The Crusades »

Thomas Asbridge is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Queen Mary, University of London, and the author of The First Crusade. He lives in England.

From a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (The New Yorker) comes the most authoritative, readable single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land.

Nine hundred years ago, 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, Islam and Christianity both firm in the belief that they were at God's work fought for dominion of the Holy Land, clashing in a succession of chillingly brutal wars: the Crusades.

For the first time, this book tells the story of that epic struggle from the perspective of both Christians and Muslims. A vivid and fast-paced narrative history, it exposes the full horror, passion, and barbaric grandeur of the Crusading era, leading us into a world of legendary champions such as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin shadowy Assassins, poet-warriors, and pious visionaries; across the desert sands of Egypt to the verdant forests of Lebanon; and through the ancient cities of Constantinople, Cairo, and Damascus.

Drawing on painstaking original research and an intimate knowledge of the Near East, Thomas Asbridge 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 influence events today.

Publishers Weekly

Asbridge (The First Crusade) has produced a truly comprehensive history of holy war in the Holy Land. (Another Crusade history, Jonathan Phillips's Holy Warriors, is also due in March.) Emphasizing the dramatic Third Crusade and its heroic antagonists, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the narrative reads like an adventure story, albeit one that is both factual and instructive. The accounts of the massive Muslim victory at Hattin and the successful Crusader siege of Acre are especially vivid, with almost blow-by-blow descriptions of the battles that, first, restored Islamic control of Jerusalem and then re-established Latin Christendom's foothold in Palestine. Clearly depicted as well is the importance of trade and diplomacy in the constant struggle for supremacy and, also, the significance of the last great figures of the Crusades, King Louis IX of France and Baybars, the Lion of Egypt. While warrior orders such as the Christian Templars and Hospitallers and, by extension, the Islamic Assassins, are discussed, the information on these militant and secretive organizations is somewhat limited. 8 pages of color and 8 pages of b&w illus.; maps. (Mar.)

List of Maps

Introduction 1

Pt. I The Coming of the Crusades

1 Holy War, Holy Land 33

2 Syrian Ordeals 62

3 The Sacred City 89

4 Creating the Crusader States 115

5 Outremer 163

6 Crusading Reborn 197

Pt. II The Response of Islam

7 Muslim Revival 225

8 The Light of Faith 238

9 The Wealth of Egypt 265

10 Heir or Usurper 285

11 The Sultan of Islam 316

12 Holy Warrior 337

Pt. III The Trial of Champions

13 Called to Crusade 367

14 The Conqueror Challenged 391

15 The Coming of Kings 428

16 Lionheart 456

17 Jerusalem 477

18 Resolution 498

Pt. IV The Struggle for Survival

19 Rejuvenation 519

20 New Paths 550

21 A Saint at War 577

Pt. V Victory in the East

22 Lion of Egypt 611

23 The Holy Land Reclaimed 638

Conclusion: The Legacy of the Crusades 657

Acknowledgements 683

Chronology 685

Notes 687

Index 743