Mining Metallurgy And Minting In The Middle Ages Continuing Afro European Supremacy 1250 1450

In the years covered by this volume, 1250-1450, the production patterns, in both the European precious and base metal industries, first established in the twelfth century, and described in volume two, continued to be played out. This now took place however in the context of a continuous process of increasingly acute resource depletion, which finally culminated in the terminal mining crisis of the 1450s. Even as European silver production declined, however, compensatory supplies of precious metals became for the first time available as a counter-cyclical production pattern came to characterise a newly emergent European gold industry which by 1450 had displaced African gold as the main source of supply to European mints. African gold increasingly was supplied to African and Asiatic markets. Vol. I: Asiatic Supremacy, 425-1125 Vol. 2: Afro-European Supremacy, 1125-1225 .

The second volume examines the rise to world dominance of silver and gold production, during the first great output long-cycle (1125-1225), in new locations in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. It explores the organisation of the industry at this time, the reversal of the contemporary specie flow and the distribution of these precious metals throughout Europe and to lands beyond the bounds of that continent. It also describes the beginnings of autonomous European base metal - lead, copper, tin and mercury production, the organisation of the onewo industry, its levels of output and the distribution of these metals to new groups of European consumers. Vol. I: Asiatic Supremacy, 425-1125 Vol. 3: Continuing Afro-European Supremacy, 1250-1450 . (Franz Steiner 2001)

The first of four volumes, which examine non-ferrous precious and base metal mining, metallurgy and minting in the Middle Ages, encompasses the history of these activities during the years 425-1125. It describes the shift in the focus of world precious metal production from the Western Roman Empire -350), to the Sassanid and Byzantine Empires (350-650) and Central Asia (480-930). Central Asia dominated for almost half a millennium world precious and base metal production, before output collapsed and an industrial diaspora caused the foci of silver and gold production to shift to Europe and sub-Saharan Africa respectively (930-1125). Mining activity in Central Asia, 480-930 is examined in depth, as is also its impact on local society and the distribution of precious metals from there to China, India and South-east Asia, Asia Minor and, via the Trans-Pontine steppes, to Europe. It also explores the impact of this flow of Sassanid-Islamic silver and gold on European mining and monetary systems, when that trade was at its height (560-930) and the response of the Europeans to the great oSilver Famineo occasioned by the collapse of Central Asian production (930-1125). " es gibt nun eine neue Publikation, die alles zusammenfasst, was wir derzeit uber die Grundlagen der mittelalterlichen Munzpragung wissen, uber die Metallerzeugung und die Pragung. [a] eine Fundgrube an interessanten Hintergrundinformationen [a] Dieses Buch ist ein absolutes Muss fur jeden, der sich intensiv mit mittelalterlichen Munzen und der damit verbundenen Handelsgeschichte beschaftigen will" Munzen Revue Vol. 2: Afro-European Supremacy, 1125-1225 Vol. 3: Continuing Afro-European Supremacy, 1250-1450 . (Franz Steiner 2001)

"This volume applies insights drawn from the theories and methods of landscape archaeology to contribute to our understanding of the nature if West African societies in the Atlantic Era (17th-19th Centuries AD). The authors adopt a briad set of methods and approaches to tackle how the nature and structures of African political and social relations changed across regions in this period. This is only the second volume in a decade to focus on the archeology of this period in West Africa, and the first volume in sub-Saharan Africanist archeology to be focused in the recent past in oue sub-region of the continent from a coherent methodological and theoretical standpoint"--Provided by publisher.

The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Central Europe summarizes the political, social, and cultural history of medieval Central Europe (c. 800-1600 CE), a region long considered a "forgotten" area of the European past. The 25 cutting-edge chapters present up-to-date research about the region's core medieval kingdoms -- Hungary, Poland, and Bohemia -- and their dynamic interactions with neighboring areas. From the Baltic to the Adriatic, the handbook includes reflections on modern conceptions and uses of the region's shared medieval traditions. The volume's thematic organization reveals rarely compared knowledge about the region's medieval resources: its peoples and structures of power; its social life and economy; its religion and culture; and images of its past.

Medieval Networks in East Central Europe explores the economic, cultural, and religious forms of contact between East Central Europe and the surrounding world in the eight to the fifteenth century. The sixteen chapters are grouped into four thematic parts: the first deals with the problem of the region as a zone between major power centers; the second provides case studies on the economic and cultural implications of religious ties; the third addresses the problem of trade during the state formation process in the region, and the final part looks at the inter- and intraregional trade in the Late Middle Ages. Supported by an extensive range of images, tables, and maps, Medieval Networks in East Central Europe demonstrates and explores the huge significance and international influence that East Central Europe held during the medieval period and is essential reading for scholars and students wishing to understand the integral role that this region played within the processes of the Global Middle Ages.

Exploring the formation of networks across late medieval Central Europe, this book examines the complex interaction of merchants, students, artists, and diplomats in a web of connections that linked the region. These individuals were friends in business ventures, occasionally families, and not infrequently foes. No single activity linked them, but rather their interconnectivity through matrices based in diverse modalities was key. Partnerships were not always friendship networks, art was sometimes passed between enemies, and families created for financial gain. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the chapters focus on inclusion and exclusion within intercultural networks, both interpersonal and artistic, using a wide spectrum of source materials and methodological approaches. The concept of friends is considered broadly, not only as connections of mutual affection but also simply through business relationships. Families are considered in terms of how they helped or hindered local integration for foreigners and the matrimonial strategies they pursued. Networks were also deeply impacted by rivalry and hostility.

THE INDUSTRY THAT FORGED THE MODERN WORLD Throughout history metals and raw materials have underpinned human activity. So it is that the industry responsible for extracting these materials from the ground - mining - has been ever present throughout the history of civilisation, from the ancient world of the Egyptians and Romans, to the industrial revolution and the British Empire, and through to the present day, with mining firms well represented on the world's most important stock indexes including the FTSE100. This book traces the history of mining from those early moments when man first started using tools to the present day where metals continue to underpin economic activity in the post industrial age. In doing so, the history of mining methods, important events, technological developments, the important firms and the sparkling personalities that built the industry are examined in detail. At every stage, as the history of mining is traced from 40,000BC to the present day, the level of detail increases in accordance with the greater social and industrial developments that have played out as time has progressed. This means that a particular focus is given to the period since the industrial revolution and especially the 20th century. A look is also taken into the future in an effort to chart the direction this great industry might take in years to come. Many books have been written about mining; the majority have focused on a particular metal, geographical area, mining event or mining personality, but 'The History of Mining' has a broader scope and covers all of these essential and fascinating areas in one definitive volume.