The Crusades: Islamic PerspectivesAt the 900th anniversary of the Crusader capture of Jerusalem, it is timely to reflect on how the phenomenon of the Crusades influenced the Muslim world, then and now, militarily, culturally and psychologically. This book discusses a group of themes designed to highlight how Muslims reacted to the alien presence of the Crusaders in the heart of traditional Muslim territory. Ideological concerns are examined and the importance of the jihad is assessed in the context of the gradual recovery of the Holy Land and the expulsion of the Crusaders. Two chapters are devoted to an analysis of warfare - arms, battles, sieges, fortifications - on the basis of written sources and extant works of art, and the neglected aspect of the navy is brought into prominence. One chapter deals with the complex issue of the interaction between Muslims and Crusaders in a social, economic and cultural setting. The epilogue traces in outline the profound impact of the Crusades on Muslim consciousness until the present day.This is not a chronological survey of the events of the period 1099 to 1291and even beyond, for that has already been done several times. Instead, this is a general book intended to introduce some of the wider aspects of the history of the Crusades from the Muslim side. Accordingly, as a deliberate policy, an attempt is made here to view the phenomenon of the Crusades entirely through the prism of medieval Muslim sources. This naturally involves bias, but such a bias is salutary given the cumulative impact of centuries of Eurocentric scholarship in this field and it should help to create a more balanced picture of this fascinating and momentous period of Christian/Muslim confrontation and interaction. |
Contents
Expanded Contents List | xv |
Preface by Yasir Suleiman | xxxvii |
Key to Abbreviations Used in the Text | li |
Copyright | |
63 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abu Shama Acre Al-'Azimi al-Jawzi al-Malik Al-Maqrizi al-Nuri al-Zahir Aleppo Antioch Aqsa mosque Arabic army Ashmolean Museum attack Ayyubid Baghdad battle Baybars Broadhurst Byzantine Cairo caliph campaign castles Christian citadel conquest Creswell Photographic Archive Crusading period Damascus Dome East Edessa Egypt eleventh century enemy Europe Fatimid fight Frankish Franks Hama Hitti Holy Ibid Ibn al-'Adim Ibn al-Athir Ibn al-Furat Ibn al-Qalanisi Ibn Jubayr Ibn Shaddad Ibn Taymiyya Ibn Wasil Imad al-Din infidel inscription Iran Iraq Islamic sources Islamic world Jami Jerusalem jihad Kamil L'Islam lands leaders Levant madrasa Mamluk Mamluk sultan mentioned mihrab military minbar Mongols monuments Mosul Muhammad Muslim chroniclers Muslim sources Muslim world Nur al-Din Oxford Plate political Qur'an religious classes ruler Saladin scholars Seljuq Sicily siege Sivan Sunni Syria Syria and Palestine Syria Creswell Photographic Syria Figure territory thirteenth century trans Turkish Turks twelfth century Usama victory warrior western Zengi