The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land"In the eleventh century, a vast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a city revered by both faiths. Over the two hundred years that followed this First Crusade, Islam and the West fought for dominion of the Holy Land, clashing in a succession of chillingly brutal wars, both firm in the belief that they were at God's work. For the first time, this book tells the story of this epic struggle from the perspective of both Christians and Muslims, reconstructing the experiences and attitudes of those on either side of the conflict. Mixing pulsing narrative and piercing insight, it exposes the full horror, passion and barbaric grandeur of the crusading era. One of the world's foremost authorities on the subject, Thomas Asbridge offers a vivid and penetrating history of the crusades, setting a new standard for modern scholarship. Drawing upon painstaking original research and an intimate knowledge of the Near East, he uncovers what drove Muslims and Christians alike to embrace the ideals of jihad and crusade, revealing how these holy wars reshaped the medieval world and why they continue to echo in human memory to this day."--DUST JACKET. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Holy War Holy Land | 33 |
Syrian Ordeals | 62 |
Copyright | |
24 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land Thomas Asbridge Limited preview - 2010 |
The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land Thomas S. Asbridge,Lecturer in Early Medieval History Thomas Asbridge No preview available - 2012 |
The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land Thomas S. Asbridge No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
Acre Acre's al-Adil Aleppo Ambroise Angevin Antioch Arabic army arrived Arsuf Ascalon assault attack Ayyubid Baha al-Din Baldwin battle Baybars began Bohemond Byzantine Byzantium Cairo caliph camp campaign Capetian Christendom Christian chronicler Church city's command conquest Conrad contemporary cross Damascus Damietta defend early East eastern Edessa Egypt emir emperor enemy Europe expedition eyewitness Fatimid Fifth Crusade fighting force France Frankish Franks Frederick French garrison Greek Hattin Holy City Holy Land Hospitallers Ibn al-Athir Imad al-Din Islam Jaffa jihad king kingdom of Jerusalem knights later Latin launched Levant Levantine Lionheart Louis Lyons and Jackson Mamluk medieval military Mongols Mosul mounted Muslim Muslim world Nile Nur al-Din Outremer Outremer's Palestine papal Philip political Pope Raymond remained Richard ruler Saladin Second Crusade Seljuq siege sought struggle sultan survival Syria Tancred Templars territory Third Crusade Tripoli troops twelfth century victory walls warfare West western William of Tyre Zangi