Mediterranean Sea 5.33 mya); "see" animation: Africa-Arabia colliding with Eurasia. Accordingly, the Mediterranean basin consists of several stretched tectonic plates in subduction which are the foundation of the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Various zones of subduction harbour and form the deepest and most majestic oceanic ridges, east of the Ionian Sea and south of the Aegean. The Central Indian Ridge runs East of the Mediterranean Sea South-East across the in-between of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula into the Indian Ocean. During Mesozoic and Cenozoic times, as the northwest corner of Africa converged on Iberia, it lifted the Betic-Rif mountain belts
Book of the Consulate of the Sea and maritime supremacy meant that the " Book of the Consulate of the Sea " was respected throughout the Mediterranean and up into the Atlantic. Based originally on the maritime customs of Barcelona and supplemented by the Valencia Consulate of the Sea, the "Book of the Consulate of the Sea" laid the basis for all subsequent Mediterranean maritime customs. Originally written in Catalan, the "Book of the Consulate of the Sea" was translated into Italian, French, English, Castilian and other languages, and for centuries was the basis of merchant marine legislation in many countries, even up to modern times. An