Presents a history of human interaction and cultural relations in the Mediterranean Sea region, from prehistoric times to the present day.

"First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Allen Lane"--T.p. verso.

Pt. 1. The first Mediterranean, 22000 BC-1000 BC. Isolation and insulation, 22000 BC-3000 BC -- Copper and bronze, 3000 BC-1500 BC -- Merchants and heroes, 1500 BC-1250 BC -- Sea peoples and land peoples, 1250 BC-1100 BC -- Pt. 2. The second Mediterranean, 1000 BC-AD 600. The purple traders, 1000 BC-700 BC -- The heirs of Odysseus, 800 BC-550 BC -- The triumph of the Tyrrhenians, 800 BC-400 BC -- Towards the garden of the Hesperides, 1000 BC-400 BC -- Thalassocracies, 550 BC-400 BC -- The lighthouse of the Mediterranean, 350 BC-100 BC -- 'Carthage must be destroyed,' 400 BC-146 BC -- 'Our sea,' 146 BC-AD 150 -- Old and new faiths, AD 1-450 -- Dis-integration, 400-600 -- Pt. 3. The third Mediterranean, 600-1350. Mediterranean troughs, 600-900 -- Crossing the boundaries between Christendom and Islam, 900-1050 -- The great sea-change, 1000-1100 -- 'The profit that God shall give,' 1100-1200 -- Ways across the sea, 1160-1185 -- The fall and rise of empires, 1130-1260 -- Merchants, mercenaries and missionaries, 1220-1300 -- Serrata -- closing, 1291-1350 -- Pt. 4. The fourth Mediterranean, 1350-1830. Would-be Roman emperors, 1350-1480 -- Transformations in the West, 1391-1500 -- Holy leagues and unholy alliances, 1500-1550 -- Akdeniz -- the battle for the White Sea, 1550-1571 -- Interlopers in the Mediterranean, 1571-1650 -- Diasporas in despair, 1560-1700 -- Encouragement to others, 1650-1780 -- The view through the Russian prism, 1760-1805 -- Deys, beys, and bashaws, 1800-1830 -- Pt. 5. The fifth Mediterranean, 1830-2010. Ever the twain shall meet, 1830-1900 -- The Greek and the unGreek, 1830-1920 -- Ottoman exit, 1900-1918 -- A tale of four and a half cities, 1900-1950 -- Mare nostrum -- again, 1918-1945 -- A fragmented Mediterranean, 1945-1990 -- The last Mediterranean, 1950-2010 -- Conclusion : Crossing the sea.