Scan barcode
A review by jenn756
In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World by Tom Holland
5.0
The 6th and 7th centuries was a bad time to be alive by all accounts, a period of extreme upheaval across Europe and Asia, seeing the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Sassanids and violent warlords sweeping in from all corners. It was this period that gave birth to Islam and saw the dramatic growth of Christianity, which as Tom Holland explains, is no coincidence.
The book starts with a dazzling set piece - the proud undefeated armies of Kusrow, King of the Sassanids, facing a barbarian army in the outer wastes of his Empire. It was a battle he confidently expected to win, only to be tricked and beaten in humiliating circumstances, thus signaling the beginning of the end of 500 years or so of Sassanid domination. The two big super-powers of the age had an uneasy balance of power, the border shifted backwards and forwards on the eastern side of what is now Turkey, but the status quo up until now had remained the same.
On the western side the Roman Empire had retreated to Constantinople, having mostly abandoned Europe, but was still force to be reckoned with. Holland explains how a series of vigorous Emperors impose Christianity on the region - it was ironic that having been a persecuted minority for so long, once in position of power they are so intolerant of minorities themselves. There is a long struggle between different Christian sects for domination, and it is this period that thrashed out the modern form of Christianity
Islam is a relative latecomer, and its origins seem murky in the extreme. Holland implies it is a fusion of dissident Jewish and Christian sects, and it beginnings (if I understand it right) came not from Mecca in Arabia, but from somewhere between Medina and Palestine. The Christian minorities had driven the minor sects out into the desert and here they coalesced and influenced local Arabs who were beginning to find their teeth as Roman power declined.
At the end of the Justinian period the whole region was devastated by the bubonic plague. It had an impact similar in scale to the Black Death, and decimated cities - the Sassanids as well as the Romans. The desert tribes were least affected having the least contact with rats, and it was this that that gave them the strength to destroy the established order. It must have felt like the end of the world for ordinary people living through it. Holland describes cities as wastelands with grass growing through the streets and garrisons and forts abandoned, and the Roman power base crippled. The Arab Armies marched in and destroyed everything - it doesn't seem an exaggeration to say Islam was forged in a blood bath. They toppled the Sassanids, and in the process more or less destroyed Zoroastrianism, which was closely allied with the royal family.
It’s a confusing period, hard to keep track on different factions and power struggles. The book is fascinating, I'm used to Eurocentric Roman history so I'm glad to correct the balance, but I'd think I'd need to do further reading to understand the period better. I'm a layman and in no position to review the credibility of `Sign of the Sword' but would recommend it to anyone interested in the period and the formation of religion.
The book starts with a dazzling set piece - the proud undefeated armies of Kusrow, King of the Sassanids, facing a barbarian army in the outer wastes of his Empire. It was a battle he confidently expected to win, only to be tricked and beaten in humiliating circumstances, thus signaling the beginning of the end of 500 years or so of Sassanid domination. The two big super-powers of the age had an uneasy balance of power, the border shifted backwards and forwards on the eastern side of what is now Turkey, but the status quo up until now had remained the same.
On the western side the Roman Empire had retreated to Constantinople, having mostly abandoned Europe, but was still force to be reckoned with. Holland explains how a series of vigorous Emperors impose Christianity on the region - it was ironic that having been a persecuted minority for so long, once in position of power they are so intolerant of minorities themselves. There is a long struggle between different Christian sects for domination, and it is this period that thrashed out the modern form of Christianity
Islam is a relative latecomer, and its origins seem murky in the extreme. Holland implies it is a fusion of dissident Jewish and Christian sects, and it beginnings (if I understand it right) came not from Mecca in Arabia, but from somewhere between Medina and Palestine. The Christian minorities had driven the minor sects out into the desert and here they coalesced and influenced local Arabs who were beginning to find their teeth as Roman power declined.
At the end of the Justinian period the whole region was devastated by the bubonic plague. It had an impact similar in scale to the Black Death, and decimated cities - the Sassanids as well as the Romans. The desert tribes were least affected having the least contact with rats, and it was this that that gave them the strength to destroy the established order. It must have felt like the end of the world for ordinary people living through it. Holland describes cities as wastelands with grass growing through the streets and garrisons and forts abandoned, and the Roman power base crippled. The Arab Armies marched in and destroyed everything - it doesn't seem an exaggeration to say Islam was forged in a blood bath. They toppled the Sassanids, and in the process more or less destroyed Zoroastrianism, which was closely allied with the royal family.
It’s a confusing period, hard to keep track on different factions and power struggles. The book is fascinating, I'm used to Eurocentric Roman history so I'm glad to correct the balance, but I'd think I'd need to do further reading to understand the period better. I'm a layman and in no position to review the credibility of `Sign of the Sword' but would recommend it to anyone interested in the period and the formation of religion.