned Britain, the Rhine, southwest France, and northwest Spain.
450 Attila captured Germanic, Slavic, Baltic land, west past the Rhine, north to Riga & Moscow, south through Balkans: everything north of Roman Empire, which they preyed on. As the White Huns harried the Persians. Vandals, Suevi, Britons took Tunis, Portugal, Brittany, respectively. Jutes have started to settle in southeast England. (See The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles: The Authentic Voices of England, from the Time of Julius Caesar to the Coronation of Henry II, Anne Savage, translator.)
476 After Attila died, Germans beat the Huns, who retreated to land north of the Black and Caspian seas. The Western Roman Empire is reduced to just Dalmatia. Barbarians have all the rest. Vandals control western Mediterranean & North Africa; Visigoths have Spain & southwest France. Slavs again have eastern Europe, but they're fragmented in small disorganized tribes. Angles & Saxons expand into southeast Britain.
528 Goths have Italy, Spain, southern France, Adriatic north to Danube. No more Western Roman Empire. Frankish kingdom has north & west France and western Germany. Germanic tribes west of Elbe, and Bohemia, Moravia, Serbia. Slavs east of them. Anglo-Saxons expanding in southeast England.
528 Religion: Except the Anglo-Saxons, the former Roman Empire is all Christian. But. The proud Gothic rulers of southwestern Europe set themselves apart from their Catholic subjects by adopting the Arian heresy, "God the Son is quite separate from God the Father." Catholics say the two are simultaneously distinct and similar.
528 Trade: Vandal piracy and loss of order withered trade in former Western Roman Empire--and with it withered cities. Rome is reduced to a second-tier city. Only Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria have 75,000+ population each. China (via Turkestan) and India (via Persian Gulf) trade go through Antioch. East Africa (via Red Sea) trade goes through Alexandria. Only other towns of 25,000+ population: Rome; Milan; Carthage (Tunis); Salonika, Greece; and 4 Persian towns.
562 Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian retook Italy, Dalmatia, North Africa, & southern Spain from the Goths & Vandals. Frankish kingdoms expanded through France except Brittany, plus western Germany east to the Elbe. East Asian Turks win land east of Aral Sea--pushing Avars into steppe, where they control from the Volga to the Elbe. Anglo-Saxons have eastern England, north to Hadrian's Wall.
600 Avars control north to Baltic Sea, border Franks and Eastern Roman Empire. Empire has lost northern & southeastern Italy, and all but southernmost coast of Spain, and Armenia. Visigoths have Spain & Portugal. Anglo-Saxons now have nearly the east half of Britain south of Hadrian's wall.
626 After Rome's mercenary army revolted & murdered emperor, empire lost western Balkans, much of Greece, Armenia, Mesopotamia, NE Africa, S Spanish coast. Empire to be known as Byzantine. Avars contract to between the Danube & the Dneistr: Slavs regain the rest. Frankish kingdom divides, roughly E & W of Seine. Anglo-Saxons have England except Wales, Cornwall, Strathclyde (western Northumbria).
650 Arabs have formed a caliphate extending from Persia through Tripoli, ruling from Damascus. These will become known as Sunnis. Persia is reduced to SE Caspian coast. Khazars expand north of Black & Caspian seas. Bulgars take eastern 1/3 of Avar land. Muslim-Khazar-Byzantine stalemate in Armenia. Visigoths have all Spain & Portugal, & N African coast S of Gibraltar. Turks are still E of Aral Sea.
737 With conversion of Berbers, (Sunni) Arabs have everything south of Pyrennes-Mediterranean-Caucasus-Caspian-Aral-Sea, to the east edge of the map (except Persian S fringe of Caspian, & Asturian-&-Basque N coast of Spain.) Byzantines have also lost Italy, land E & W of Black Sea, Cyprus. Bulgars have lower Danube & central Volga. Slavs E of meridian thru N tip of Adriatic. Magyars between Dneistr & Don. Turks W of Aral.
737 Religion: Islam has taken Spain, Syria, Africa. Byzantine emperor, effective head of eastern church, has successfully demanded destruction of religious statues & images--which eastern Christians had been worshiping. (Iconoclasm = image-breaking.) Eastern church comprises Byzantine empire + Crimea + Cyprus + Abasgians on NE Black Sea coast. Western church has Britain, Ireland, France, N & central Italy, N coast of Spain, & Germany W of meridian of N tip of Adriatic, N to Cologne then NW to North Sea.
737 Trade: Arabs relied on overland trade, except via Persian Gulf to India & Red Sea to Africa: only small luxury goods. Constantinople is only city of 75,000+ population--but Arabs have cut off most of its trade. Iconoclasm likely due partly to need to melt gold icons for cash. Of the 14 other cities of 25,000+ population, 11 are Muslim; Rome & Venice Catholic, Salonika, Greece Orthodox Christian. Khazar control of Volga & Don let Black Sea be a trade route to Constantinople.
771 (Sunni) Muslims have founded Baghdad (Iraq) as new capital. Annexed last shred of Persian empire. Turn toward Persia, lose touch with Arabs & Moors. Muslims lost part of N Spain to Galician kingdom. Franks took central Italy for the Pope to rule. Bavarians took part of Slavic western Balkans.
830 Muslims have added Crete & part of Sicily. But. They are splintered into various caliphates & emirates, no strong central control. Largely piracy in Mediterranean. North African caliphate south of Spain is Shiite. Charlemagne created empire encompassing France, Germany including Frisian & Saxon land, most of Italy, the western Mediterranean islands, & Slavic Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, & Croatia. After Charlemagne's death, the empire is too big to control. Scandinavian overpopulation sends vikings into Britain, France, Russia. Swedish principalities at Novgorod, Kiev, Tmutorkan (E of Crimea). Anglo-Saxon Wessex fights Danes in Britain. Bulgars have former Avar land.
888 Frankish kingdom has splintered into France, Germany, Italy, Burgundy (upper Rhone), Provence (lower Rhone). Bretons again independent in Armorica. Danes have E & N England, but Alfred's recapture of London denies Danes domination. (See the wonderful Saxon Stories goodreads.com/series/43581-the-saxon-... by Bernard Cornwell for an engaging fictionalized history of the Danes-vs-Saxons contest for England.) Swedish principalities have expanded into Principality of Russia, encompassing the upper Volga, Dvina, Dneipr, Don. Turks beat Magyars for control of steppe. Emirates S & E of Caspian are Shiite.
923 Christendom continues to be raped by vikings, Muslims, & now Magyars, who've taken Hungary & Moravia. Norse have N England & S Ireland. Shiites have Libya through Morocco, & E Arabia.
998 Raids by Vikings, Muslims, Magyars ebb: English & Irish beat Vikings, who still have Normandy. Burgundians, Italians, Byzantines curb Muslim raiding. Germans beat Magyars, Danes, Slavs, French, reestablish east part of Charlemagne's empire: Seine to Oder, North & Baltic Seas thru central Italy, including Bohemia & Moravia. But the German empire is as ungovernable as Charlemagne's had been. Magyars to become Christian Hungary. Byzantine Empire expands slightly at expense of Bulgars, Muslims. Turks take land east of Aral Sea from Muslims. Mesopotamia is Shiite.
1028 Muslims weak. Turks took emirate east of Caspian. Byzantines retook most of Balkans, Crimea, part of Armenia. Danes temporarily took England & Norway. Poles grabbed land from and antagonized their stronger neighbors Germany, Hungary, & Russia.
1028 Religion: Bohemia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Scandinavia converted to Catholicism; Serbia, Bulgaria & Russia to Orthodox Christianity. Now the Roman church is followed from Hungary and Croatia, through central Italy to northern Spain, north to the British Isles and Scandinavia, south through Poland. The Eastern church has Russia, the Balkans through Serbia, Greece, Anatolia, and the western Caucasus. Islam has most of Spain, Sicily, all of north Africa and the rest of the Middle East. A mix of Shiites and Sunnis.
1028 Trade: Only Constantinople, Cairo, Baghdad have 75,000+ population each. Venice is the only Catholic city of 25,000+ population. Salonika, Greece, is the only other Orthodox city of 25,000 or more population. There are 17 other Muslim cities of 25,000 or more population. There are still no European cities of any size north of Venice. Vikings controlled northern Europe, and did trade, from Iceland to Constantinople—but Vikings traded only where they couldn't plunder. However, small towns were appearing in Northern Europe.
1071 Seljuk Turks (from Turkestan) have taken Persia, Mesopotamia, the eastern Caucuses, as a large sultanate. Byzantine empire has lost its holding in Italy, Serbia, most of Crimea. Non-Muslim (heathen) Turks have taken the steppe of southern Russia, pushed Patzinaks west to occupy eastern Hungary. Christian kingdoms of Leon and Castile in northern Spain and Portugal have expanded, extract homage of divided Muslims. Normans under William the Bastard have conquered England and Brittany (but not Wales nor Scotland). Robert Guiscard conquers southern Italy and eastern Sicily. The Normans William and Guiscard establish the first effectively-organized states (outside Byzantium and Islam) since the fall of Rome. These will be the seeds of the secular state. German empire has absorbed Burgundy and western Poland. Poland also relost land to Hungary and Russia (but kept the enmity of all its neighbors).
1092 Seljuk Turks have destroyed Byzantine army, occupied Anatolia. (Armenians still hold on in Taurus mountains.) Seljuks have also taken Palestine and western Arabia from Fatimids. Byzantines appeal to West for help against Turks. Western fanatics are unconcerned about Byzantium, but want to free the Holy Land from the Turks. Seljuks are recent converts to Islam, deny Christian pilgrims access to Palestine, which the Fatimids had allowed. Shiite Assassins (based south of the Caspian Sea) give their name to political murder they practice throughout the Muslim (but not Christian) world. Christians have retaken Toledo, Spain, from Muslims. England takes southern and central Wales, and expands north to its final border with Scotland. Normandy has split from England and from Brittany.
1130 Seljuk sultanate has splintered. Crusaders took coastal Palestine; Byzantines retook western Anatolia, plus its north coast on the Black Sea and its south coast on the Mediterranean. Byzantium also retook Serbia. England regained Normandy and Brittany when the Duke of Normandy couldn't repay a crusade loan. Russian principalities have coalesced into one.
1173 The most powerful of the Seljuk sultanates, east of the Caspian, fell to a revolt of its mercenaries. Crusades after the first were led by kings who couldn't spend much time in the east. Sunnis unify Egypt, Syria, upper Mesopotamia. Shiites unify southern Spain and North Africa. Christians gain ground in central Spain, but are split into (west to east) Portugal, Leon, Navarre, Aragon (which also holds Provence). Russia resplit into many principalities. As did Poland. Count of Anjou married heiress of Aquitaine, holds all of western France plus England, and captured most of Ireland. Byzantines take Dalmatia, Croatia, and Antioch.
1212 Saladin established sultanate from Egypt & western Arabia through most of Palestine, Syria, upper Mesopotamia, Armenia. Crusaders have a few fingernails of Palestinian coast, & took Cyprus from collapsing Byzantium. After rout by Turks and losses to Hungarians, Venetians, & crusaders, only fragments remain in Greek hands: part of W & N Anatolia, SE Crimea, NW Greece & SW Balkans. Crusaders E & S Greece, European Turkey, NW Anatolia. Venice has islands from Adriatic through Aegean. Hungary has Croatia & Dalmatia. Serbia, Bulgaria independent. French King took most of English land in France, gains wealth & power to control France: France becomes a modern state (no longer a slew of baronies). German "empire" really just assortment of local fiefdoms. Turkish shahdom from Persian Gulf to N of Aral Sea.
1212 Religion: Eastern church has Russia, the Balkans, most of W Anatolia & Black Sea coast, Georgia (Caucasus). Western church has coastal Palestine, Mediterranean islands, most of Greece, Hungary & Poland W thru N & central Spain, British Iles, Scandinavia, Riga. For centuries both protégé & rival of German emperor, pope at start of 13th century is more powerful than ever.
1212 Trade: Now Venice, Constantinople, Cairo, Baghdad 75,000+; 26 others 25,000+, north to Novgorod, Cologne, Paris. Milan, Genoa, Florence, Rome (welcome back after several centuries), Naples, Palermo: in Italy, a money economy has replaced feudalism. Of the 30 cities, 12 are in Catholic hands (including Constantinople, Salonika & Antioch); 1 (Novgorod) Orthodox; 17 Muslim. Flemish cloth merchants controlled northern trade, but Germans were competing in Baltic Sea. Heathen Turks controlling steppe since 11th century block Russia from trade w/Constantinople.
1230 Genghis Khan conquered Asia from Korea to Persia, and died in 1227. His Khanate remained, controlling everything east of the Caspian. The displaced Turks took Azerbaijan & most of Georgia (W of Caspian). Castilians are pushing southward into Moorish Spain. Portugal is assuming its final border. Danes took Estonia; Germans making inroads in Latvia & Prussia. Greeks retook Salonika, most of Greece, & NW Anatolia from Latins. Turks have most of Anatolia.
1278 Mongols exploded to take Persia, most of Anatolia, the steppe & S & E Russia, SW to the Danube, N to the upper Volga. They raided into NW Russia, Poland, Hungary. Then stopped when their Khan died. Germans have Latvia. Russia took Finland from Swedes. Latin Greece reduced to a slice of the south; Byzantine empire has most of Greece & NW Anatolia. Moors have only southernmost Spain. Turks' sultanate covers Egypt, Palestine, W Arabia. Crusaders shortly to be wiped off the map of Palestine. England will shortly subdue all of Wales, and has most of Ireland.
1360 Mongol territory has splintered into many emirates. Ottoman Turks took NW Anatolia from Byzantines, who now have only European Turkey and NW & far-S Greece. Serbs have most of Greece & SW Balkans.
1401 Ottomans now have most of Anatolia & Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Wallachia. Timur (Tamburlane), a Muslim of Turkestan, conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, & Caucasus. Teutonic Knights have all of Baltics (SE of sea). Poland-Lithiuania united to their SE; Scandinavia united under Denmark.
1430 Henry V of England temporarily took N France; repulsed by Joan of Arc & Duc of Burgundy + French king. Poland-Lithuania retook present-day Lithuania from Teutonic Knights. English have lost control of Ireland.
1478 Swiss pikemen have destroyed mounted Burgundian knights. King now controls most of France. Sweden split from Denmark. Constantinople finally fell to the Turks who were at its gates for a century. The West thus lost the eastern trade. Ottomans have Anatolia, Greece, Balkans, Bulgaria, Wallachia (N of Danube).
1478 Religion: The papacy has been in decline. Unable to govern Italian lands, popes fled for safety to Avignon. Schisms set up competing popes & colleges of cardinals. Reformers challenging doctrinal despotism are burned as heretics. Nevertheless, outside far-southern Spain, Greece, the Balkans, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Europe is Catholic from the Dneipr and Dvina valleys, to the Atlantic. Only the Principality of Moscow and Kingdom of Georgia remain Orthodox.
1478 Trade: Now 6 cities of 75,000+ each: Paris, Milan, Venice, Constantinople, Cairo, Tabriz (NW Iran). Total of 38 cities 25,000+: 10 in N Europe, incl. London, Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Lubeck, Novgorod, Moscow. Seville & Barcelona in Christian Spain. Nine in Italy, with Genoa, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo. Seventeen in the Islamic world. incl. Granada, Spain. Coal is being shipped abroad from Northumberland. England exports cloth. Asian trade collapsed with Mongol empire. Dutch dominate Baltic trade. Wind & water mills power machines. Horse collar enables plowing. Portuguese begin coasting Africa.
For more detail, Asimov's Chronology of the World is a terrific 1-volume history of the world, covering from the Big Bang through World War II.)
November 20, 2024
WOW! What a great history book. Excellent maps help walk you through the ages. Very well done and a great read. Very recommended
February 22, 2015
A delightful, irreverent romp through the Dark Ages and medieval history, and if that sounds oxymoronic, all the better to drive home what a gem this little book is. Straight to my favorites shelf.
To start, since it is billed as an atlas, yes, there are maps, elegant, minimalist and well-designed maps; see other reviews for a deeper discussion of how the "flip-book" style works well here, what I would note (having sampled a few alternative atlases for this era) is the refreshing attention to stripped-down design. There are competitors with much more conventional and nostalgic approaches towards infinite detail, but most are constrained by the limitations of their contemporary (60s-80s) typography and color-setting print practices ... the type is often painfully monotone and the ink garish and saturated, all contributing to legibility nightmares. The whole field cries out to be reworked with the digital tools of today. McEvedy is a first step in that direction.
But to return to the leader: the treasure of McEvedy is the accompanying narrative, which is breezy and highly entertaining but not shallow.
Spoiler alert; a few samples from the 15th century alone will give the picture:
This, just below a block of main text:
And in a masterful crescendo:
If there's a better way to acquaint or re-acquaint yourself with the history of Europe and the near east from 360-1483, I'd be hard pressed to think what it is. One pictures Douglas Adams as a teenager curled up on his bed, devouring an early edition and conceiving the Encyclopedia Galactica.
A note, a review on Amazon comments that the older editions of this book are much more full-on in the dry wit and snark. I appear to have the 1992 version, and it is amply entertaining.
To start, since it is billed as an atlas, yes, there are maps, elegant, minimalist and well-designed maps; see other reviews for a deeper discussion of how the "flip-book" style works well here, what I would note (having sampled a few alternative atlases for this era) is the refreshing attention to stripped-down design. There are competitors with much more conventional and nostalgic approaches towards infinite detail, but most are constrained by the limitations of their contemporary (60s-80s) typography and color-setting print practices ... the type is often painfully monotone and the ink garish and saturated, all contributing to legibility nightmares. The whole field cries out to be reworked with the digital tools of today. McEvedy is a first step in that direction.
But to return to the leader: the treasure of McEvedy is the accompanying narrative, which is breezy and highly entertaining but not shallow.
Spoiler alert; a few samples from the 15th century alone will give the picture:
Footnote 2. Timur was a devout Muslim, and it is ironic that few of his blows landed on the enemies of his faith. The best he could do was ransack Georgia every time he passed by, which was often enough to make Georgia a pretty miserable place..."
This, just below a block of main text:
Henry V, who became King of England in 1413, decided to put an end to the quarrel between the English and French crowns by making himself King of France too. Circumstances favored his cause. The reigning King of France was a lunatic, the Duke of Burgundy open-minded about his loyalties, and the French nobility as confused as ever about the difference between tournaments and tactics."
And in a masterful crescendo:
The Council met at Pisa in 1409, where it declared both existing Popes deposed and elected a new one of its own. However, as it lacked the means to make its depositions effective, the end result was simply three Popes instead of two. A new Council meeting at Constance ... did better. One Pope abdicated voluntarily, another withdrew to Spain, where his support gradually ebbed away, while the third was forced to stand down after a trial that left many puzzled as to how he had become Pope in the first place.(1) The way was clear for the selection of a new pontiff who could end the confusion as to who was Pope and where he was to be found.
(1) This was the John XXIII of whose trial before the Council Gibbon wrote: 'the most scandalous charges were suppressed, the vicar of Christ was only accused of piracy, rape, sodomy and incest'.
If there's a better way to acquaint or re-acquaint yourself with the history of Europe and the near east from 360-1483, I'd be hard pressed to think what it is. One pictures Douglas Adams as a teenager curled up on his bed, devouring an early edition and conceiving the Encyclopedia Galactica.
A note, a review on Amazon comments that the older editions of this book are much more full-on in the dry wit and snark. I appear to have the 1992 version, and it is amply entertaining.
December 28, 2014
'The best history book ever'? A rather extravagant claim I admit, and impossible to substantiate, but this is truly a superb book for anyone with even the slightest interest in history. It has two main advantages:
1) It covers 1,000 years in barely 100 pages for less than 10 pounds. You could read it in an afternoon
2) It covers the entire sweep of European and Middle Eastern history together, so that every major event can be seen in its context
The main body of the book consists of political maps - the same basic map every time - showing the medieval world at roughly 30-year intervals. Turn the pages fast enough and empires rise and fall like a cartoon show (quite a long show in the case of the Byzantine Empire). The book also pauses occasionally to show the growth of the major religions, trade and population.
But an unexpected bonus comes with the writing. McEvedy writes with informal clarity and a deft use of language that makes every paragraph engaging and brings the story to life in a way quite unlike most history books (the Kwarizm Shah, he writes, "fell back to rest against the teeth of the Mongolian dragon"; "the King of France was a lunatic, the Duke of Burgundy open-minded about his loyalties and the French nobility as confused as ever about the difference between tournaments and tactics"). Reading him is a pleasure.
The book is substantially updated from earlier editions, justifying the addition of 'New' to the title. Some more subtle analysis has been added, without significantly boosting the word count. The population graphs are also new, so owners of 20-year old editions should consider upgrading.
Two gripes: firstly, 1980s editions excluded Iceland, northern Norway and the fringes of Arabia, explaining that including them would compress the crucial central area for the sake of a few backwaters. These areas have been included now, and it shows that the original judgement was correct.
Secondly, the book fails to mention the Great Schism of 1054 between Rome and Constantinople, which is one of the defining moments of medieval Christianity. But it's still easily worth five stars.
1) It covers 1,000 years in barely 100 pages for less than 10 pounds. You could read it in an afternoon
2) It covers the entire sweep of European and Middle Eastern history together, so that every major event can be seen in its context
The main body of the book consists of political maps - the same basic map every time - showing the medieval world at roughly 30-year intervals. Turn the pages fast enough and empires rise and fall like a cartoon show (quite a long show in the case of the Byzantine Empire). The book also pauses occasionally to show the growth of the major religions, trade and population.
But an unexpected bonus comes with the writing. McEvedy writes with informal clarity and a deft use of language that makes every paragraph engaging and brings the story to life in a way quite unlike most history books (the Kwarizm Shah, he writes, "fell back to rest against the teeth of the Mongolian dragon"; "the King of France was a lunatic, the Duke of Burgundy open-minded about his loyalties and the French nobility as confused as ever about the difference between tournaments and tactics"). Reading him is a pleasure.
The book is substantially updated from earlier editions, justifying the addition of 'New' to the title. Some more subtle analysis has been added, without significantly boosting the word count. The population graphs are also new, so owners of 20-year old editions should consider upgrading.
Two gripes: firstly, 1980s editions excluded Iceland, northern Norway and the fringes of Arabia, explaining that including them would compress the crucial central area for the sake of a few backwaters. These areas have been included now, and it shows that the original judgement was correct.
Secondly, the book fails to mention the Great Schism of 1054 between Rome and Constantinople, which is one of the defining moments of medieval Christianity. But it's still easily worth five stars.
October 20, 2011
McEvedy's book is one of the best history books around, with the whole sweep of a thousand years shown in maps - each presenting the entire area of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East from 362AD to 1478.
The writing is light, vibrant and even humorous, with the aim of showing the history of the entire region, rather than individual countries, brilliantly achieved.
As it dates from the 1960s, some of the ideas have been superseded by later research. For example, saying that Britain "slipped out of the Roman orbit into Celtic anarchy" after the Romans left is great prose, but we now know that things didn't happen that way.
The older edition has been updated as The NEW Atlas of Medieval History, so that's the edition to buy. And your really should buy it.
The writing is light, vibrant and even humorous, with the aim of showing the history of the entire region, rather than individual countries, brilliantly achieved.
As it dates from the 1960s, some of the ideas have been superseded by later research. For example, saying that Britain "slipped out of the Roman orbit into Celtic anarchy" after the Romans left is great prose, but we now know that things didn't happen that way.
The older edition has been updated as The NEW Atlas of Medieval History, so that's the edition to buy. And your really should buy it.
June 23, 2016
I've been looking for a book on the maps of Europe through the centuries for forever. This book was awesome; even summarizing the history of change, trade routes, and religion.
December 28, 2019
I picked this book up randomly and was caught by its design. Each page is a map with text moving along at 30-50 year increments. I have a limited knowledge of this history and wouldn't know if any of the information is out-of-date at this point, the focus is euro/mediterranean centric by design, but I found the book as-is to be a really enjoyable and informative read that felt objective throughout and gave good attention to happenings in central asia, north africa, and the middle east, which all had obvious impacts on medieval europe.
It is concise and well-written, and the maps communicate a lot of information cleanly and as clearly as you could hope. It really provided a quick but in-depth survey of this history that lays a strong foundation for understanding the timeline of this era and sews some seeds of interest for future reading. Really intrigued by the whole series and hope to seek out some of the other Atlases McEvedy created.
It is concise and well-written, and the maps communicate a lot of information cleanly and as clearly as you could hope. It really provided a quick but in-depth survey of this history that lays a strong foundation for understanding the timeline of this era and sews some seeds of interest for future reading. Really intrigued by the whole series and hope to seek out some of the other Atlases McEvedy created.
June 1, 2022
Quite an interesting work, this slim volume from 1961 covers the years from 362 A.D. to about 1478 A.D. with jumps of around forty to fifty years between sections, each of which presents both a one page summary of the main movements of borders at that time and, on the facing page, an updated map. Rarely does a map include less than twenty or so principalities, nations, duchies, kingdoms, khanates etc. Rarely does the accompanying text have much more to it than ‘and then so-and-so expanded into the land of so-and so’ or ‘the decline of such-and-such state continued as such-and-such other state exerted its power over it’. I got to thinking more than once as I made my tortuous way through the roughly ten or so significant changes in each of the 30 or so chapters that not only was I never going to remember any of this, but that it was really a series of ambitious warlords and their rises and falls that I was reading about.
As one example of the text from this work, the following sentence contains nine different proper nouns: ‘As the Fatimid Caliphate fell to the orthodox Zengids, a Shiite Empire was created further west by the Muwahids, who took over the territories of the dissolving Muramids (1145), expelled the Normans and the remains of the Zirids (1152-60) and enforced their supremacy over the Berber and Arab nomads.’ Obviously, the author knew his stuff, but one has to wonder if such specificity was really required.
At times he did display a sardonic wit. When Papal claims to territory were based on a supposed will of Constantine, he dryly comments that Constantine ‘seems to have neglected to draw up his will until he had been dead four hundred years.’ When Armenians, who had previously been granted some sympathy as being the victims of Persians, Turks and Arabs split into two rival camps, the comment is made that this action ‘enabled Armenians to have a taste of the delights of massacring Armenians.’
Interesting, but far too many trees to give one a proper appreciation of the forest. Less facts and more ideas would have been better.
Tepidly recommended.
As one example of the text from this work, the following sentence contains nine different proper nouns: ‘As the Fatimid Caliphate fell to the orthodox Zengids, a Shiite Empire was created further west by the Muwahids, who took over the territories of the dissolving Muramids (1145), expelled the Normans and the remains of the Zirids (1152-60) and enforced their supremacy over the Berber and Arab nomads.’ Obviously, the author knew his stuff, but one has to wonder if such specificity was really required.
At times he did display a sardonic wit. When Papal claims to territory were based on a supposed will of Constantine, he dryly comments that Constantine ‘seems to have neglected to draw up his will until he had been dead four hundred years.’ When Armenians, who had previously been granted some sympathy as being the victims of Persians, Turks and Arabs split into two rival camps, the comment is made that this action ‘enabled Armenians to have a taste of the delights of massacring Armenians.’
Interesting, but far too many trees to give one a proper appreciation of the forest. Less facts and more ideas would have been better.
Tepidly recommended.
February 6, 2015
The best source I've find for a good big-picture look at European history. Paging through the maps, watching the political landscape change at 40- or 50-year intervals, brings the various threads of history together in a way that text narratives can't quite do. I never really grasped the scale of the Hun invasions, or the rise of the Arab caliphates, before reading this book. And the accompanying text is interesting and readable throughout.
July 31, 2017
as an overview of forces exerted on broad general borders that change over time, it's terrific. and it goes wide, documenting Asian migrations as a major force. it's very unlike other historical atlases, though, in steering clear of spotlights on various cultures as they are changing. and the maps are stripped of all the detail we expect to see, the record of towns and ephemeral political borders in jurisdictions that come and go. a very interesting approach.
November 24, 2017
This is a very fun romp through the Medieval history. Colin McEvedy gives interesting information to supplement the many maps that show the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and duchies. You see th travails of Europe, Africa, and the Near Orient, and how they interacted.
The maps are a joy to peruse, and the information is just enough to give the maps the story and context needed to make them better to peruse. Completely recommend!
The maps are a joy to peruse, and the information is just enough to give the maps the story and context needed to make them better to peruse. Completely recommend!
February 14, 2010
This is a chronological atlas. It also has extensive (for an atlas) explanations of the maps. Very good for getting a big, general picture of the movements of the different groups during the middle ages.
February 11, 2018
Excellent companion to, e.g., Gibbon, or anything lacking maps.
December 6, 2018
One of the best history books around, written with verve and enthusiasm. However, there's a newer version, with some of the out-dated assumptions corrected, so read that one instead.
January 14, 2024
McEvedy's biases are pretty clear--I knew for certain he was English without looking it up lol--but this nevertheless remains a very useful high-level overview of how the borders moved in Europe, north Africa, and the near east, from the years AD 362 to 1478.
The many, many maps means you can easily flip back and forth to see the shifts: the Huns (and later the Mongols) suddenly loom large before withering quickly away; nations with recognisable names and shapes (France, Germany) start to appear; and the Roman/Byzantine Empire slowly slowly declines into oblivion.
Obviously there's a great deal of detail lost with a project like this, but if you lack a base level of knowledge about this period and want somewhere to get it, there are far worse places than here.
The many, many maps means you can easily flip back and forth to see the shifts: the Huns (and later the Mongols) suddenly loom large before withering quickly away; nations with recognisable names and shapes (France, Germany) start to appear; and the Roman/Byzantine Empire slowly slowly declines into oblivion.
Obviously there's a great deal of detail lost with a project like this, but if you lack a base level of knowledge about this period and want somewhere to get it, there are far worse places than here.
Want to read
July 4, 2019
February 7, 2019
Very dry but I really enjoyed this and learned a lot. I love the organization of the book.
July 5, 2022
Ambitious but accomplished.
July 11, 2022
A delightful gem of a book.
Read
July 27, 2022Loved this one! I had a great time flipping through the maps to see changes. Nice overview of the medieval period too.
May 19, 2023
Excellent update of a classic historical atlas!
Shows how the Angle Saxons invaded England because they were fleeing Attila the Hun.
Shows how the Angle Saxons invaded England because they were fleeing Attila the Hun.
March 10, 2024
Loved the visuals, really helped paint the picture of what life was like during the medieval ages. Learned so much from every page.
January 20, 2022
This is a continuation of the Atlas of Ancient history onwards to the Medieval stage. The atlas is an excellent summary of medieval history. This is indispensible to the fan of medieval studies.
May 28, 2015
This book does what it's supposed to do. It's rather dense, but far from complete. I knocked off one star because it does not have a lot to say about Central Asia during the 10th to 13th centuries. I would have like a few extra maps, maybe one detailing the Mongols' territory and trade goods, another about the Silk Road as it pertained to crossroads civilizations such as Samarkand, Basra, Herat, etc., and maybe one about the outbreaks of anti-Semitism that started in the late 1300s? That said, this book does have many maps detailing the spread of Islam in the 7th through 9th centuries. I imagine that a future edition will probably include something along these lines.
Other than that, this book covers A LOT. It helped me figure out the movement of the Slavs, who kept encroaching south and west whenever some other group decided to go into the heart of Europe. It talked a little about Theodoric the Ostrogoth, who has never quite achieved the superstar status I feel he deserves. There is a lot of explanation of Charlemagne, the kingdom of the Franks, and how they got entwined with the papacy.
This book also is quick to point out fluctuations in population due to disease and decline in civilization. The book ends in 1483, discussing the advent of Gutenberg, guns, clocks, and the Portuguese about to round the Cape of Good Hope.
Other than that, this book covers A LOT. It helped me figure out the movement of the Slavs, who kept encroaching south and west whenever some other group decided to go into the heart of Europe. It talked a little about Theodoric the Ostrogoth, who has never quite achieved the superstar status I feel he deserves. There is a lot of explanation of Charlemagne, the kingdom of the Franks, and how they got entwined with the papacy.
This book also is quick to point out fluctuations in population due to disease and decline in civilization. The book ends in 1483, discussing the advent of Gutenberg, guns, clocks, and the Portuguese about to round the Cape of Good Hope.
January 2, 2014
If you promise not to tell Goodreads, I'll tell you a secret: I don't own the New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. I own the old one. Anyway, I love historical atlases, and flipping through this book you can watch kingdoms and empires rise, grow, shrink, and fall in pleasantly dynamic fashion, and in context with other groups doing the same thing, some of which are obscure to me. Without this book would I have known anything about the Patzinaks, who drove a wedge between the Khazars and the Volga Bulgars, until they were driven into Europe and replaced by the Cumans? It would be great to have an animated version like the University of Richmond's version of Paullin and Wright, which is what reminded me of this book and set me to this review. I would love to have more such historical atlases, covering Asia, Africa, the Americas, and every time period. But until then this is a fun book to have.
February 13, 2021
I bought this primarily as a reference work, but I found the short descriptions accompanying each map to be so enjoyable that I ended up reading the book from beginning to end. It's short, and serves as a very good overview of European history from the reign of Julian in the fourth century to the Voyages of Discovery in the fifteenth. One of the merits of McEvedy's writing is that he does not take prior knowledge of the subject matter for granted, so newcomers to this topic will not feel intimidated.
August 8, 2010
McEvedy's wit and way with words help keep your attention, as you see the progression of nations, in the whole "known world," from the ancient Roman empire to the 1600's. This book is full of fascinating facts, including the origin of the word "assassin," the division of Islam into Sunnites and Shiites, the "Crusade" that turned into a raid on the Byzantine Empire, the homecountry of the Goths and Saxons, and the relationship between the Huns and modern-day Hungary. I would love to read this book again!
April 20, 2024
A second reading in 2024. I assigned this book to my Medieval History class (10th grade). I think all of McEvedy's Atlases are unique and useful for survey courses, as they help students to see the overall changes over time. Even historical survey books work thematically or geographically, then chronologically. the format of these books allows one to be chronological first, then geographical, and only after that, topical.
A Lively geographically centered look at the Medieval world. The writer is quite entertaining if a bit hostile to the Church. (2018)
A Lively geographically centered look at the Medieval world. The writer is quite entertaining if a bit hostile to the Church. (2018)
February 9, 2019
I bought this because my knowledge of world history had a giant gap between the end of the Roman empire and, say, last Tuesday. I needed something that chewed the history and fed it to me in pre-digested chunks and this book played the role of mother seagull perfectly. It shows you overview maps of the "Western" world every few decades and explanatory text on the facing page. It was nice to see some humor sprinkled here and there, it was actually quite readable and enjoyable.
March 15, 2015
The writing could use some improvement in some places. But the maps are very succinct and with consistent format. Even though not much detail can be included in the maps and descriptions in this form of presentation, it is a great experience to feel the ebb and flow of history just by turning the pages and seeing the borders on the map shift and nations appear/disappear from the scene.
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