Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 10
Introduction: What does it all mean? 11
Emperors, Caliphs and Sultans 12
1 The Great Mosque of Cordoba, eighth to tenth century 12
2 Carved Ivory Oliphant of the Fatimid Caliphate. Sicily, eleventh century 14
3 Turkish Composite Bows, created by twentieth-century master craftsmen 15
4 The Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, Merv, Turkmenistan, eleventh century 18
5 The Murder of Nizam al-Mulk from a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript of the Jami al-Tawarikh, the Compendium of Chronicles or World History of Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Topkapi Palace Museum 20
Popes, Kings and Emperors 23
6 Hagia Sophia, and the Grave of Dandolo, Istanbul 23
7 The Temple Mount viewed from the Mount of Olives 25
8 The Kiss of Peace depicted in a relief sculpture in the tympanum of the church of Anzy-le-Duc, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy. Probably eleventh century 27
9 The Bayeux Tapestry showing Duke William mustering and leading a charge of his Knights, eleventh century 28
10 William Marshal at a Joust unhorses Baldwin Guisnes, who survives the bout thanks to his chain-mail armour. From the Historia Major of Matthew Paris, c. thirteenth century 31
A Youthful Venture 33
11 The Staronova Synagoga, Europe's Oldest Active Synagogue. Josefov, Prague. Completed c. 1270 33
12 Trajan's Column, Rome, showing Roman siege artillery, 113-117 35
13 Brass Pen Box showing scenes of Hunting and Falconry. Mamluk Period Syria, probably thirteenth century 37
14 The Catapulting of Ibrahim into the Fire in Edessa. Page from an unidentified Ottoman manuscript c. 1600 39
15 Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing the Crucifixion and the piercing of Christ's Flank by Longinus' Lance. Germany, Lower Rhine Valley, eleventh century 41
La Gerusalemme Liberata 43
16 Jet and Ivory Chess Pieces from the Western Islamic World, ninth to eleventh century 43
17 The city of Maarat al-Numan's destroyed mosques following its uprising and subsequent bombardment by Syrian pro-government forces in late 2012 45
18 Pisa Cathedral and the Camposanto, eleventh century 48
19 Erminia tends to Tancredi's wounds, Alessando Turchi, c. 1630 50
20 Pilgrims at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, 2019 52
I Will Not Spare These Proud Egyptians 55
21 A Fatimid Armlet with Kufic script, probably Syrian, 909-1171 55
22 Astrolabes from Al-Andalus, 1050-1080 56
23 The Throne of Charlemagne. Palatine Chapel, Aachen, c. 790 58
24 A Berber Warrior of the late nineteenth century 60
25 Turkish Archers' Thumb Rings, Topkapi Saray Palace, fifteenth to sixteenth century 62
Securing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth 65
26 Crak De Chevaliers, Syria, twelfth century 65
27 Karak Castle, Jordan, twelfth century 69
28 The Great Seal of the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar, showing the order's symbol of two knights on one horse, c. 1158 71
29 The Walls of Malta, sixteenth century 72
30 Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt, the Grand Master of the Knights of Saint John, Caravaggio. c. 1607 75
A Muted Response? 76
31 The Minbar. These examples are from the late medieval period 76
32 The Great Mosque of Damascus, c. 705 78
33 The Mantle of Roger II of Sicily, with Islamic Motifs, probably produced in Cairo, c. 1133-1134 80
34 The Assassins' Creed Game and Media, twentieth to twenty-first century 81
35 The Arabian Horse. Timeless 83
Backyard Jihad and Détente 86
36 A Chalice carved from Rock Crystal. Fatimid workmanship with later Parisian mounting, c. 1100 and 1225-1250 86
37 The Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul before and after its destruction by the Islamic State, late twelfth century and 2017 88
38 The Arsenal of Venice, twelfth to fifteenth century 89
39 A Reliquary Casket made from Fatimid rock crystal plaques, c. 1200 92
40 A Damascus Sword Maker. 'Whose swords were once considered the finest in the world', c. 1900 94
The Martyr and the Saint King 95
41 Greek Fire in the Codex Græcus Matritensis Ioannis Skyllitzes, twelfth century 96
42 A Writing Case from the Jazira, with plaques showing the planets in character, thirteenth century 97
43 The Ivory Cover of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem's Psalter, c. 1135 100
44 Counterweight Trebuchets, an invention of the early twelfth century 102
45 Camels carrying Projectile Weapons in Afghanistan, c. 1988 104
Of the Deaths of Great Armies and of Imaginary Realms 106
46 Coats of Arms, Cathedral of Saint Barbara, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, fourteenth to nineteenth century 106
47 Details from Turkish Bows of the type that destroyed the armies of the Second Crusade, sixteenth-century examples 108
48 The Battle of Inab, by the fifteenth-century miniature painter, Jean Colombe 110
49 Prester John in a Few of his Many Manifestations, from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries 112
50 The Douane, Dogana, and Customs Post, an idea, for good or ill, taken from the Diwan of the Arabs to Europe and beyond during the Crusades 115
Monarchic Franque et Monarchie Musulman L'equilibre 118
51 Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo, c. 970 118
52 The City of Alexandria 121
53 A Polo Game: an Illustration from the Divan of Mir 'Alishir Nava'I, Iran, sixteenth century 124
54 Yemen, Saladin's bolthole, should all his plans come to nothing 126
55 Saladin remains a potent icon for unity and resistance in the Arab world, despite the Sultan being a Kurd. This movie poster advertises The Search for Saladin 128
Fortune Makes a King 131
56 The Hakawati, a Traditional Syrian Teller of Arabic Stories and Reciter of Legends 131
57 The Assassin Castle of Maysaf in Syria, twelfth century 132
58 Devalued Dinars: Crusader and Arabic coinage of the twelfth century, Iraqi banknotes of the twenty-first century 135
59 The city of Jeddah. Its merchants' houses reflected the city's wealth and the fact that it was, and is, the gateway to Islam's holiest cities 137
60 Poster for the Movie Saladin and the Crusaders, 1963. Often seen as a celebration of Colonel Nasser of Egypt, who wished, and failed, to replicate the Sultan's deeds 139
Rose Petals in al-Quds 141
61 A Reliquary holding a piece of the True Cross, twelfth century 141
62 A Statue of Saladin celebrating the Sultans victory at the Horns of Hattin. Damascus, inaugurated in 1993 143
63 Naptha Grenades, a Greek invention, honed to perfection by the Muslims 145
64 The Massacre at Acre. From the Chronicle Overseas Passages by the French against the Turks and other Saracens, attributed to Jean Colombe, fifteenth century 149
65 The Chertsey Abbey floor tiles of the thirteenth century. Said to depict Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in Combat 150
Daggers, Détente and Deceit 153
66 A Statue of Richard Couer De Lion from 1856, Houses of Parliament, London 153
67 Soap from Aleppo, a luxury enjoyed by Crusaders, and their ladies 154
68 The Two Tombs of Saladin in the Great Mosque of Damascus. The original twelfth-century wooden sarcophagus, and an early twentieth-century marble gift of dubious aesthetic value donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II 156
69 An Ayyubid-period incense burner with Christian iconography, a rare example of cultural exchange between the Crusader kingdoms and their Muslim adversaries 159
70 The Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily, twelfth century 160
New Jerusalems and New Enemies 163
71 The Four Horses of the Constantinople Hippodrome in their current home of the museum of the cathedral of San Marco, Venice, c. third century 163
72 The Basilica of Christ's Blood, Bruges, twelfth century 166
73 A Mamluk Bombard or Grenade, carrying remarkable engraving and artisuy for what is essentially a bomb, thirteenth century 170
74 Modern-day Celebrations of Ponies and Bactrian Camels, the animals that helped to create the Mongol Empire 171
75 The Eleventh-Century Friday Mosque in Qazvin. Men, women and children were slaughtered in concentration camps that the Mongols set up outside Qazvin during their destruction of the Assassins Order. Even babes in their cradles were murdered 173
Islam Saves Europe, but at a Price 178
76 A Lustreware Plaque from an Iranian Ilkhanid mihrab c. 1300-1350. Vicious Mongol persecution of Islam had, by the turn of the century, been replaced by conversion 178
77 Mamluk Helmets, or possibly Ottoman copies made to revere the Dynasty that Defeated the Mongols 180
78 Banners of Mamluk Sultans, used to rally and to direct the best soldiers of the Middle Ages 182
79 The King of Jordan's Circassian Bodyguard. Distant blood brothers to the Mamluks of the Crusades era 184
80 Mamluk Emirs' Blazons on Buildings in Jerusalem, on Metalwork, on Cairo Window Grills and Textiles. Enduring signs of the dynasty's obsession with rank and power 185
Walls Come Tumbling Down 190
81 The Crown of Thorns, originally housed in Saint Chapelle, Saint Louis's purpose-built repository for the holy relic. Rescued from Notre Dame Cathedral during the blaze of 2019 190
82 Mamluk-Style Quivers, their wide mouths and large capacity enabled rapid delivery of vast volumes of arrows 191
83 A Mamluk Mosque Lamp, decorated with the name of the patron who commissioned it, the emir Tankizbugha 193
84 A Mamluk Brass Bowl with Silver Inlay. The lotus, a motif brought from China by the Mamluks' deadliest enemies the Mongols, became almost ubiquitous in Islamic art after the thirteenth century 196
85 A Portal in Sultan al-Nasir's Mausoleum in Cairo. The arch was taken as booty from the Crusader church of Saint Jean in Acre by the Mamluks in 1291 198
Old Enemies, New Enemies 200
86 The Giostra in Axezzo, Italy. Twice a year, the knights of the Crusader Kingdom are remembered in a joust undertaken by competing quarters of the city against their old enemy, II Saraceno 200
87 An Anatolian Carpet with Animal Designs, c. fourteenth century 204
88 Statues of John of Matha, Felix of Valois and Saint Ivan on Charles Bridge, Prague. The work honours the founders of the Trinitarians, an order that redeemed Christians in captivity under the Turks, and Saint Ivan, the patron saint of the Slavs, 1714 205
89 The Chapel of the Holy Cross, Karlstejn, Czech Republic. Emperor Charles IV created the room to represent the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21, c.1350 208
90 A Ceremonial Sword of the Order of the Dragon, a Catholic order created by Sigismund of Hungary in 1408. Its members swore to combat heretics and the Ottomans 210
The Slow Death of Chivalry 212
91 Fifteenth-century War Wagons were decidedly unheroic and stood against all notions of chivalry, but they afforded vital protection for infantry and hand gunners against cavalry and could also transport artillery shot and other tools of 'modern war'. 212
92 Tombstones of Heretics: Bogomils in Bosnia and Cathars in Carcassonne, thirteenth century 214
93 Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky, in which Teutonic Knights are equated with the contemporary Nazi state of Germany, and the invading German armies of 1914. The presence of coal-scuttle helmets on the Crusader infantry and swastikas on the mitres of the Catholic bishops drove home the message of colonial feudalism being defeated by Russian folk heroes 218
94 The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, Seville. Its bell tower 'La Giralda', is a minaret built by the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf in 1198 for his grand mosque, with later Christian additions 221
95 The Hussite Warlord Jan Zizka on Vítkov Hill in Prague. Planned in 1937, completed in 1950 224
A Long Shadow 227
96 Vast Mosques and Extensions to the Body of Hagia Sophia. Ottoman contributions to the greatest city of the medieval age 227
97 The Sacro Monte of Varallo, Italy. Started in 1491 and added to until the seventeenth century, so that those, 'who could not go on a pilgrimage might see Jerusalem' 228
98 A Salt Cellar with Portuguese Soldiers and a Caravel. Carved from ivory in Benin c. 1600 238
99 Troops of the British Indian Empire. Cavalry on the Tigris and Infantry in Jerusalem, 1917. Their British commanders are also seen here mixing with fellow Italian and French officers to listen to a Franciscan monk preaching 240
100 Nazi Propaganda. Saint George draped in swastikas killing the dragon from a book about 'heraldry', and a Nazi Knight standing against the unholy faith of Bolshevism 244
Index 246
