Byzantine Warship vs Arab Warship

Two types of oared warship – the Byzantine dromon and the Arabic shalandi – clashed repeatedly in the struggle for naval supremacy in the centuries after the Arab Conquests. Employing rigorous analysis and lively narrative alongside specially commissioned artwork, this study casts new light on the rivalry between these two vessels of war in the waters of the Mediterranean.

For four hundred years the Byzantine Empire's naval forces vied with the warships of the Islamic world for mastery of the Mediterranean. This book offers a glimpse of the long-lost world of war at sea in the age of Byzantium.For four hundred years the Byzantine Empire’s naval forces vied with the warships of the Islamic world for mastery of the Mediterranean. At the heart of this confrontation were the fighting vessels of the two powers, the Byzantine dromon and the Arabic shalandi, both oared warships. In those four centuries of warfare between two major maritime powers, both the Byzantines and the Arabs left us records of their doctrine and tactics, as well as of how their ships were built. Featuring full-colour artwork and rigorous analysis from an authority on naval warfare, this enthralling book offers a glimpse of the long-lost world of war at sea in the age of Byzantium.