Geography, Technology, and War: Studies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean, 649-1571 (Past and Present Publications)

When Maritime Transport And Communication Depended On Muscle And Wind-power, The Mediterranean Sea Functioned As A Symbiotic Force Between The Civilisations Which Surrounded It, At Once The Major Dividing Barrier And The Major Connecting Element. In This Study, The Technological Limitations Of Maritime Traffic Are Considered In Conjunction With The Peculiar Geographical Conditions Within Which It Operated, And Which Led To The Establishment Of Major Sea Lanes On Trunk Routes Along Which Traffic Could Move Safely, Efficiently, And Economically. These Trunk Routes Remained Virtually Unchanged From Antiquity To The Sixteenth Century, And Eventually Constituted Economic And Strategic Maritime Frontiers Between Civilisations. At The Same Time, The Technological Limitations Of The Oared Galley Meant That Coasts And Islands Along The Trunk Routes Had Also To Be Held, A Necessity Which Favoured Geographically The Christian West Over The World Of Byzantium And Islam. --publisher Description. The Sea -- The Ships : Commercial Shipping; The Early Middle Ages To The End Of The Thirteenth Century; The Fourteenth To Sixteenth Centuries; Warships -- Navigation : The Routes And Their Implications -- The Ninth And Tenth Centuries : Islam, Byzantium, And The West -- The Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries : The Crusader States -- Maritime Traffic : The Guerre De Course -- The Turks -- Epilogue : The Barbary Corsairs -- Conclusion. John H. Pryor. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 200-219) And Index. Contents......Page 8 Figures......Page 9 Figure sources......Page 10 Preface......Page 14 Preface to the paperback edition......Page 18 Abbreviations......Page 22 Note on orthography and typography......Page 23 Introduction......Page 24 1 The sea......Page 35 2 The ships......Page 48 3 Navigation: the routes and their implications......Page 110 4 The ninth and tenth centuries: Islam, Byzantium, and the West......Page 125 5 The twelfth and thirteenth centuries: the Crusader states......Page 135 6 Maritime traffic: The 'guerre de course'......Page 158 7 The Turks......Page 188 8 Epilogue: the Barbary corsairs......Page 216 Conclusion......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 223 Index......Page 243 1. The Sea -- 2. The Ships -- 3. Navigation: The Routes And Their Implications -- 4. The Ninth And Tenth Centuries: Islam, Byzantium, And The West -- 5. The Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries: The Crusader States -- 6. Maritime Traffic: The Guerre De Cours -- 7. The Turks -- 8. Epilogue: The Barbary Corsairs -- 9. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index. John H. Pryor. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 200-219. In this study, the technological limitations of maritime traffic in the Mediterranean are considered in conjunction with the peculiar geographical conditions within which it operated, and which led to the establishment of major sea lanes on trunk routes along which traffic could move safely, efficiently, and economically.