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"Palestine History 638-1917"
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The Crusader Strategy
A new look at the crusaders, which shows how they pursued
long-term plans and clear strategic goals Medieval states,
and particularly crusader societies, often have been considered
brutish and culturally isolated. It seems unlikely that they could
develop \"strategy\" in any meaningful sense. However, the crusaders
were actually highly organized in their thinking and their decision
making was rarely random. In this lively account, Steve Tibble
draws on a rich array of primary sources to reassess events on the
ground and patterns of behavior over time. He shows how, from
aggressive castle building to implementing a series of invasions of
Egypt, crusader leaders tenaciously pursued long-term plans and
devoted single-minded attention to clear strategic goals. Crusader
states were permanently on the brink of destruction; resources were
scarce and the penalties for failure severe. Intuitive strategic
thinking, Tibble argues, was a necessity, not a luxury.
eBook
John of Brienne
John of Brienne's progress, from mid-ranking knightly status to king of Jerusalem and, later, Latin emperor of Constantinople, traces one of the most remarkable careers in the entire medieval period. But how and why did he achieve such heights? This biographical study of aristocratic social and geographical mobility in the 'Age of the Crusades' reassesses John's fascinating life, and explores how families and dynasticism, politics, intrigue, religion and war all contributed to John's unprecedented career. John was a major figure in the history of the thirteenth-century Mediterranean, and yet very much a product of the workings of the society of his day. This book reveals how John's life, and its multifarious connections to France, Italy, the German empire and the papacy, can illuminate the broad panorama of the early thirteenth-century world, and the zenith of the crusading movement.
eBook
Nebuchadnezzar's dream : the Crusades, apocalyptic prophecy, and the end of history
In 1099, the soldiers of the First Crusade took Jerusalem. As the news of this victory spread throughout Medieval Europe, it felt nothing less than miraculous and dream-like, to such an extent that many believed history itself had been fundamentally altered by the event and that the Rapture was at hand. As a result of military conquest, Christians could see themselves as agents of rather than mere actors in their own salvation. The capture of Jerusalem changed everything. A loosely defined geographic backwater, comprised of petty kingdoms and shifting alliances, Medieval Europe began now to imagine itself as the center of the world. The West had overtaken the East not just on the world's stage but in God's plans. To justify this, its writers and thinkers turned to ancient prophecies, and specifically to one of the most enigmatic passages in the Bible the dream King Nebuchadnezzar has in the Book of Daniel, of a statue with a golden head and feet of clay. Conventional interpretation of the dream transformed the state into a series of kingdoms, each less glorious than the last, leading inexorably to the end of all earthly realms-- in short, to the Apocalypse. The First Crusade signified to Christians that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar would be fulfilled on their terms. Such heady reconceptions continued until the disaster of the Second Crusade and with it, the collapse of any dreams of unification or salvation-any notion that conquering the Holy Land and defeating the Infidel could absolve sin. In Nebuchadnezzar's Dream, Jay Rubenstein boldly maps out the steps by which these social, political, economic, and intellectual shifts occurred throughout the 12th century, drawing on those who guided and explained them. The Crusades raised the possibility of imagining the Apocalypse as more than prophecy but actual event. Rubenstein examines how those who confronted the conflict between prophecy and reality transformed the meaning and memory of the Crusades as well as their place in history.
eBook
The Crusader States and their Neighbours
The book will be welcome for tackling the Crusades from a fresh but important angle; the relations of the Crusader states with their neighbours, both Christian (the Byzantines) and, especially, Islamic â€\" the rulers of Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Cairo etc. It contributes to the very fashionable approach of seeing the Crusades as a prime example of early European colonialism, and investigating them much more for their social, political and ethnic impact on the region than for their ostensible ideological and religious motives. Holt uses original Arabic sources, which are generally difficult for Western historians, and therefore this book is an important addition to literature about the Crusades.
eBook
The Crusader States
When the armies of the First Crusade wrested Jerusalem from control of the Fatimids of Egypt in 1099, they believed their victory was an evident sign of God's favor. It was, therefore, incumbent upon them to fulfill what they understood to be God's plan: to re-establish Christian control of Syria and Palestine. This book is devoted to the resulting settlements, the crusader states, that developed around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and survived until Richard the Lionheart's departure in 1192. Focusing on Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa, Malcolm Barber vividly reconstructs the crusaders' arduous process of establishing and protecting their settlements, and the simultaneous struggle of vanquished inhabitants to adapt to life alongside their conquerors.
Rich with colorful accounts of major military campaigns, the book goes much deeper, exploring in detail the culture of the crusader states-the complex indigenous inheritance, the architecture, the political, legal, and economic institutions, the ecclesiastical framework through which the crusaders perceived the world, the origins of the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers, and more. With the zest of a scholar pursuing a life-long interest, Barber presents a complete narrative and cultural history of the crusader states while setting a new standard for the term \"total history.\"
eBook
Deeds Done Beyond the Sea
This volume celebrates Peter Edbury's career by bringing together essays focusing on his major research interests: the great historian of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, William of Tyre, and his chronicle; medieval Cyprus; and the Military Orders in the Middle Ages. All based on original research, contributions include new work on manuscripts from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries; studies of language in William of Tyre; thematic surveys; legal and commercial investigations pertaining to Cyprus; aspects of memorialization, and biographical studies.
eBook
Hattin
On 4 July 1187 the legendary Muslim leader Saladin destroyed the Crusader army of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem with a terrible slaughter at the battle of Hattin - and went on to restore the Holy City of Jerusalem to Islamic rule. The carnage at Hattin was the culmination of almost a century of religious wars between Christian and Muslim in the Holy Land. It had enormous consequences for the whole medieval world because it produced an intensification of holy war between Islam and Europe for over another century - and in retrospect marked the beginning of the end for the Crusader presence in the Middle East. In the 20th century memory of the battle was revived as a symbol of Arab hope for liberation from Crusader-Imperialism, and in the 21st it has become a rallying cry for radical Muslim fundamentalists in their struggle for the soul of Islam. In this new volume in the Great Battles series, John France analyses the origins and course of this pivotal battle, illuminating the roots of the bitter hatred which underlay it, and explains its significance in world history - from medieval times to the present.
eBook