Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/55

CHAPTER II THE ROMAN EMPIRE The Roman Empire included all the lands bordering upon he Mediterranean Sea, which was for long the great thor- ughfare of civilization. Speaking in a general Th M .. ray and allowing for local differences and irreg- terranean Jarities, the climate of this basin and the vege- asm ation of its coasts are uniform. That is to say, the coastal egion north of the Sahara Desert belongs with the southern oasts and peninsulas of Europe rather than with the bulk •f the African continent; and the French Mediterranean ittoral is more like the coasts of Spain and Italy than it is ike the rest of France. It is, indeed, easy to cross from Africa to Spain, or to Italy by way of Sicily, while the slands of Cyprus and Crete form stepping-stones from Lgypt to Greece and from Syria to the ^Egean Sea and west oast of Asia Minor. Owing to the narrowness of the Straits >f Gibraltar and to their shallowness as well, — since a unken ridge stretches under water from Spain to Africa, — leither tide nor cold ocean currents exert much influence in he Mediterranean. The air is sunny and the water warm, >ut it is very salt because of rapid evaporation. The tide- 3ss sea leaves the mouths of rivers obstructed by silt and infit to serve as ports ; and the coast-line changes with pass- tig years. In ancient times it was difficult to put out to sea rom a harbor without a favoring wind ; on the other hand, mall vessels could be drawn up on almost any sandy beach nd left there without fear of their being carried off by the ide. Caesar lost most of his fleet in one of his expeditions to Britain when he imprudently left his ships drawn up in this /ay on an exposed shore. Even the Mediterranean, how- ver, could be stormy enough in winter, so that the ancients id little navigation at that time of year. Fishing is not very important industry in the Mediterranean, but in