Product Description

The kaleidoscopic political changes during the years covered by this volume include the rise and fall of the Crusader states, the expansion of the Mongol empire, the rise of the Mamluk sultanate and of its ultimate conquerors, the Ottomans. To all of these Professor Holt is a clear and skilful guide. He principally utilises, and to some extent reinterprets, the medieval Arabic sources, to present a picture which differs in important respects from the conventional western-orientated view.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #222802 in Books
• Published on: 1986-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Textbook Binding
• 250 pages

Review

'A lucid and valuable work of synthesis, and one which augurs well for the series of which it is the harbinger.'

History

Customer Reviews

Review of the age of the crusades
In The Age of the Crusades, P.M. Holt attempts the difficult task of describing and explaining the period 1100 – 1517 in only 250 pages. The result is a breathless yet entertaining book which guides the reader through a fascinating land during a fascinating time. From the Red Sea to the Black Sea, Cairo to Constantinople, Holt’s aim is to show his reader is that the crusades, although important, play only a part in the political intrigue and military conflicts which were common in the Muslim World. One of Holt’s main conclusions is the ‘progressive unification and ultimate consolidation under the administration of a single Muslim government”. In an age when many people dream of such a government and many people greatly fear one this book shows the factors that led to unification in the past and the roles played by the Christian states and other Muslim nations.

The book opens with a short chapter explaining names and titles as well as the Islamic culture. Although this can appear daunting at first glance it greatly improves ones appreciation of the period. Similarly, Holt’s use of both dates (Islamic and Christian) enables the reader to get a sense of the Muslim perspective, a distinct figure of this book. In the introduction Holt attempts to paint a quick sketch of the near East and the ethnic groups within before the first crusade. He is at pains to point out that the near east was not one, gigantic Muslim Empire but rather “an area of considerable geographical diversity”. It is also points out that contrary to Pope Urban’s famous declaration, “Actual persecution (of Christians) was rare and sporadic”.

The first crusades caught the Muslim states unawares and the sense of surprise comes across well in Holt’s book. Here the use of texts such as an account by Ibn al-Qalanisi give the reader a fresh perspective, “In this year there began to arrive a succession of reports that the armies of the Franks had appeared from the sea of Constantinople…the people grew anxious and disturbed in mind”. The bloodlust of many of the crusaders is now a matter of historical record yet Holt, while obviously detailing certain massacres, does not make this a central theme of his book. He does not judge and does not shy away from talking about the excesses of Muslim soldiers, “Then the sultan offered Islam to the Templars and Hospitallers. Those who accepted conversion were spared, and those who did not were slain. He slew a great number, and sent the rest of the rules and prisoners to Damascus”. Although Holt has spent a lifetime studying the east he is very even handed and this comes across strongly to the reader.

Holt uses a wealth of contemporary Islamic sources in order to bring across the sense of two cultures clashing while having very little idea about the other. Sometimes this can be almost humorous as in this story of a strange request by one crusader to a Muslim, “ ‘My brother, I am leaving for my country and I want thee to send with me thy son…when he returns, he will be like a wise man’ …Thus fell upon my ears words which would never come out of the head of the sensible man…I said to the man…the only thing that has prevented me from carrying it out was the fact that my mother, his grandmother, was very fond of the boy”. Mostly however it is this lack of understanding which proves so depressing.

Holt’s book is one book of a series of six which attempt to (according to the cover) attempt to place the current Middle Eastern concerns ‘in the perspective of history’. This is a big remit and it is perhaps too big. Holt is attempting to cover a huge amount of information into a relatively short book and at times the pace is just too fast. The reader is given an overview of the history of the region but little in depth knowledge of the events described. Holt’s book is at its hardest to read when he is detailing the different political institutions and these chapters can grate a little but generally he paints a dramatic and ever changing picture of the near east but fails to take into account that many of the areas he covers are not well known to most western historians. It can therefore be argued that the book Holt has written is very important but he should take a more leisurely journey, it would have the made the book more assessable to the general reader.

One major disappointment in this text is the poor quality of the maps provided. In a book dealing with a complicated and ever changing landscape one would expect a range of maps. Instead all we are given is four, undated maps at the back of the text book. The book would have been much improved by the use of maps amongst the text detailing the changes in national borders and rulers that were so common. Holt dedicates more pages to Genealogical tables then maps and therefore, although these tables are interesting and useful, he has got his priorities wrong.

Holt’s book finishes in the year 1517, the year when the Ottomans conquered Egypt and became a world power. It is as good a place as any to finish his account and does back up Holt’s belief of the gradual unification of the near east. Holt shows that the unification was often progressed by the call to jihad (holy war) and that the four Frankish states as well as the call to extend the dominance of the Koran abroad. Islam was often used by political leaders and zealots to extend their control and western aggression often helped them to this end, a message which is surly echoed in our world today. Holt has done well to shift the historians focus away from the effects of the crusades on the western world to their effects on the Muslim world.