Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands

by Dan Jones

Overview

A major new history of the Crusades with an unprecedented wide scope, told in a tableau of portraits of people on all sides of the wars, from the author of Powers and Thrones.

For more than one thousand years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious period of conflict between the two religions. Depending on who you ask, the fall of the holy city was either an inspiring legend or the greatest of horrors. In Crusaders, Dan Jones interrogates the many sides of the larger story, charting a deeply human and avowedly pluralist path through the crusading era.

Expanding the usual timeframe, Jones looks to the roots of Christian-Muslim relations in the eighth century and tracks the influence of crusading to present day. He widens the geographical focus to far-flung regions home to so-called enemies of the Church, including Spain, North Africa, southern France, and the Baltic states. By telling intimate stories of individual journeys, Jones illuminates these centuries of war not only from the perspective of popes and kings, but from Arab-Sicilian poets, Byzantine princesses, Sunni scholars, Shi'ite viziers, Mamluk slave soldiers, Mongol chieftains, and barefoot friars.

Crusading remains a rallying call to this day, but its role in the popular imagination ignores the cooperation and complicated coexistence that were just as much a feature of the period as warfare. The age-old relationships between faith, conquest, wealth, power, and trade meant that crusading was not only about fighting for the glory of God, but also, among other earthly reasons, about gold. In this richly dramatic narrative that gives voice to sources usually pushed to the margins, Dan Jones has written an authoritative survey of the holy wars with global scope and human focus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143108979
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	52,608
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dan Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Templars, The Plantagenets, Wars of the Roses, and Magna Carta. He wrote and presented the popular Netflix series Secrets of Great British Castles and appeared alongside George R.R. Martin in the official HBO film exploring the real history behind Game of Thrones.

Table of Contents

List of Maps xiii

Major Characters xv

Introduction xxxiii

Part I Trial by Ordeal

1 The Count and the Imam 3

2 Poets and Party Kings 11

3 Empire Under Siege 21

4 Deus Vult! 30

5 The Preacher's Tale 42

6 March of the Princes 54

7 The Longest Winter 68

8 Jerusalem 82

9 Dividing the Spoils 97

Part II Kingdom of Heaven

10 Sigurd Jerusalemfarer 109

11 Fields of Blood 121

12 A New Knighthood 134

13 Melisende the Magnificent 146

14 The Swords of Our Fathers 158

15 Converted or Deleted 168

16 History Repeating 182

17 The Race for Egypt 196

18 Because of Our Sins 210

Part III The Harvest of the Earth

19 Lionesses and Lionhearts 227

20 Consumed by Fire 243

21 Enemies Within 262

22 The River of Paradise 278

23 Immutator Mundi 295

24 Khans and Kings 311

25 The Enemy from Hell 326

26 Fragments and Dreams 342

27 Brave New Worlds 354

Epilogue: Crusaders 2.0 366

Appendices 373

Notes 379

Bibliography 401

Index 411

Editorial Reviews

"Jones’s writing aims at a you-are-there effect . . . The immediacy of [his] book is enhanced by physical and psychological descriptions of the hero's and villains of the story . . . Some of Jones’s primary sources are little known, and even enthusiasts for the subject may never have heard of the Russian Daniel the Abbot, Saint Neophytos the Recluse, or La Chronique de Morigny."—The New York Review of Books

"Every page of [Dan Jones'] extraordinary book provides vivid evidence of the Crusades’ continuing ability to mesmerise...Amid the juicy anecdotes, the great strength of this book is the way in which it illuminates the human networks that underpinned the Crusades."—The Times (UK)

“Jones’ sweeping coverage of a conflict of three centuries’ duration hews to the highest standards of popular history. It is literate, thoroughly engaging, and serious, without condescension towards either its matter or its readers.”—Booklist (*starred*)

“Jones paints a vivid and accurate picture of the culture, politics, and personalities of the crusading period, covering vast swaths of history and many personalities with aplomb."—Publishers Weekly

“Dan Jones, author of The Templars, returns to dazzle readers with a fascinating look at the Crusades. And lest you hesitate because events that took place a thousand years ago appear irrelevant, rest assured: This is no dry, boring tome . . . Like Game of Thrones, this epic tale is peopled with a large cast . . . In a thought-provoking epilogue, Jones brings his narrative into the present day.”—BookPage

“Dan Jones brings to life a tremendous cast of characters from every arena of the crusading world, from the eastern Mediterranean to southern Spain, and from Byzantium to the Baltic. Coupling vivid storytelling with a researcher's eye for the telling anecdote, Jones offers a fresh and vibrant – but meticulously constructed – account of a conflict that raged across the medieval centuries, and whose echoes continue to resonate to the present day.”—Jonathan Phillips, author of The Life and The Legend of The Sultan Saladin and Holy Warriors
 
“A powerful story brilliantly told. Dan Jones writes with pace, wit and insight, a panoramic gaze and unfailing humanity. The result is utterly compelling.”—Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves and Joan of Arc

“The centuries of campaigning to reclaim the Holy Land retain their fascination, as demonstrated by this expert mixture of cutthroat politics, battlefield fireworks, and mass murder . . . As usual, the author has done his homework, laboring mightily to recount century after century of gruesome warfare between profoundly religious cultures with apparently no inhibition against lying and profound cruelty . . . [Readers] will keep the pages turning.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The author’s choice to make the people doing the action rather than the act as the focus is insightful...An entertaining and informative look at a potent historical phenomenon whose echoes are still being felt today.”—Library Journal (*starred*)


Praise for The Templars:

"Dan Jones is an entertainer, but also a bona fide historian. Seldom does one find serious scholarship so easy to read." —The Times, Book of the Year

"Dan Jones gives no credence to the conspiratorial fantasies that have been spun around the Templars over the years . . . His aim is to present a gripping historical narrative, and in this he succeeds." —Cullen Murphy, The Washington Post

"Dan Jones has created a gripping page-turner out of the dramatic history of the Templars, from their spiritual warrior beginnings until their tragic destruction by the French king and the pope. It is genuinely moving and a chilling contemporary warning about the abuse of power through persecution and lies."— Philippa Gregory, author of The White Queen

"Jones' fast-paced history is laced with tales of blood and bravery, disaster and victory. . . . Drawing on Christian and Muslim sources, he carries the Templars through the crusades with clarity and verve. This is unabashed narrative history, fast-paced and full of incident." —The Sunday Times 

"Gripping...The Templars became poster boys of the early middle ages, famed for their piety and their military prowess...An intoxicating combination." —Peter Frankopan, The Telegraph  

"A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate miltary-relgious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger, featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword swingers spattering Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem."—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The Biography

Praise for The Plantagenets:

"A real life Game of Thrones, as dramatic and blood-soaked as any work of fantasy . . . Fast-paced and accessible, The Plantagenets is old-fashioned storytelling and will be particularly appreciated by those who like their history red in tooth and claw." —The Wall Street Journal 

"The Plantagenets is rich in detail and scene-setting...The Plantagenets' saga is the story of how English monarchs learned, or failed to learn, how to be kings, and how the English people, commoners and barons alike, learned how to limit their powers."—USA Today 

"Compelling reading." —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

07/22/2019

Popular historian Jones (The Templars) looks in this accessible and thoroughly researched work at the medieval crusaders who, with the authorization of the Pope, took up arms to advance the causes of the Catholic church. This group included leaders and kings who led the well-known Middle Eastern crusaders, such as Richard the Lionhearted; crusaders who fought on the Iberian Peninsula and against northern European pagans; and the major Islamic opponents, such as the leader Saladin. Jones relates the story as much as possible through the words of surviving accounts from the period. The early chapters examine the motivation and strategy behind the first crusade, culminating with the capture of Jerusalem; the middle of the book describes the buildup of crusader power and culminates with its destruction at the Battle of Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem to Islamic forces under Saladin; and the final part of the book documents the slow demise of crusader power in the Middle East and the extermination of the last crusader stronghold at Acre in 1298. Jones paints a vivid and accurate picture of the culture, politics, and personalities of the crusading period, covering vast swaths of history and many personalities with aplomb. The general reader of history and those interested in a deeper understanding of relations between Islam and the West will find this work engaging and informative. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Jones writes and narrates his history of the whole course of the Crusades as a story well stocked with characters and incidents, making it entertaining as well as informative. His British accent is likable, if not the most elegant, and his narration is effective. With effortless-sounding pacing, he is careful to give the proper weight and sense to words, and he shapes sentences, providing emphasis to what’s most important. Occasionally, the emphasis is exaggerated, but, in general, his presentation is pleasingly energetic and invigorated by his enthusiasm for his subject. The wide range of his audiobook’s history, combined with his able performance, makes this an enjoyable introduction to the period. W.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2020 - AudioFile

Jones writes and narrates his history of the whole course of the Crusades as a story well stocked with characters and incidents, making it entertaining as well as informative. His British accent is likable, if not the most elegant, and his narration is effective. With effortless-sounding pacing, he is careful to give the proper weight and sense to words, and he shapes sentences, providing emphasis to what’s most important. Occasionally, the emphasis is exaggerated, but, in general, his presentation is pleasingly energetic and invigorated by his enthusiasm for his subject. The wide range of his audiobook’s history, combined with his able performance, makes this an enjoyable introduction to the period. W.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2020 - AudioFile

2019-07-03
The centuries of campaigning to reclaim the Holy Land retain their fascination, as demonstrated by this expert mixture of cutthroat politics, battlefield fireworks, and mass murder.

Bestselling British historian Jones (Templars: The Rise and Fall of God's Holy Warriors, 2017) reminds readers that Christians had been warring against Islam since its warriors burst out of Arabia in the seventh century and advanced well into Europe. By the 11th century, when the author begins the narrative, Spain and Sicily were already battlegrounds. Matters were critical further east where the Byzantine Empire was fending off attackers on all sides, most significantly from the Turks, who had advanced perilously close to the capital at Constantinople. In 1095, its emperor requested military aid from Pope Urban II. For many reasons, not all admirable, Urban responded enthusiastically. Jones does his best to explain, but historians still scratch their heads over the fanatic response. Masses of the poor slaughtered local non-Christians (i.e., Jews) and then walked east in the thousands; most died. Soon after, armies under French and Norman leadership marched the entire distance, more than 2,000 miles, capturing much of Palestine, including Jerusalem, in 1099 after a bloody campaign. The result was a kingdom of Jerusalem and several other Christian principalities that spent the next two centuries fighting, ultimately unsuccessfully, for survival. At intervals, European leaders organized vast, expensive, poorly organized expeditions (crusades) that trundled toward the Holy Land, sometimes reached it, wreaked havoc, and suffered horribly. Readers may recall the Third Crusade's epic clashes between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. Jones does not neglect officially sanctioned, bloody crusades against Muslims in Spain, pagans in northern Europe, and religious heretics at home. As usual, the author has done his homework, laboring mightily to recount century after century of gruesome warfare between profoundly religious cultures with apparently no inhibition against lying and profound cruelty. Two appendices list the kings and queens of Jerusalem and the popes.

Readers may not sort out the innumerable Baldwins, Rogers, Fredericks, or battles, but they will keep the pages turning.

Kirkus Reviews