The Age of the Dromōn

The Age of the Dromōn PDF Author: John H. Pryor
Publisher: Medieval Mediterranean
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 850

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Book Description
This analysis of the ships of the Byzantine navy from the sixth to twelfth centuries is a fascinating, and totally original discussion of the surviving texts which record and report them and the relationship of those texts to the physical reality of the ships themselves.

The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ

The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ PDF Author: John Pryor
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047409930
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 838

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Book Description
This volume examines the development and evolution of the war galley known as the Dromon, and its relative, the Chelandion, from first appearance in the sixth century until its supercession in the twelfth century by the Galea developed in the Latin West. Beginning as a small, fully-decked, monoreme galley, by the tenth century the Dromon had become a bireme, the pre-eminent war galley of the Mediterranean. The salient features of these ships were their two-banked oarage system, the spurs at their bows which replaced the ram of classical antiquity, their lateen sails, and their primary weapon: Greek Fire. The book contextualizes the technical characteristics of the ships within the operational history of Byzantine fleets, logistical problems of medieval naval warfare, and strategic objectives. Surviving Byzantine sources, especially tactical manuals, are subjected to close literary and philological analysis.

A History of Byzantium

A History of Byzantium PDF Author: Timothy E. Gregory
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444359975
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
This revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidence Includes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliography Incorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studies Demonstrates that Byzantium was important in its own right but also served as a bridge between East and West and ancient and modern society Situates Byzantium in its broader historical context with a new comparative timeline and textboxes

 PDF Author:
Publisher: Odile Jacob
ISBN: 2738198600
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 515

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Book Description


Float Your Boat!

Float Your Boat! PDF Author: Mark Denny
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801895685
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
An estimated 4.1 million people in the United States participate in recreational sailing. Yet the large library of sailing literature leaves many of them high and dry. On one side are technical guides for America’s Cup boat-builders; on the other, simplistic books for weekend sailors with little interest in science. In Float Your Boat! professional and amateur boaters alike will find intelligent and understandable answers to such questions as: What were the key innovations that made sailboats more efficient? How do you increase the speed of a boat? How do sailboats travel into the wind? Why are so many explanations of sailing so wrong? Sailing enthusiast and physicist Mark Denny first traces the evolution of the sailing craft, from prehistoric coracles made of animal skins and antlers to the sailboat’s reinvention as a pleasure craft during the Industrial Revolution. He then identifies specific sailing phenomena—how wind drives modern Bermuda sloops, how torque determines stability, why hull speed exists—and provides the key physics principles behind them. Whether you are an inquisitive landlubber who has never set foot in a boat, a casual weekend sailor, or an old salt who lives for the sea, Float Your Boat! is an accessible guide to the physics of sailing.

The Great Arab Conquests

The Great Arab Conquests PDF Author: Hugh Kennedy
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 0297865595
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
A popular history of the Arab invasions that carved out an empire from Spain to China Today's Arab world was created at breathtaking speed. Whereas the Roman Empire took over 200 years to reach its fullest extent, the Arab armies overran the whole Middle East, North Africa and Spain within a generation. They annihilated the thousand-year-old Persian Empire and reduced the Byzantine Empire to little more than a city-state based around Constantinople. Within a hundred years of the Prophet's death, Muslim armies destroyed the Visigoth kingdom of Spain, and crossed the Pyrenees to occupy southern France. This is the first popular English language account of this astonishing remaking of the political and religious map of the world. Hugh Kennedy's sweeping narrative reveals how the Arab armies conquered almost everything in their path. One of the few academic historians with a genuine talent for story telling, he offers a compelling mix of larger-than-life characters, battles, treachery and the clash of civilizations.

The Sea in World History [2 volumes]

The Sea in World History [2 volumes] PDF Author: Stephen K. Stein
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 856

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Book Description
This two-volume set documents the essential role of the sea and maritime activity across history, from travel and food production to commerce and conquest. In all eras, water transport has served as the cheapest and most efficient means of moving cargo and people over any significant distance. Only relatively recently have railroads and aircraft provided an alternative. Most of the world's bulk goods continue to travel primarily by ship over water. Even today, 95 percent of the cargo that enters and leaves the United States does so by ship. Similarly, people around the world rely on the sea for food, and in recent years, the sea has become an important source of oil and other resources, with the longterm effects of our continuing efforts to extract resources from the sea further highlighting environmental concerns that range from pollution to the exhaustion of fish stocks. This chronologically organized two-volume reference addresses the history of the sea, beginning with ancient civilizations (4000 to 1000 BCE) and ending with the modern era (1945 to the present day). Each of the eight chapters is further broken down into sections that focus on specific nations or regions, offering detailed descriptions of that area of the world and shorter entries on specific topics, individuals, and events. The book spans maritime history, covering major seafaring peoples and nations; famous explorers, travelers, and commanders; events, battles, and wars; key technologies, including famous ships; important processes and ongoing events, such as piracy and the slave trade; and more. Readers will benefit from dozens of primary source documents—ranging from ancient Egyptian tales of seafaring to texts by renowned travelers like Marco Polo, Zheng He, and Ibn Battuta—that provide firsthand accounts from the age of discovery as well as accounts of battle from World War I and II and more modern accounts of the sea.

Eustathios of Thessaloniki

Eustathios of Thessaloniki PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900434490X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
"This book presents translations of six speeches by Eustathios of Thessaloniki, accompanied by a detailed commentary which analyses the language used in these complex pieces of oratory and explains the allusions to the historical events of the time that they contain. Ten appendices provide further details on a range of topics."--Australian Association for Byzantine Studies website.

Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081-1108

Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081-1108 PDF Author: Georgios Theotokis
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 1843839210
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
First full-length analysis of Norman military organisation in the Balkans: events, strategy, and tactics.

Byzantine Warfare

Byzantine Warfare PDF Author: John Haldon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351953745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
Warfare was an integral part of the operations of the medieval eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, both in its organization, as well as in social thinking and political ideology. This volume presents a selection of articles dealing with key aspects of Byzantine attitudes to war and violence, with military administration and organization at tactical and strategic levels, weapons and armaments and war-making itself; discussions which make an important contribution to answering the questions of how and why the empire survived as long as it did.

Waging War

Waging War PDF Author: Wayne E. Lee
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199797455
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
Waging War: Conflict, Culture, and Innovation in World History provides a wide-ranging examination of war in human history, from the beginning of the species until the current rise of the so-called Islamic State. Although it covers many societies throughout time, the book does not attempt to tell all stories from all places, nor does it try to narrate "important" conflicts. Instead, author Wayne E. Lee describes the emergence of military innovations and systems, examining how they were created and then how they moved or affected other societies. These innovations are central to most historical narratives, including the development of social complexity, the rise of the state, the role of the steppe horseman, the spread of gunpowder, the rise of the west, the bureaucratization of military institutions, the industrial revolution and the rise of firepower, strategic bombing and nuclear weapons, and the creation of "people's war."