Crusades : Islam and Christianity in the Struggle for World Supremacy

by Hindley, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780786713448
• ISBN10: 0786713445
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-15
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

The word "crusade" had not yet been invented when the European Christians captured Jerusalem in 1099, or when Richard the Lionhearted faced Saladin. In this absorbing and informative new book, medieval scholar Geoffrey Hindley recounts the colorful history behind the word that for more than five centuries has perturbed European history, troubled Christian consciences, and embittered Muslim attitudes toward the West. Hindley's penetrating study helps to answer the questions about how the Crusades have helped shape Europe, the modern world, and relations between Christian and Muslim countries to this day. Why did the Church bless Duke William of Normandy's invasion of Christian England in 1066, or authorize cultural genocide in Provence? How could a Western Christian army sack Christian Constantinople in 1204? Why did thousands of ordinary men, and women too, led by knights and ladies, kings and queens, embark on campaigns of fanatical conquest in the world of Islam? Many people saw the Crusades as pilgrimages to unknown exotic lands, many believed they were doing the will of God, many were there for the plunder, but all participated in this fascinating period in history that continues to resonate in the modern world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
List of Illustrations	ix
Maps	xi
Chronology of Jihad and Crusade	xv
Introduction: What's in a Name?	1	(176)
1 Beginnings 632-1095	9	(16)
2 The First Crusade 1095-1099	25	(26)
3 Life and Politics in a Multicultural World	51	(20)
4 The Second Crusade: Disaster on the Road to Damascus	71	(16)
5 Turk and Kurd: Heroes of Islam	87	(20)
6 Women and an Alternative Feudalism	107	(14)
7 Loss of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade 1187-1192	121	(22)
8 The Fourth Crusade: The Latin Conquest of Constantinople and the Scandal of Christendom	143	(16)
9 Heathen, Heretics and Children	159	(18)
10 Triumphs of an Excommunicated Emperor	177	(18)
11 The Failures of a Saint	195	(14)
12 Acre and After	209	(16)
13 Chivalry in Action and Nicopolis 'The Last Crusade'	225	(12)
14 The Lingering Decline of a Flawed Ideal	237	(18)
Epilogue: The Aftermath	255	(6)
Appendix I: The Popes, from Gregory VII to Sixtus V	261	(6)
Appendix II: Rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem	267	(3)
Appendix III: Ayyubid Dynasty - Rulers of Egypt	270	(2)
Appendix IV: Byzantine Emperors at the Time of the First Crusades	272	(2)
Appendix V: Ottoman Princes and Sultans 1300-1566	274	(2)
Appendix VI: Western Emperors 1056-1555	276	(5)
Notes	281	(7)
Select Bibliography	288	(4)
Index	292