I have started processing the first part of my new research titled "The Quest for the River of Gold". In the previous post, I have shown the outline. It is a working model liable to changes.
The additional study has revealed quite a few European individuals stationed in North African ports on a permanent and temporary basis. Besides merchant communities focused on funduks (a specialized compound featuring a hostel, warehouse, shops, and other amenities, we can find Christian mercenaries on the service of Muslim rulers and even monks engaging in missionary activities quite often with the risk to their lives.
In other words, we cannot visualize the European Middle Ages only in the context of the eternal confrontation between the Cross and the Crescent rather than develop a more nuanced picture.
Since the chapter turns so complicated, I will work on each part separately in the hope to pull together diverse extracts on a later, more mature stage.
Thank you, my dear readers, for your interest in my writing. I have reached the four-thousand mark and the audience is still growing. Your silent appreciation gives me a huge stimulus to continue. I would appreciate reading your comments to make my notes even more relevant for you.
I continue to collect material for my future research on social inequalities in Late Chalcolithic Mesopotamia which may be an addition or reappraisal to my first book.
I have also started participating in a historical seminar on early Rome conducted by the University of Reading (under the auspices of the FutureLearn).
