Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097–1192

Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097–1192
Author: David Nicolle
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2004-07-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781841767154

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.

Crusader Castles in the Holy Land

Crusader Castles in the Holy Land
Author: David Nicolle
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008-11-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781846033490

The bloody crusades that swept across the Middle East in medieval times left their mark on the landscape, where fortifications which once acted as bastions of power for the beleaguered Crusader States now cast their ruined shadows over the earth. These fortifications varied considerably in size, architecture and function from the mighty Crac de Chevaliers, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in Syria to smaller fortified dwellings and religious centers. With almost constant warfare between Crusaders and Saracens they were vitally important both as centers of defense and bases for the launch of offensive operations. Citadels of Christendom is a beautifully illustrated guide to the development, construction, purpose and history of these castles. Examining the castles built in the Holy Land between 1097 and 1302 as well as the castles built in Cyprus, Greece and the Aegean between 1191 and 1571, this book provides a rare overview of the history and notably the evolution of fortresses and defenses during the Crusades. Contemporary photographs and the latest research resurrect these imposing reminders of over two centuries of conflict.

Crusader Castles in Cyprus, Greece and the Aegean 1191–1571

Crusader Castles in Cyprus, Greece and the Aegean 1191–1571
Author: David Nicolle
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2013-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472803817

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.

Crusader Castles

Crusader Castles
Author: Hugh Kennedy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 1994
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780521799133

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

The Crusades and the Christian World of the East

The Crusades and the Christian World of the East
Author: Christopher MacEvitt
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2010-11-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780812202694

In the wake of Jerusalem's fall in 1099, the crusading armies of western Christians known as the Franks found themselves governing not only Muslims and Jews but also local Christians, whose culture and traditions were a world apart from their own. The crusader-occupied swaths of Syria and Palestine were home to many separate Christian communities: Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Armenians, and other sects with sharp doctrinal differences. How did these disparate groups live together under Frankish rule? In The Crusades and the Christian World of the East, Christopher MacEvitt marshals an impressive array of literary, legal, artistic, and archeological evidence to demonstrate how crusader ideology and religious difference gave rise to a mode of coexistence he calls "rough tolerance." The twelfth-century Frankish rulers of the Levant and their Christian subjects were separated by language, religious practices, and beliefs. Yet western Christians showed little interest in such differences. Franks intermarried with local Christians and shared shrines and churches, but they did not hesitate to use military force against Christian communities. Rough tolerance was unlike other medieval modes of dealing with religious difference, and MacEvitt illuminates the factors that led to this striking divergence. "It is commonplace to discuss the diversity of the Middle East in terms of Muslims, Jews, and Christians," MacEvitt writes, "yet even this simplifies its religious complexity." While most crusade history has focused on Christian-Muslim encounters, MacEvitt offers an often surprising account by examining the intersection of the Middle Eastern and Frankish Christian worlds during the century of the First Crusade.

The Tragedy of the Templars

The Tragedy of the Templars
Author: Michael Haag
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2013-08-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0062059777

From Michael Haag, bestselling author of The Templars: The History and the Myth, comes The Tragedy of the Templars, an exciting new look at the rise of Templar power and the saga of their destruction. Founded on Christmas Day 1119 in Jerusalem, the Knights Templar was a religious order dedicated to defending the Holy Land and its Christian pilgrims in the decades after the First Crusade. Legendary for their bravery and dedication, the Templars became one of the wealthiest and most powerful bodies of the medieval world—and the chief defenders of Christian society against growing Muslim forces. In The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States, Haag masterfully details the conflicts and betrayals that sent this faction of powerful knights spiraling from domination to condemnation. This stirring and thoroughly researched work of historical investigation includes maps and full-color photographs of important cultural sites, many of which doubled as battlefields during the Crusades.

Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (1)

Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (1)
Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003-10-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781841765570

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.

France and the Holy Land

France and the Holy Land
Author: Daniel H. Weiss
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2004-05-14
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780801878237

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