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Castilian ambassadors attempt to ally themselves with Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada.

The Iberian Realm of Islam

Review of Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain, by Brian A. Catlos (New York: Basic Books, 2018)
… immigration ban. Timely then that veteran religious studies scholar Brian A. Catlos has published an overview of … Catlos examines the importance of Islam in the formation of European and Mediterranean culture. It is intended for a … The reality of the Islamic kingdoms in Iberia was far more complex. Castilian ambassadors attempt to ally themselves …
Cover of A Tale of Two Monasteries: Westminster and Saint-Denis in the Thirteenth Century by William Chester Jordan.

To Serve God and the King?

Review of A Tale of Two Monasteries: Westminster and Saint-Denis in the Thirteenth Century, by William Chester Jordan (Princeton University Press, 2009)
… and Saint-Denis were among the most organizationally complex and bureaucratically advanced entities operating below the level of the state in medieval Europe. As a consequence they have left historians … Europe … Medieval …
Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England, by Juliet Barker Little, Brown and Company book cover.

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England

Review of Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle that Made England, by Juliet Barker Little, Brown and Company (New York, 2006)
… During the Hundred Years War, England's King Henry V also laid claim to the crown of France, and to make good that … successful, effort to draw the reader in to the late medieval mindset prevalent among the nobility at the time, … unalloyed sense of justification: She announces that the outcome of the battle of Agincourt showed "God had chosen to …
A woman on the outskirts of Kyiv carrying a bucket of apricots

Eating at You: Food and Chernobyl

… that Ukraine is called the “bread basket” of Eastern Europe . Walking the streets of Kyiv on a summer day is to … of independence. And, for many, knowing where your food comes from, intimately, down to the moisture of the soil, … strontium and plutonium—up the food chain and into bodies. From this mass monitoring effort, Soviet doctors …
Cover of 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire by Giusto Traina.

The End of the World as They Knew It

Review of 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire, by Giusto Traina (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. pp. xix, 203. Trans. by Allan Cameron)
… since it was the "key reference point" for all of our sources for the period (and so for the people to whom we are … sphere of influence. In this context Flavius Dionysius, commander of Rome's eastern military forces and a native of … book that is unique for the field of late antique studies. The book's great strength (and its focus) is its …
Cover of Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend by Richard Stoneman.

Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend

Review of Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend, by Richard Stoneman (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 2008)
… birth narrative takes a markedly different approach. It comes to us via Firdausi's Shahnameh (Book of Kings), … mystery, gold, and enchantment. Later ancient and medieval romantic depictions of the East would be based on … chapters to this theme and discusses it at various other points in the book. Central to Alexander's quest for …
View of Tbilisi as seen from Narikala, the city's medieval citadel.

A Postcard from Georgia and Azerbaijan

… cultures, and belief systems. In the Late Antique and medieval eras, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and … Jesus was crucified. Elias bought Jesus’ robe from a Roman soldier at Golgotha and brought it back to Mtskheta. As he … only after St. Nino spent an entire night praying for it to come back. From its bark, once it was grounded, flowed holy …
The Reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi painting by Theodoros Vryzakis.

An Historic Question: Over There or Over Here?

… to take action against Iraq should that nation fail to comply with UN arms inspectors, one arresting question … caution carried the day in 1824; the House defeated the resolution promising moral support. Those who resisted the … when the United States became the powerful Western hub for European interests. It became that hub only after a century …
A memorial dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) in Yaroslavl.

From Kulikovo Field to Kursk: Russia’s Forever War

Review of Russia: The Story of War, by Gregory Carleton (Cambridge, MA and London: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2017)
… Further away from the city center, a sprawling memorial complex known as Victory Park pays homage to Russia’s wars … Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin driving out winged Polish soldiers. From their base in Nizhnii Novgorod, Pozharsky and … of state propaganda, but powerful historical reference points that resonate with many ordinary Russians steeped in …
Shakespeare For All Time, by Stanley Wells Book cover.

Shakespeare For All Time

Review of Shakespeare For All Time, by Stanley Wells (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)
… testifies to this fascination. William Shakespeare has become more than a brilliant playwright from … is an argument that is likely to hit home with his target audience, many of whom are likely to be commuters themselves. … the nineteenth century, Shakespeare fame spread across Europe. Nineteenth-century romanticism gave way to …
soldiers at the battle of Lincoln

King Stephen and The Anarchy: A Reign Reconsidered

… system in the regions Stephen controlled. They have also highlighted the influential role of his queen, Matilda. … figure in Anglo-Norman society, admired by both nobles and commoners for his wealth, charm, and decisiveness.  Stephen … on Empress Matilda’s absence in Normandy when Henry I died. With support from Londoners and the Church—secured …
General Edmund Allenby entering Jerusalem on December 11, 1917. Allenby dismounted as a sign of respect for the holy city.

The Collapse of Ottoman Power

Review of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, by Eugene Rogan (New York: Basic Books, 2015)
… of two Russian ships by a German taskforce under the command of a German admiral improbably marked the entry of … in the Middle East is relatively well-known. Movie-going audiences are familiar with the dashing exploits of T. E. … alliance with Russia even after the outbreak of fighting in Europe in early August. The Young Turks, while misguided in …
Cover of Trotsky A Biography by Robert Service.

Trotsky: A Biography

Review of Trotsky: A Biography, by Robert Service (Cambridge, MA, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009)
… Westerners sympathetic to the ideals of socialism have often speculated about the development path … speculative thinking with his new biography on Trotsky. Coming after his previous biographies on Lenin and Stalin, … where he met the paper's staff. Establishing himself among European socialists, Trotsky later befriended the …
Mural in Guernica based on the Picasso painting. 

Guernica and the Horrors of Modern War

… Guernica was not the first strategically insignificant, non-combatant town ever to be targeted for aerial bombardment, … due to the painting of that name by the artist Pablo Picasso . Picasso had been asked by the Republican … that the black and white palette of the Guernica mural points to the fact that Picasso, living at the time outside …
Cover of Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther's World and Legacy by Lyndal Roper.

The Legacy of Luther

Review of Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther’s World and Legacy, by Lyndal Roper (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021)
View of the Solovetskii Monastery.

A Postcard from Solovki

… stand at the bow of the ferry as the water of the White Sea comes in wave after wave through the hole in the gunwale for … a Sea known for its nausea-inducing swells. A mother and son play in the running water beside me while a young couple … and the cold climate would test their spirits and their bodies each day. A Diverse Landscape: The forest on Solovki …
The famously burly W.G. Grace was one of Britain's most famous cricket players who stood out from the crowd with both his imposing career and his imposing facial hair.

A Long History of Close Shaves

Review of Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair, by Christopher Oldstone-Moore (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016)
… of history.  Through an extensive examination of primary sources which range from Neo-Assyrian sculpture to twenty … ancient Mesopotamian history. The bearded warrior kings and completely shaven priestly classes established a clear … which defined masculinity, he has done so with a decidedly Eurocentric bent.  Beards and mustaches present throughout …
The other side of The Shore, depicting the Maritime House, third from the left. The former headquarters of the National Seamen’s Union are now flats.

A Postcard from Leith, Scotland

… your right, you will encounter the upscale whiskey house, complete with nineteenth-century stone walls that feature … decision to list the building. The Banana Flats once embodied everything that Edinburgh felt was wrong with Leith. … Scotland still has the highest drug-related death rate in Europe. According to the National Records of Scotland, 1,187 …
Sylvester I and Constantine in a 1247 fresco.

Top Ten Origins: Popes Before 1500

… behave that badly? Are elections for new  popes  always so politically fraught? And most pressingly, where do they … The early version was small (around 30 clerics) and comprised only of “cardinal priests” who served parishes … historical evidence, and most scholars think that Peter died somewhere far from Rome, probably never having even …
U.S. General James Van Fleet and Greek War Minister Kanellopoulos walking between lines of soldiers on the island of Makronissos during the Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War, 1946–1949

The years 1940–1949 were ones of continuous horror for the Greek people.
… the Second World War (WWII) ended in 1945 and the rest of Europe was beginning to rebuild itself, Greece entered into … Europe …