As the Western Roman Empire collapsed a small band of refugees retreated into the marshy lagoon which sits at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea. Protected from the advancing barbarian hoards the city they would found there would survive as an independent, democratic commune until the coming of Napoleon Bonaparte, more than thirteen centuries later.

Bereft of land on which to base a feudal system, the Venetians became adept seamen and vociferous merchants. It was these two qualities which allowed the peoples of this small city in the lagoon to dominate the eastern Mediterranean between 1000 and 1500.

It is this story which Crowley sets out to tell and he does it masterfully. A master of pace, he drives the narrative forward and the pages turn at a decent clip. Battles come alive and you end up rooting for one side or another (normally, although not always, the Venetians).

This is not quite a history of Venice and some more context would have been welcome. The exact social and political conditions which allowed the city to flourish and, likewise, the internal politics of Genova and the Byzantium Empire and Ottoman Empires are only discussed in passing. But as a military history it is superb.

Whilst evidently admiring them, Crowley never quite manages to like the Venetians. Their mercantilism is slightly distasteful and their opportunism, such as their appalling conduct during the Fourth Crusade, is, in the long run, largely responsible for their downfall. Yet, for all that, you cannot help backing them and thinking it a bit of a shame that this once great is now but a tourist attraction at the top of the Adriatic.