The grand object of travelling is to see the shores of the Mediterranean'Samuel Johnson, 1776A wonderfully concise and readable, yet comprehensive, history of the Mediterranean Sea, the perfect companion for any visitor or armchair traveller, whether cruising, staying ashore or indeed staying at home. The Mediterranean has always been a leading stage for world history. Jeremy Black shows how the Roman Empire united the sea, and how it was later divided by Christianity and Islam. He tells the story of the rise and fall of the maritime empires of Pisa, Genoa and Venice, and how the Mediterranean fired the imaginations of Homer and Shakespeare, among many writers and artists. From the Renaissance and Baroque to the seventeenth-century beginnings of British tourism, Black examines the culture of the Mediterranean. He shows how British naval power grew, culminating in the establishment of Gibraltar, Minorca and Malta as naval bases. Black considers how and why the British occupied the Ionian Islands, Cyprus and Egypt. He looks at the impact of the Suez Canal as a new sea route to India and how the Riviera became Europe's playground. He shows how the Mediterranean has been central to two World Wars, the Cold War and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. With its focus always on the Sea, the book explores port cities particularly - Alexandria, Athens, Barcelona, Naples, Palermo and Thessalonica.