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A Brief History of the Mediterranean: Indispensable for Travellers
A wonderfully concise and readable, yet comprehensive, history of the Mediterranean Sea, the perfect companion for any visitor -- or indeed, anyone compelled to stay at home.
' The grand object of travelling is to see the shores of the Mediterranean.'
Samuel Johnson, 1776
The Mediterranean has always been a leading stage for world history; it is also visited each year by tens of millions of tourists, both local and international. Jeremy Black provides an account in which the experience of travel is travel for tourism, for trade, for war, for migration, for culture, or, as so often, for a variety of reasons. Travellers have always had a variety of goals and situations, from rulers to slaves, merchants to pirates, and Black covers them all, from Phoenicians travelling for trade to the modern tourist sailing for pleasure and cruising in great comfort.
Throughout the book the emphasis is on the sea, on coastal regions and on port cities visited by cruise liners - Athens, Barcelona, Naples, Palermo. But it also looks beyond, notably to the other waters that flow into the Mediterranean - the Black Sea, the Atlantic, the Red Sea and rivers, from the Ebro and Rhone to the Nile.
Much of western Eurasia and northern Africa played, and continues to play, a role, directly or indirectly, in the fate of the Mediterranean. At times, that can make the history of the sea an account of conflict after conflict, but it is necessary to understand these wars in order to grasp the changing boundaries of the Mediterranean states, societies and religions, the buildings that have been left, and the peoples' cultures, senses of identity and histories.
Black explores the centrality of the Mediterranean to the Western experience of travel, beginning in antiquity with the Phoenicians, Minoans and Greeks. He shows how the Roman Empire united the sea, and how it was later divided by Christianity and Islam. He tells the story of the rise and fall of the maritime empires of Pisa, Genoa and Venice, describes how galley warfare evolved and how the Mediterranean fired the imagination of Shakespeare, among many artists. From the Renaissance and Baroque to the seventeenth-century beginnings of English tourism - to the Aegean, Sicily and other destinations - Black examines the culture of the Mediterraean. He shows how English naval power grew, culminating in Nelson's famous victory over the French in the Battle of the Nile and the establishment of Gibraltar, Minorca and Malta as naval bases. Black explains the retreat of Islam in north Africa, describes the age of steam navigation and looks at how and why the British occupied Cyprus, Egypt and the Ionian Islands. He looks at the impact of the Suez Canal as a new sea route to India and how the Riviera became Europe's playground. He shows how the Mediterranean has been central to two World Wars, the Cold War and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. With its focus always on the Sea, the book looks at the fate of port cities particularly - Alexandria, Salonika and Naples.
' The grand object of travelling is to see the shores of the Mediterranean.'
Samuel Johnson, 1776
The Mediterranean has always been a leading stage for world history; it is also visited each year by tens of millions of tourists, both local and international. Jeremy Black provides an account in which the experience of travel is travel for tourism, for trade, for war, for migration, for culture, or, as so often, for a variety of reasons. Travellers have always had a variety of goals and situations, from rulers to slaves, merchants to pirates, and Black covers them all, from Phoenicians travelling for trade to the modern tourist sailing for pleasure and cruising in great comfort.
Throughout the book the emphasis is on the sea, on coastal regions and on port cities visited by cruise liners - Athens, Barcelona, Naples, Palermo. But it also looks beyond, notably to the other waters that flow into the Mediterranean - the Black Sea, the Atlantic, the Red Sea and rivers, from the Ebro and Rhone to the Nile.
Much of western Eurasia and northern Africa played, and continues to play, a role, directly or indirectly, in the fate of the Mediterranean. At times, that can make the history of the sea an account of conflict after conflict, but it is necessary to understand these wars in order to grasp the changing boundaries of the Mediterranean states, societies and religions, the buildings that have been left, and the peoples' cultures, senses of identity and histories.
Black explores the centrality of the Mediterranean to the Western experience of travel, beginning in antiquity with the Phoenicians, Minoans and Greeks. He shows how the Roman Empire united the sea, and how it was later divided by Christianity and Islam. He tells the story of the rise and fall of the maritime empires of Pisa, Genoa and Venice, describes how galley warfare evolved and how the Mediterranean fired the imagination of Shakespeare, among many artists. From the Renaissance and Baroque to the seventeenth-century beginnings of English tourism - to the Aegean, Sicily and other destinations - Black examines the culture of the Mediterraean. He shows how English naval power grew, culminating in Nelson's famous victory over the French in the Battle of the Nile and the establishment of Gibraltar, Minorca and Malta as naval bases. Black explains the retreat of Islam in north Africa, describes the age of steam navigation and looks at how and why the British occupied Cyprus, Egypt and the Ionian Islands. He looks at the impact of the Suez Canal as a new sea route to India and how the Riviera became Europe's playground. He shows how the Mediterranean has been central to two World Wars, the Cold War and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. With its focus always on the Sea, the book looks at the fate of port cities particularly - Alexandria, Salonika and Naples.
- GenresHistoryTravelNonfiction
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2020
11 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Black
431 books198 followersJeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 10, 2025
Listened to audiobook. If I do not hear the words “more over”the rest of the year fine with me.
The last 4 chapters are the most interesting, starting with the divisions of various “tribes” into countries just prior to WWI.
Doesn’t seem various “revolutions” last more than one lifetime.
“Not too brief”
The last 4 chapters are the most interesting, starting with the divisions of various “tribes” into countries just prior to WWI.
Doesn’t seem various “revolutions” last more than one lifetime.
“Not too brief”
September 24, 2024
Maybe 2.5.
This was a real slog of a read.
The pros: it’s thoroughly researched, full of facts, covers a broad time span and geographical area
The cons: the writing style makes it hard to read, the scope is so broad that there is very little detail on major events
Overall this was a nice idea for a book, but the style of writing just turns the whole thing into “then this happened in this year, then this happened in this year”. A random selection of pages finds between 5 and 23 dates on a double page spread - averaging around 10. Might seem odd to complain about dates in a history book, but there’s so many that they lose any real meaning. They also don’t add anything, but do serve to break the flow. At times, the tone switches from sweeping history to vague advice on places to visit.
It’s a shame to give such a low score to a book that has clearly had so much effort put into it, but it was just not an enjoyable read. If you don’t mind loads of dates and repetition of names/places you’ve never heard of without explanation, then give it a go - the actual historical content is very good.
This was a real slog of a read.
The pros: it’s thoroughly researched, full of facts, covers a broad time span and geographical area
The cons: the writing style makes it hard to read, the scope is so broad that there is very little detail on major events
Overall this was a nice idea for a book, but the style of writing just turns the whole thing into “then this happened in this year, then this happened in this year”. A random selection of pages finds between 5 and 23 dates on a double page spread - averaging around 10. Might seem odd to complain about dates in a history book, but there’s so many that they lose any real meaning. They also don’t add anything, but do serve to break the flow. At times, the tone switches from sweeping history to vague advice on places to visit.
It’s a shame to give such a low score to a book that has clearly had so much effort put into it, but it was just not an enjoyable read. If you don’t mind loads of dates and repetition of names/places you’ve never heard of without explanation, then give it a go - the actual historical content is very good.
December 23, 2021
jeremy Black is a very prolific history writer and academic, having written some 150 books. I thought this book might be a bit light as he covers 2000 years of history in less than 300 pages, with some chapters of 30 pages covering 6-700 years of history. He explores the history, culture, and geography of the region fairly in-depth in those pages. The book only has one general map of the Mediterranean region. More maps with each chapter would have brought out the different groups that held power in different parts in each time period. I am sure if he was leading a class on the topic, he would have included them. It does give you a broad sense of the changes over time. As the title suggests, it may have been written more for travelers to the region, but it does give a good overview of this region's history.
August 7, 2023
This is not my usual however I felt compelled to comment on the fact that the first third of the book is quite tiresome and therefore less than helpful. He covers so much ground so sketchily that I am left with little more than an impression of what is going on.
Either more maps or less of a litany of who conquered who. Maybe an appendix outlining information about the various small nations of the Mediterranean that have come and gone.
Black also tends to go back and forward in time over the course of a few paragraphs. A somewhat whimsical approach to history.
I am actually touring the Med as I read this. I chose the book for that reason. The cover states “indispensable for travelers”.
I would say, this is a poor offering for those interested in history or travel. I finished it, but I would not recommend it.
Either more maps or less of a litany of who conquered who. Maybe an appendix outlining information about the various small nations of the Mediterranean that have come and gone.
Black also tends to go back and forward in time over the course of a few paragraphs. A somewhat whimsical approach to history.
I am actually touring the Med as I read this. I chose the book for that reason. The cover states “indispensable for travelers”.
I would say, this is a poor offering for those interested in history or travel. I finished it, but I would not recommend it.
March 4, 2022
This short book is packed with information. As the title suggests, it is a BRIEF history of an area of the world that has a very extensive history. While I enjoyed reading it (and learned a ton of information that I didn't previously appreciate) there were times it seemed that the entire chapter was sentence after sentence listing which country (or people) defeated which country (or people) and the year in which it occurred. There wasn't a lot of detail provided -- but I suppose that if the detail were to be provided it would no longer be BRIEF. I don't know how "indispensable for travelers" the book really is as it is really not set up to be a travel book.
May 2, 2023
Honestly a bit of a slog at times, particularly in the sections where it's just fact after fact in the form of "In 1243, X invaded Y, followed by an invasion by Z in 1301. Meanwhile U, V and W were at war with each other over T." etc etc. There are long passages like this where it's hard to keep track of who's who. The book does improve once it gets to the past 300 years or so.
The tagline of "Indispensable for Travellers" (presumably added to the title by the publishers rather than the author) is laughable though. Aside from some interesting talk about ancient sites and cruise ship ports, there's really nothing here for the tourist.
The tagline of "Indispensable for Travellers" (presumably added to the title by the publishers rather than the author) is laughable though. Aside from some interesting talk about ancient sites and cruise ship ports, there's really nothing here for the tourist.
May 30, 2021
Anything but brief.
Black attempts to cover a broad topic but the pace at which he switches between ideas makes it easy to lose focus and get lost in the words.
The vast narrative of the Mediterranean also leads to a lot of names, dates and countries being thrown around, again adding to the generally muddled descriptions and analysis.
Some good sections though. The chapters on 1945-Present were well written.
Black attempts to cover a broad topic but the pace at which he switches between ideas makes it easy to lose focus and get lost in the words.
The vast narrative of the Mediterranean also leads to a lot of names, dates and countries being thrown around, again adding to the generally muddled descriptions and analysis.
Some good sections though. The chapters on 1945-Present were well written.
July 9, 2020
A vade mecum for travel by sea, land or imagination to the Med. History written chronologically with Jeremy Black's attention to detail and passion for fascinating facts and figures covering all aspects of this wonderful part of the world.
August 17, 2024
I honestly didn't even finish this book because it was so boring. Maybe I just don't have enough of a knowledge base, but the never ending lists of people and societies and countries I had never heard of just weren't engaging.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews