Fidler’s book is a sweeping narrative of the . It uses the accounts of medieval travelers as a "crazy quilt" to reconstruct a lost world centered in imperial Baghdad.

If you are looking for the original primary sources, several 9th–11th century authors used this exact title: Review: The Book Of Roads & Kingdoms by Richard Fidler

The rise and fall of the Abbasid Empire, the obsession with knowledge and travel, and the devastating Mongol invasion.

Includes famous figures like Ibn Fadlan , the 10th-century diplomat who traveled to Russia and witnessed Viking funerals.