Historical disaster research is still a young field. This book discusses the experiences of
natural disasters in different cultures from Europe across the Near East to Asia. It focuses
on the pre-industrial era and on the question of similarities differences and transcultural
dynamics in the cultural handling of natural disasters. Which long-lasting cultural patterns of
perception interpretation and handling of disasters can be determined? Have specific types of
disasters changed the affected societies? What have people learned from disasters and what not?
What adaptation and coping strategies existed? Which natural societal and economic parameters
play a part? The book not only reveals the historical depth of present practices but also
reveals possible comparisons that show globalization processes entanglements and exchanges of
ideas and practices in pre-modern times.
