Scholars have long been intrigued by the similarities between Celtic religious traditions and those of Egypt, Palestine and the lands of Asia Minor – particularly Armenia. This is the first comprehensive work to explore the fascinating and little-known connections that enabled the Celts of Ireland and the western coast of Britain to remain in constant communion with the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Not just belief systems, but art, literature and architecture show remarkable similarities in the two regions. Despite the vast distances between these opposite ends of the Christian world, extensive land and sea links were forged as a result of commerce and the busy pilgrim routes to Rome and Jerusalem.
Focusing on the 5th to 9th centuries, a period when Europe underwent major demographic and social upheavals, The Mediterranean Legacy provides a groundbreaking historical and cultural insight into the secular and religious trends of the period and defines the key role of Armenian Christianity in the development of the Celtic Christian Church. With over 100 maps and illustrations.Jacob G. Ghazarian has focused his writings on the medieval religio-political interactions of Mediterranean Christianity with the West. He is also author of The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins, 1080-1393.