A general illustrated account of the history and architecture of Crusader castles.

For the last 150 years the historiography of the Crusades has been dominated by nationalist and colonialist discourses in Europe and the Levant. These modern histories have interpreted the Crusades in terms of dichotomous camps, Frankish and Muslim. In this revisionist study, Ronnie Ellenblum presents an interpretation of Crusader historiography that instead defines military and architectural relations between the Franks, local Christians, Muslims and Turks in terms of continuous dialogue and mutual influence. Through close analysis of siege tactics, defensive strategies and the structure and distribution of Crusader castles, Ellenblum relates patterns of crusader settlement to their environment and demonstrates the influence of opposing cultures on tactics and fortifications. He argues that fortifications were often built according to economic and geographic considerations rather than for strategic reasons or to protect illusory 'frontiers', and that Crusader castles are the most evident expression of a cultural dialogue between east and west.

The castles built by the Crusaders, Hospitallers, Venetians and Genoese in Cyprus, Greece, the Aegean, and on the Black Sea served to defend against a complex array of constantly changing threats: Mamluks, Catalan mercenaries, Ottoman Turks, Byzantines, independent Islamic states, Timur-i-Lenk, and widespread piracy, to name but few. The resulting fortifications some inherited from conquered the territories of the former Byzantine empire, some built from scratch were very different to those found in the Middle East. This superbly illustrated book explores their design, development and fate in detail, documenting the rich architectural heritage of this region and its complex history.

The Crusaders that landed in the Middle East in the late-11th century brought with them their own traditions of military architecture, but it was not long before their defensive construction began to reflect a broad array of local influences. Most early Crusader structures were relatively small, and tended to increase the existing natural and defensive features of a site. The basic forms comprised freestanding towers, castra, and hilltop and spur-castles, but urban centres, religious sites and rural dwellings were also fortified. From the 1160s, bigger, stronger and more expensive castles began to appear, in response to developments in Islamic siege weaponry. This title examines the early fortifications erected by the Crusaders in modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and south-eastern Turkey.

The capture of Jerusalem by the First Crusade in 1099 signalled the beginning of an armed struggle in Palestine and throughout the Eastern Mediterranean which lasted until the 15th century. It was a war dominated by the building, securing and besieging of castles rather than by pitched battles. Kristian Molin covers the military history of the crusades on a wider geographical scale than previous historians, taking in Armenia, Cyprus and Greece as well as the Holy Land. He also shows the role of castles as administrative, judicial and social centres in times of peace as well as in war. "Unknown Crusader Castles" provides a fresh perspective on the history of the crusades.

Throughout their stormy history the Teutonic Knights of Germany have always been the most controversial brotherhood ever to call themselves 'Knights of Christ'.They were the most warlike of the religious orders, and this is reflected in the architecture they left behind. In contrast to the Templars who are remembered for their churches, the Teutonic memorials are the magnificent brick-built castles they built as a result of their conquest of Prussia between 1230 and 1380. Many of these dramatic fortresses still exist today in what is now Poland and provide a unique example of an architectural style that closely reflects the nature of the Order.