Machine derived contents note: Introduction -- 1. The sea -- 2. The ships -- 3. Navigation: the routes and their implications -- 4. The ninth and tenth centuries: Islam, Byzantium, and the West -- 5. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries: the Crusader states -- 6. Maritime traffic: the guerre de cours -- 7. The Turks -- 8. Epilogue: the Barbary corsairs -- 9. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index