The book "The Shadow of the Sword: Global Empire and the Rise of a New Religion" — Том ХоландThe Shadow of the Sword: Global Empire and the Rise of a New Religion. In the sixth century AD, the Near East was divided between two great empires: Persia and Rome. A hundred years on, and one had vanished, while the other was a dismembered, bleeding trunk. In their place, a new superpower had arisen: the empire of the Arabs. But the changes that marked the period were more than merely political or even cultural: there was also a transformation of human society. Today, over half the worlds population subscribes to one of the various religions that took form during the last centuries of antiquity. Wherever men or women are inspired by belief in a single god, they bear witness to the abiding impact of this extraordinary, convulsive age - yet as Tom Holland demonstrates, much of what Jews, Christians and Muslims believe about the origins of their religion is open to debate.
В шестом веке нашей эры Ближний Восток был разделен между двумя великими империями: Персией и Римом. Сто лет спустя одна из них исчезла, в то время как другая была расчленена. Но изменения, которые ознаменовали этот период, были больше, чем просто политическое или даже культурные: было и преобразование человеческого общества. | 
