LOCAL EXPERIENCES OF human beings have always been influenced by large-scale processes. In pre-modern societies, the ripple effects of distant events were in general not as immediate and clearly palpable as in today's world, but they were no less present. This companion aims to lay bare the extent to which societies across the globe were connected during one phase of the pre-modern era: the Early Middle Ages, which are defined here as approximately the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries. This period witnessed important historical developments, such as the establishment of the Srivijaya, a Southeast Asian thalassocracy; the expansion of the Frankish polity under Charlemagne on the far ends of Afro-Eurasia; and the consolidation of the ʿAbbāsid and Tang empires in between (see Map 1). Historical developments such as those have not yet been integrated into a global perspective. In some cases, the historical record has left clear evidence of longdistance connectivity, such as Persian artefacts stored in an imperial storehouse in Japan during the eighth century or coins from the ʿAbbāsid caliphate found in northern Europe and East Africa. However, structural connectivity across different regions is often not immediately visible and has to be deduced from a deep understanding of multiple societies. The purpose of this companion is therefore first and foremost to expand the knowledge of anyone interested in the history of the period in question. While most professional historians have expertise in the history of one or a few regions of the globe, the following nineteen chapters provide a panorama of the early medieval world from the Pacific Islands via the major regions of Afro-Eurasia to Mesoamerica. The individual chapters aim thus to satisfy the curiosity of early medieval historians who want to know more about regions that influence the ones that they specialize in. The panorama of all chapters taken together, moreover, aims to contribute to a more inclusive narrative of early medieval history.

Macrohistorical Narratives

Every narrative of the past is shaped in part by the experiences of its historiographers. The interest in a global context of historical developments, the so-called “global turn” that many historiographical fields have experienced in recent decades, is an example of this phenomenon, since the latest generations of historians grew up in a world where global connectivity permeates their everyday lives more so than ever before.