Ebbs and Flows of Medieval Empires, AD 900-1400 provides a flow of history throughout the medieval world from 900 to 1400 AD, describing the ebbs and flows of empires as the western world recovered from the dark ages. As a point of reference, author Will Slatyer presents the empires in Asia in the same timeframes as European empires, illustrating patterns of similarity among these empires. War remained important to leaders of the emerging nation and states as a primary method of gaining territory and expanding their influence. Meanwhile, the Church of Rome endeavoured to gain control of Europe secularly and spiritually, often using the spread of Islam as an excuse for its widening span of control. Islam was advanced spectacularly by the Arabs, but lost much impetus when leaders of other ethnicities took control; even so, it continued to spread throughout the world. Coinage again came into use during this period after the lapse of the usage of precious metals as compensation during the dark ages. Trade grew particularly when spices from the Orient were introduced in Europe, because they were so attractive in an age without refrigeration. As city-states became more civilised, textiles for clothing came into strong demand. International trade encouraged banking based upon models introduced by the Knights Templar. Ebbs and Flows of Medieval Empires, AD 900-1400 shows that human fear and greed demonstrated in ancient times, continued with medieval leaders, including popes, leading the way to the more capitalist enterprise of the Renaissance after 1400 AD.