Usama ibn Munqidh Warrior Poet of The Age of Crusades

by Cobb, Paul M.

• ISBN13: 9781851684038
• ISBN10: 1851684034
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-02-01
• Publisher: Oneworld Publications

Summary

Usama ibn Munqidh (1095-1188) was a Syrian poet and warrior whose life coincided with some of the most dramatic moments in Islamic history: the invasion of the Turks into the Middle East, the collapse of Shi'ite political power, and above all, the coming of the Crusades. Often at the frontline of such events whilst on military service representing one of his many lords, including on occasion the legendary Saladin, Usama was nonetheless best-known to his contemporaries as a poet.

Author Biography

Paul M. Cobb is Associate Professor of Islamic History at the University of Notre Dame

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	xv
The Youth and the Castle	1	(24)
The setting of Shayzar	1	(4)
Childhood	5	(2)
Hunting at Shayzar	7	(3)
Shayzar's bad neighbors	10	(2)
Nizaris attack Shayzar	12	(2)
Relations with the Franks	14	(2)
Quiet moments	16	(2)
Exile	18	(2)
Service to Zangi	20	(2)
Last days in Hama	22	(3)
The Outcast and the Kings	25	(24)
Damascus (1138--1144)	26	(2)
Usama among the Franks	28	(2)
Trouble in Damascus	30	(1)
Egyptian adventures (1144--1154)	31	(1)
The lesson of Ridwan	32	(2)
A new patron	34	(1)
An expedition to Syria	35	(2)
Conspiracy in Cairo	37	(1)
The final straw	38	(4)
Damascus and Nur al-Din (1154--1164)	42	(2)
Calamity	44	(5)
The Poet and the Tomb	49	(18)
Diyar Bakr (1164--1174)	49	(2)
Literary output	51	(5)
Denouement in Damascus (1174--1188)	56	(3)
Intellectual pursuits	59	(8)
Order and Chaos	67	(26)
God's will and the vicissitudes of Time	69	(3)
Usama's Islam	72	(3)
Pious exemplars and the miraculous	75	(5)
Women's honor	80	(4)
Male honor and social status	84	(4)
The manners and customs of animals	88	(3)
Conclusion	91	(2)
Franks and Muslims	93	(22)
Usama, ethnographer	93	(4)
Usama and the coming of the Crusades	97	(2)
Usama on Antioch	99	(5)
Social relations with the Franks	104	(3)
Medicine	107	(2)
Frankish justice	109	(2)
Usama and Christianity	111	(4)
Afterword	115	(4)
Further reading	119	(4)
Works cited	123	(2)
Principal people encountered in this book	125	(3)
Simplified lists of principal dynasties and rulers in Usama's lifetime	128	(5)
Index	133