218 | CHAPTER 7
The merchants of Pisa well knew who the worthwhile enemy was, for
plunder and trading concessions but also cultural prestige by association. It
was Latin Europe, not the Islamic world, which felt the need to reconnect to
the extraordinarily complex and rich civilizational dynamic that arose,
mainly in the East, during the First Millennium. The rationale and history of
this reconnection were gradually assigned to oblivion as the Second Millen-
nium wore on, and the history of Europe came to be written according to
other priorities and from different angles. The good news, at the beginning of
the Third Millennium, is that this is no longer an option.