About the Book: In The Shadow of The SwordFrom the bestselling author of Rubicon and Persian Fire comes this thrilling panoramic account of the rise of IslamIn the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between twogreat empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on, andone had vanished for ever, while the other was a dismembered,bleeding trunk. In their place, a new superpower had arisen: theempire of the Arabs. So profound was this upheaval that it spelled,in effect, the end of the ancient world.But the changes that marked the period were more than merelypolitical or even cultural: there was also a transformation ofhuman society with incalculable consequences for the future. Today,over half the worlds population subscribes to one of the variousreligions that took on something like their final form during thelast centuries of antiquity. Wherever men or women are inspired bybelief in a single god to think or behave in a certain way, theybear witness to the abiding impact of this extraordinary,convulsive age - though as Tom Holland demonstrates, much of whatJews, Christians and Muslims believe about the origins of theirreligion is open to debate.In the Shadow of the Sword explores how a succession of greatempires came to identify themselves with a new and revolutionaryunderstanding of the divine. It is a story vivid with drama, horrorand startling achievement, and stars many of the most remarkablerulers ever seen.About the Author: Tom HollandTom Holland received a double first from Cambridge. He hasadapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio. Hisscholarly style is pefect to reposition him as a writer ofnon-fiction as well as fiction.Reviews"A stunning blockbuster"-Robert Fisk Independent"A compelling detective story of the highest order, In theShadow of the Sword is also a dazzlingly colourful journey into theworld of late antiquity. Every bit as thrilling a narrative historyas Hollandsprevious works, it is also a profoundly important book"-Christopher Hart Sunday Times"Written with flamboyant elegance and energetic intensity,Holland delivers a brilliant tour de force of revisionistscholarship and thrilling storytelling with a bloodspattered castof swashbuckling tyrants,nymphomaniacal empresses and visionaryprophets . . . Unputdownable"- Simon Sebag Montefiore.