In this, the first revisionist biography of Frederick II, David Abulafia dispels Frederick's long-lived, distorted reputation as a monarch tolerant to the Jews and Muslims, defiant of papal rule, and eager to create a new, secular world order. Abulafia is the first to place Frederick in the wider historical context his enormous empire demands, portraying him as less tolerant and far-sighted in his cultural, religious, and politics ambitions than generally thought.

David Abulafia is Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University and the author of The Mediterranean in History.