The Illustrated History Of The First Crusades

Written by a team of leading scholars, this richly illustrated book, with over 200 colour and black and white pictures, presents an authoritative and comprehensive history of the Crusades from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of crusading ideas and imagery today.

"Brings to life a turbulent period of history, and examines the religious fervor, motivations and ambitions of the crusading knights and their followers."--Publishers descriptions.

Discover The Truth About The Crusades - The Military Campaigns, The Cultural Impact And The Legacy Of Centuries-Long Disputes On Society Today Crusades Is An Authoritative And Compelling Text Written By A Team Of Specialist Historians. It Focuses Principally On The Struggle In The Holy Land Between Christendom And Islam, But Also Examines The Smaller-Scale European Campaigns Directed Against Heretics In France, Central Europe And The Baltic, And The Wars Of Reconquest In Spain. Crusades Not Only Provides A Chronological Narrative Of All The Major Campaigns, But Also Looks At The Complex Background To Events - Including The Divisions Between The Major Religions And, Just As Importantly, Within Them. Throughout The Text, The Cultural Impact Of The Crusades On Society Today Is Made Evident Due To The Interaction Of Peoples Through Trade, Science, Art And Philosophy. Beautifully Illustrated Throughout, Crusades Brings History Vividly To Life. Anyone Who Wishes To Probe The Historical Roots Of 21st -Century Tensions Between Islam And The West, Or Simply To Learn About One Of The Most Fascinating Phenomena Of The Middle Ages, Will Find This Book Endlessly Informative And Compelling.

'A nuanced and sophisticated analysis... Exhilarating' Sunday Telegraph Nine hundred years ago, one of the most controversial episodes in Christian history was initiated. The Pope stated that, in spite of the apparently pacifist message of the New Testament, God actually wanted European knights to wage a fierce and bloody war against Islam and recapture Jerusalem. Thus was the First Crusade born. Focusing on the characters that drove this extraordinary campaign, this fascinating period of history is recreated through awe-inspiring and often barbaric tales of bold adventure while at the same time providing significant insights into early medieval society, morality and mentality. The First Crusade marked a watershed in relations between Islam and the West, a conflict that set these two world religions on a course towards deep-seated animosity and enduring enmity. The chilling reverberations of this earth-shattering clash still echo in the world today. '[Asbridge] balances persuasive analysis with a flair for conveying with dramatic power the crusaders' plight' Financial Times

An unparalleled visual account of the world of the cradles, a movement that re-established trade between the East and the West, had a lasting impact on the social structure of medieval Europe, and bought Arabic learning to the wider world.

According to tradition, the First Crusade began at the instigation of Pope Urban II and culminated in July 1099, when thousands of western European knights liberated Jerusalem from the rising menace of Islam. But what if the First Crusade's real catalyst lay far to the east of Rome? In this groundbreaking book, countering nearly a millennium of scholarship, Peter Frankopan reveals the untold history of the First Crusade. Nearly all historians of the First Crusade focus on the papacy and its willing warriors in the West, along with innumerable popular tales of bravery, tragedy, and resilience. In sharp contrast, Frankopan examines events from the East, in particular from Constantinople, seat of the Christian Byzantine Empire. The result is revelatory. The true instigator of the First Crusade, we see, was the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who in 1095, with his realm under siege from the Turks and on the point of collapse, begged the pope for military support. Basing his account on long-ignored eastern sources, Frankopan also gives a provocative and highly original explanation of the world-changing events that followed the First Crusade. The Vatican's victory cemented papal power, while Constantinople, the heart of the still-vital Byzantine Empire, never recovered. As a result, both Alexios and Byzantium were consigned to the margins of history. From Frankopan's revolutionary work, we gain a more faithful understanding of the way the taking of Jerusalem set the stage for western Europe's dominance up to the present day and shaped the modern world.

A lively reimagining of how the distant medieval world of war functioned, drawing on the objects used and made by crusaders Throughout the Middle Ages crusading was justified by religious ideology, but the resulting military campaigns were fueled by concrete objectives: land, resources, power, reputation. Crusaders amassed possessions of all sorts, from castles to reliquaries. Campaigns required material funds and equipment, while conquests produced bureaucracies, taxation, economic exploitation, and commercial regulation. Wealth sustained the Crusades while material objects, from weaponry and military technology to carpentry and shipping, conditioned them. This lavishly illustrated volume considers the material trappings of crusading wars and the objects that memorialized them, in architecture, sculpture, jewelry, painting, and manuscripts. Christopher Tyerman’s incorporation of the physical and visual remains of crusading enriches our understanding of how the crusaders themselves articulated their mission, how they viewed their place in the world, and how they related to the cultures they derived from and preyed upon. A note to readers: the grey-shaded pages throughout this volume look at the Crusades in detail, exploring individual themes such as food and drink, medicine, weapons and women’s role in the Crusades. These short essays are interspersed throughout the chapters and the main text will continue after each one. For instance, ‘Taking the Cross’ runs from pages 4 to 7, and the Introduction continues on p. 8.

The dramatic history of the movement which throughout much of the Middle Ages sought to establish Christianity in the place of its birth. A tale of wordy ambition and spiritual sacrifice, pride and humility, extraordinary valor and despicable cowardice.