The Crusades, c.1071–c.1291

A concise, general history of the crusades from the beginnings to the fall of the last strongholds in 1291.

Jean Richard (Author), Jean Birrell (Translated by)

9780521623698, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 September 1999

536 pages, 19 maps 4 tables
22.3 x 14.6 x 3.9 cm, 0.87 kg

'… excellent … essential reading for those who wish to understand not only the past but also the present Middle East.' History Today

A concise history of the crusades - whose chief goal was the liberation and preservation of the 'holy places' of the middle east - from the first calls to arms in the later twelfth century to the fall of the last crusader strongholds in Syria and Palestine in 1291. This is the ideal introductory textbook for all students of the crusades. Professor Richard considers the consequences of the crusades, such as the establishment of the Latin east, and its organisation into a group of feudal states, as well as crusading contacts with the Muslim world, eastern Christians, Byzantines, and Mongols. Also considered are the organisation of expeditions, the financing of such expeditionary forces, and the organisation of operations and supply. Jean Richard is one of the world's great crusader historians and this work, the distillation of over forty years' research and contemplation, is the only one of its kind in English.

List of maps
List of genealogical tables
1. The beginning of the crusades
2. The crusade of Urban II and Paschal II
3. The first crusade confronts the east
4. The Holy Land: a new country overseas
5. From the first to the second crusade
6. Between Byzantium and Saladin: the perils of the Latin east
7. Crusades of reconquest (1188–1205)
8. The crusade as an institution
9. War and diplomacy: the rebuilding of the kingdom of Jerusalem
10. The turning point of 1250
11. In the Holy Land: a new Frankish society
12. The crusade and the Mongols
13. The end of the Frankish Holy Land
Conclusion
Appendices
Chronology.

Subject Areas: Educational: History [YQH], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]