Michael Baizerman Author

I continue to make facelifts to my uploaded papers. This time, it is a chapter from Unit II of my second manuscript, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East".  You can view it https://www.academia.edu/40051105/The_Trefoil_of_the_World The article is presented to the discussion on the Academia site in the nearest three weeks. You are invited to take part in. I would appreciate any comment and would do my best to reply.  The paper describes the evolution of the mappae mundi, the "world maps" of the medieval imagination. Across the centuries, this medium had upgraded from simple schemes depicting the tripartite inhabited earth to more elaborate designs, which incorporated the Ptolemy vision or reflected current geographic discoveries and married with sea charts. The medieval world of the sacred and profane hangs in front of our eyes. Meanwhile, I finished estimating materials concerning my paper about medieval shipping. The article will compare a galley and a sailing s...

  Happy New Year to you all! May it be the year of recovery from the coronavirus.  Following the advice from the Writer's Digest, I will start this entry with the self-presentation. Name Michael Baizerman. This is my real name retained for the literary market. Skills : nonfiction writer, amateur historian, Internet researcher, and blogger.  Social Media Platform : Facebook, Twitter URL : https://independent.academia.edu/BaizermanMichael This is the website where I download my research papers. I have currently stopped adding new articles since I would like to use a new Discussions section on the site to present my previous works for discussions, boost my readership and converse with colleagues. Meanwhile, I keep this avenue open for chapters of my second manuscript.  http://mikebis.blogspot.com/ This is my blog, a writer's diary, where I share what is happening behind the scenes.  Accomplishments: I have self-published my first book, "Dawn and Sunset: A Tal...

  As the previous discussion on my paper, How to Measure the Earth's Circumference, has ended, I decided to launch another discussion. You can view the article at https://www.academia.edu/s/849a19ddfc/how-long-spans-the-inhabited-world?source=work This new paper continues the overview of the mathematical geography of the European Middle Ages and focuses on the extent of the known world. Besides reading, you can participate in the discussion during the remaining three weeks.  As you have probably noticed, I made a resolution to abstain from uploading new pieces until I take most of my articles through discussions. This is a new feature added by the Academia.edu site last summer. I think that my work deserves a chance of attracting better publicity. Especially, due to the reaction of literary agents who consider my book unsellable to the general public. The credit that I get from my readers enables me to continue.  Meanwhile, I was asked to give a lecture on Skype to t...

  I'm writing these lines amid the turbulent times of the modern pandemics in hope that the vaccination against the terrible disease will start in several days.  I'm very optimistic about choosing to subject my articles to discussion on the Academia site. The first outcome was popularity. Besides the immediate result that so many people begin to read the particular paper, some of them are also interested in other subjects. So the number of my readers has doubled in only four months reaching over 2K.   Besides, some readers decide to add their suggestions or criticism which gives me some food for thought. I am aware of the limitations of my Internet research and praise new perspectives that might open in these discussions. Or, at least, I know better why I keep standing in the same position despite the criticism.  The current discussion about my article  https://www.academia.edu/39924577/How_to_Measure_the_Earths_Circumference is still going on and you can take p...

 I had been silent for a long time not because I had nothing to say; since I was busy writing a new chapter of my third book. The chapter is called The Quest for the River of Gold; it comprises about 11 K words and consists of three parts:  a.     The Near Shore: Christian Mercenaries, Merchants, and Monks in the Maghrib b: Under the Desert Sun--The Vagaries of the Trans-Saharan Trade c: The Gold of Wangara The last part,  Reappraisal, sums up the chapter .  The first part shows that despite religious antagonism between Christianity and Islam, which took shape in the long-term wars of the Reconquista, international trade between the northern and southern shore of the Mediterranean went on and multiple Latin merchants found themselves lodging in the funduks  in Muslim port cities. Besides, Berber rulers would enlist European mercenaries to fight their wars on African soil. These warriors and their families resided in special quarters in Muslim citi...

  Processing the data took much longer that I expected. While doing this, I felt that some info is missing from my future article. I had to do additional search to realize what the problem was.  Now, when I have completed this bypass, I am more certain in what I am doing.  This week, I have started writing the third part of my research titled "The Quest for the River of Gold".  I found evidence that the contacts across the Sahara desert had preceded the classical  trans-Saharan trade. I realized the role of the Wangara intermediaries in the commerce across West Africa. I learned about the popularity of kola nuts and the purchase of Arab horses for the imperial armies. I estimated the investment of Muslim geographers to the knowledge about Western Sudan.  My latest uploaded article, A Kernel of Truth,  https://www.academia.edu/44328510/A_Kernel_of_Truth arose an interesting discussions. The academics denied my cautious remark that the wheel might b...

  A new chapter from Unit IV of my book, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East", continues the topic of the previous extract, Beware of Barbarians. It  gives an account of real people behind the scenes, the steppe dwellers of the Eurasian grasslands. Tags: Petachia of Ratisbon, Sima Qian, The Secret History of the Mongols, Temujin, Al-Jahiz, Plano Carpini You may read this section on my website  https://independent.academia.edu/BaizermanMichael https://www.academia.edu/44328510/A_Kernel_of_Truth This paper is open for discussions so you can join in. Discussion is a new development of Academia services and the circle of my readers has widened drastically. Not everyone likes my treatment of 'barbarians' but I think I have touched a vital string. I generally evade commenting on my papers; however, if something was not clear, I am ready to clarify the point.  Unit IV of my book tells the story of Alexander Gate --a medieval legend-- and endeavors to immerse it int...