Here in forty maps, each with its own detailed commentary, is the story of the great nomadic conquerors : Huns, Avars, Mongols, and Turks; of Europe's last pagans, the Vikings, and the Christian offspring, the Normans; of Caliphs and Crusaders, Popes and Emperors; of the birth of the powers of today. This is a reference book which provides the framework for those fragments of history we all know but cannot place in context.