René Grousset, an outstanding French orientalist historian, in his book traces the history of the confrontation between East and West in the ancient land of the Levant from Antiquity to the fall of Constantinople and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The author introduces the reader to the history of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Lesser Armenia, Cyprus and other states of the Eastern Mediterranean, analyzes the changing boundaries - spiritual and political - between Europe and Asia, and also explores the origins of the Eastern Question and considers ways to solve it.