In the Shadow of the Sword

In the sixth century AD, the Near East was divided between two great empires: Persia and Rome. A hundred years on, and one had vanished, while the other was a dismembered, bleeding trunk. In their place, a new superpower had arisen: the empire of the Arabs. But the changes that marked the period were more than merely political or even cultural: there was also a transformation of human society. Today, over half the world∠s population subscribes to one of the various religions that took form during the last centuries of antiquity. Wherever men or women are inspired by belief in a single god, they bear witness to the abiding impact of this extraordinary, convulsive age - yet as Tom Holland demonstrates, much of what Jews, Christians and Muslims believe about the origins of their religion is open to debate. Holland explores how a succession of great empires came to identify themselves with a new and revolutionary understanding of the divine. This is a tale of wars and...ISBN:978-1-4087-0008-2