The collapse of the eastern Mediterranean : climate change and the decline of the East, 950-1072 / Ronnie Ellenblum, The Hebrew University of Jeruslaem.

Autographed by Ronnie Ellenblum for Fokke Gerritsen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. The Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean : 1. Presenting the events -- 2. Deconstructing a 'collapse' -- 3. 950-1027 - An impending disaster -- Part II. Regional Domino Effects in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1027-60 AD : 4. The collapse of Iran -- 5. The fall of Baghdad -- 6. A crumbling empire : the Pechenegs and the decimation of Byzantium -- 7. Egypt and its provinces, 1050s-1070s -- Part III. Cities and Minorities : 8. Jerusalem and the decline of classical cities -- 9. Water supply, declining cities and deserted villages -- 10. Food crises and accelerated Islamization -- 11. Reflections.

"As a 'Medieval Warm Period' prevailed in Western Europe during the tenth and eleventh centuries, the eastern Mediterranean region, from the Nile to the Oxus, was suffering from a series of climatic disasters which led to the decline of some of the most important civilisations and cultural centres of the time. This provocative study argues that many well-documented but apparently disparate events - such as recurrent drought and famine in Egypt, mass migrations in the steppes of central Asia, and the decline in population in urban centres such as Baghdad and Constantinople - are connected and should be understood within the broad context of climate change. Drawing on a wealth of textual and archaeological evidence, Ronnie Ellenblum explores the impact of climatic and ecological change across the eastern Mediterranean in this period, to offer a new perspective on why this was a turning point in the history of the Islamic world"-- Provided by publisher.