“An enriching account of the expansion of the political and cultural frontiers of the Latin West in the central Middle Ages.”—History Today When the armies of the First Crusade wrested Jerusalem from control of the Fatimids of Egypt in 1099, they believed their victory was an evident sign of God’s favor. It was, therefore, incumbent upon them to fulfill what they understood to be God’s plan: to re-establish Christian control of Syria and Palestine. This book is devoted to the resulting settlements, the crusader states, that developed around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and survived until Richard the Lionheart’s departure in 1192. Focusing on Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa, Malcolm Barber vividly reconstructs the crusaders’ arduous process of establishing and protecting their settlements, and the simultaneous struggle of vanquished inhabitants to adapt to life alongside their conquerors. Rich with colorful accounts of major military campaigns, the book goes much deeper, exploring in detail the culture of the crusader states—the complex indigenous inheritance, the architecture, the political, legal, and economic institutions, the ecclesiastical framework through which the crusaders perceived the world, the origins of the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers, and more. With the zest of a scholar pursuing a life-long interest, Barber presents a complete narrative and cultural history of the crusader states while setting a new standard for the term “total history.” A Choice Outstanding Academic Title in the Western Europe Category “Barber is a highly distinguished scholar, whose touch is continually deft, and he navigates the basis of the main narrative histories with care . . . a delight to read.”—Literary Review

Crusading as a subject has expanded in recent years to include new fields of enquiry. This book examines how crusading historiography includes new areas and new definitions, focusing on two fundamental issues in current writing: why people went on crusades and what forms the western settlement in the Near East took. Crusading and the Crusader States explains how the idea of holy wars came into being and why they took the form that they did - a clash between western and Islamic societies that dominated the Middle Ages.

Take Robin Hood, Richard the Lionheart, Gamelyn, William Wallace and other legends from the colourful, dangerous medieval period to the tabletop with Lion Rampant – a new set of rules designed for fighting medieval skirmish games. Ideal for players who wish to collect medieval miniatures and paint the pageantry without wanting to muster huge forces or spend time learning complex rules, this game allows players to game actual historical battles – or to delve into the archives of Hollywood to embark on more over-the-top pulp style clashes.

He traces the actions of Byzantium Emperors in the twelfth century as they sought to keep control of the crusading armies within their territories and to maintain their positions with respect to the west, and shows how mutual suspicion and attempts at co-operation ended in downright emnity.

'Promised Land, Crusader State' is a reinterpretation of the traditions that have shaped U.S. foreign policy from 1776 to the present. Looking back over two centuries, Walter McDougall draws a striking contrast between America as Promised Land and a contrary vision of America as Crusader State.

The meeting of East and West in the Crusader States was the theme of a symposium held at Hernen Castle in 1997. It was the continuation of a similar symposium which has been published in the Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 75. Various communities (Arabs, Armenians, Ethiopians, Greeks, Syrians and Latins) and various religions (the Church of Rome, the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, the Jacobites, the Muslims and others) play their part in the various Crusader States, sometimes in the effort to ecumenism, sometimes in the form of confrontations. Coins and seals in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem betray Eastern and Western influences. Daily life is reflected in historical texts, and in exempla and miracula. The fall of Edessa is described in the Lament of Edessa by Nerses Snorhali, which is here for the first time translated into English. Even icon-painting in Egypt reflects crusader influence.

The book will be welcome for tackling the Crusades from a fresh but important angle; the relations of the Crusader states with their neighbours, both Christian (the Byzantines) and, especially, Islamic – the rulers of Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Cairo etc. It contributes to the very fashionable approach of seeing the Crusades as a prime example of early European colonialism, and investigating them much more for their social, political and ethnic impact on the region than for their ostensible ideological and religious motives. Holt uses original Arabic sources, which are generally difficult for Western historians, and therefore this book is an important addition to literature about the Crusades.