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In the Shadow of the Sword

The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World

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In the Shadow of the Sword

By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. In The Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland explores how this came about. Spanning from Constantinople to the Arabian desert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, horror, and startling achievement.

©2012 Tom Holland (P)2012 Hachette Digital Ancient Ancient History Crusade

Critic Reviews

Holland's new book traces the process by which the world of the first millennium came to be dominated by one God, three religions and an innumerable succession of emperors (Dan Jones)
It is difficult not to be bedazzled by a cast that includes ulcerated Christian holy men, Zoroastrian priests obsessed with dental hygiene, demonic emperors, barbarians with self-inflicted cranial deformities and Arab ambassadors stinking of camel (Richard Miles)
Holland is a restless wanderer across the ancient world, both geographically and intellectually... A dazzling range of characters... Holland is a skilful and energetic narrator, and while he guides us along the more intricate twists and turns of the period, he also keeps our eyes on the bigger story (Anthony Sattin)
Holland leaves almost no aspect of the traditional story of Islam intact as he charts its rise to global power from the ashes of the Roman and Persian empires (Bryan Appleyard)
A work of history, trying to tell the truth, as modern historians understand that fraught concept... A gripping, colourful book (Charles Moore)
A handsome volume, tackling an important question from a novel perspective, backed by useful notes and written in an accessible and fluid style (Michael Scott)
A brave and valuable attempt to train the lens of popular history upon an exceptionally contentious field of study... elegant and entertaining... In the Shadow of the Sword stands as a useful, and sometimes provocative, starting point for anyone interested in approaching the birth of Islam from a historical, rather than devotional, perspective (Thomas Ashbridge)
Elegantly written and refreshingly free from specialist jargon... marshalling its resources with dexterity, it is a veritable tour de force (Malise Ruthven)
Those unwilling to struggle through academic texts have long needed a guide to the story of Islam as it's understood by those with the fullest access to the latest linguistic and archaeological evidence. Now at last in Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword, they finally have it (David Frum)

What listeners say about In the Shadow of the Sword

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Filling the gaps in my history knowledge

I can't believe how rich with details and how well read this book is.

My only hope is that Tim doesn't become the next Salman Rushdie.

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Very Good

Soothing narration. Intriguing history. A catalyst to learn more on this topic.
Chapter headings would have been nice.

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Profile Image for Chris Pedder

Written in the style of the King James Bible.

The story, the narrator are excellent. But the prose style is so purple that lucidity and continuity are lost. It got to the stage that I had difficulty knowing when an ancient biblical or koranic quotation had stopped and we were back to the story. Probably a great read but, for me, an exhausting and impenetrable listen.

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More religion than warfare

This is a great listen if you're interested in the religious wrestle during the ancient times but I found the description of the book a tad misleading. Still interesting but yeah wasn't quite what I was hoping/expecting.

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Worth the effort

Actually quite a challenge to listen through the first few chapters and it can be tempting to quit, but once Tom hits his stride after that he doesn’t look back and weaves an intriguing account of the development of new civilisation. Impeccably narrated (as always) by the best in the business, Jonathan Keeble

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He needs to site more sources

I loved the way this flowed like a fictional narrative but I wished he would site more sources as the story went along. I would like to know the material he was basing some of his conclusions.

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Tremendous

from truly ancient Zoroaster to the not so ancient Mohammad, this volume is so fantastically informative

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Sad to Get to the End

This was such an intriguing text. I actually felt a sense of loss when the ending came around. Good exploration of the historical details that are difficult to find sources for.

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Fantastic Writer

Wow. Tom Holland can really write well. I was struck so much by how the Roman, Sassanian and Arab stories could be woven into a cohesive narrative.

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Profile Image for Lavinia Gordon

why use 3 words when 40 will do?

The language is so flowery and convoluted. I found it difficult to recall facts because of this .

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