A brilliant historian of the ancient world, Michael Grant turns his attention to the decisive centuries of turmoil and rebirth that followed the final collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. The years from 476 to 816 constitute a relatively neglected period, sometimes dismissed by historians as a "Dark Age." But this impressively illustrated volume puts the dawn of the Middle Ages in a new perspective. Far from a time of "barbarian" darkness, this emerges as a remarkably rich period, in both east and west, a crucial time of innovation and development that went very far toward shaping our modern world. It was an age of great leaders. So many dominant personalities of the period have cast long shadows across the centuries and into our own time. From the pages of Michael Grant's readable, moving text there emerge fresh portraits of such giants as Justinian the Great in the heyday of Byzantium; Mohammed, the prophet of Arabia; St. Benedict of Italy; St. Patrick of Ireland; and, in the heart of western Europe, the larger-than-life figure of Charlemagne. It was, too, an age of great religions. Here we witness the birth of Islam both as a church and as a political force--and the fateful split, almost from the beginning, between the Arabic and the Iranian branches. These centuries witnessed the rise of such great Christian institutions as the papacy and the monastic orders, which were to change the Catholic Church forever. Judaism, too, underwent crucial changes, in the further refinement of Talmudic studies and the establishment of the longlasting patterns of ghetto community life. Above all, this was an age of great art. From Spain to China, from Sweden and the British Isles to north Africa, this book captures the glories of that past age in a remarkable series of fine color illustrations. Highlights include the gleaming tile surfaces of the Moslem palaces and mosques, the cavernous splendor of the church of Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, the dazzling illuminated manuscripts of Ireland and England, the jewelry of the Merovingians, exotic T'ang and Sui ceramics of China, Hebrew murals, and the glittering, other-worldly mosaics of Ravenna. And throughout it all, there is Michael Grant's text as a guide. Whether he is tracing a clear path for us through the tangle of Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, probing the mysteries of Islamic theology or medieval cannon law, or providing flesh-and-blood portraits where before we only had names, Michael Grant provides the utmost in information, perspective, balance, color, and readability. -- Inside jacket flaps.