Romans and non-Romans -- Christian influence in late antique culture -- The churches in the sixth century: The Council of 553 -- The achievement of Gregory the Great -- Byzantium confronted by Islam -- The Visigothic alternative -- The roots of Christian disunity, 649-92 -- Eastern iconoclasm: Islamic and Byzantine -- Divergent paths -- The Carolingian innovation -- The two emperors of Christendom -- Conclusion.

Outlines the origins of Europe from the end of late antiquity to the coronation of Charlemagne. This book shows that the clash between nascent Islam and stubburn Byzantium was the central contest that allowed "Europe" to develop, and thereby places the rise of the West in its true Mediterranean context.