The Middle Ages was a time of major historical shifts and transformations. This amazing era reverberates with discoveries, innovations, events, and historical processes that are integral to the world we know now.
In these 24 enthralling lectures, Professor Salisbury leads you on a sumptuous tour of this incredible historical epoch, making clear that the remarkable historical currents and advances of the Middle Ages unfolded not only in the West, but across the globe, from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to Asia, the Americas, and beyond:
- Expansion, Prosperity, and Networks of Trade. Grasp the advances in technology and agriculture that drove civilizations from Europe to China and map the great trading networks that connected medieval civilizations.
- The Age of Faith. The Middle Ages was an era of vast religious expansion and controversy; witness this in events such as the rise of Islam; the drama and disaster of the Crusades; Buddhism's spread across Asia; and the internal schisms within Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity.
- Medieval Treasures of Art and Architecture. Explore the triumphs of medieval architecture, from European castles and cathedrals to the sublime religious monuments of Indonesia and Cambodia; delve into the medieval literary epics of heroes and lovers that still move us.
- The Phenomenon of Travel. Visualize the amazing sea voyages of the Vikings and the Polynesians, and travel Asia and the Far East in the company of legendary travelers Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Lady Nijo.
- The Medieval Americas. Study the economies, religions, and monumental architecture of the Maya in Mexico, the Chaco Canyon peoples in North America, the Chimu civilization in Peru, and the forest peoples of the Amazon.
Crossing many cultures, continents, and 1,000 years of history, The Middle Ages Around the World offers you a dazzling journey through an epoch that continues to speak meaningfully to the modern world.