The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233 AD), entitled al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh, is one of the outstanding sources for the history of the mediaeval world. It covers the whole sweep of Islamic history almost up to the death of its author. The years in this part are dominated by the careers of Nur al-Din and Saladin, the champions of the Jihad, sometimes called the 'counter-crusade'.
D.S. Richards' translation of the 13th century Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh covers the period of the 'great sultanate'. With copious annotations, the translation is an invaluable aid and resource for students and scholars.
The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233AD), entitled "al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh", is one of the outstanding sources for the history of the mediaeval world. It covers the whole sweep of Islamic history almost up to the death of its author and, with the sources available to him, he attempted to embrace the widest geographical spread; events in Iraq, Iran and further East run in counterpoint with those involving North Africa and Spain. From the time of the arrival of the Crusaders in the Levant, their activities and the Muslim response become the focus of the work. A significant portion of this third part deals with the internal rivalries of the Ayyubid successors of Saladin, their changing relations with the Crusader states and in particular the events of the Damietta Crusade. As always, these events are portrayed against the wider background, with considerable emphasis on events in the eastern Islamic world, the fortunes of the Khwarazm Shahs and the first incursions of the Mongols.
The recapture of Jerusalem, the siege of acre, the fall of Tripoli, the effect in Baghdad of events in Syria; these and other happenings were faithfully recorded by Arab historians during the two centuries of the Crusades. First published in English in 1969, this book presents 'the other side' of the Holy War, offering the first English translation of contemporary Arab accounts of the fighting between Muslim and Christian. Extracts are drawn from seventeen different authors encompassing a multitude of sources: The general histories of the Muslim world, The chronicles of cities, regions and their dynasties Contemporary biographies and records of famous deeds. Overall, this book gives a sweeping and stimulating view of the Crusades seen through Arab eyes.
Drawn from greater Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and Egypt, the sources in this anthology—many of which are translated into English for the first time here--provide eyewitness and contemporary historical accounts of what unfolded in the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. In providing representative examples of the many disparate types of Muslim sources, this volume opens a window onto life in the Islamic Near East during the Crusader period and the interactions between Franks and Muslims in the broader context of Islamic history. Ideally suited for use in undergraduate courses on the Crusades or the pre-modern Islamic Near East, this anthology will also appeal to any readers seeking a better understanding of the Islamic response to the Crusades and the general history of the Near East in this period.
In Medieval Muslim Historians and the Franks in the Levant seven leading scholars examine the historical writings of seven medieval Muslim historians whose works provide the core chronographical texts for reconstructing the events of the crusading period, 1097-1291. Each chapter examines the life of and influences on each historian, their overall writings, and their historical works related to the Crusades. Each historical text is examined for the current state of modern research, the sources and working method of the author, and its use and relevance for crusader studies and other fields of research. This volume will be of use to anyone studying the events of the Crusades, of Islamic History, or of Arabic Historiography in the medieval period. Contributors include: Frédéric Bauden, Niall Christie, Anne-Marie Eddé, Konrad Hirschler, Alex Mallett, and Françoise Micheau, Lutz Richter-Bernburg
This outstanding work on the First Crusade was written by an Arab scholar from an old and respected family of Damascus. Well-educated in literature, theology and law, he was twice elected mayor of the city and died when he was over 90 years of age in 1160. His Chronicle, translated by H. A. R. Gibb, is of special interest because it presents a contemporary Arab account of how the Crusaders fared while in Damascus. Derived from oral and written reports, the information is remarkable for its documentation. An informative introduction sets the scene just prior to invasion by the Crusaders. Because this original work still retains much material unused by later compilers, it remains an indispensable resource for students of the early Crusades.
This comprehensive work of cultural history gives us something we have never had: a view of the Crusades as seen through Muslim eyes. With breathtaking command of medieval Muslim sources as well as the vast literature on medieval European and Muslim culture, Carole Hillenbrand has produced a book that shows not only how the Crusades were perceived by the Muslims, but how the Crusades affected the Muslim world - militarily, culturally, and psychologically. As the author demonstrates, that influence continues now, centuries after the events. In The Crusades the reader discovers how the Muslims reacted to the Franks, and how Muslim populations were displaced, the ensuing period of jihad, the careers of Nur al-Din and Saladin, and the interpenetration of Muslim and Christian cultures. Stereotypes of the Franks in Muslim documents offer a fascinating counter to Western views of the infidel of legend. For readers interested in the Middle Ages, military history, the history of religion, and postcolonial studies, The Crusades opens a window onto a conflict we have only viewed from one side. The Crusades is richly illustrated, with eighteen color plates and over five hundred line drawings and black and white photographs.
In 902 the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily fell, and the island would remain under Muslim control until the arrival of the Normans in the eleventh century. Drawing on a lifetime of translating and linguistic experience, William Granara here focuses on the various ways in which medieval Arab historians, geographers, jurists and philologists imagined and articulated their ever-changing identities in this turbulent period. All of these authors sought to make sense of the island's dramatic twists, including conquest and struggles over political sovereignty, and the painful decline of social and cultural life. Writing about Siqilliya involved drawing from memory, conjecture and then-current theories of why nations and people rose and fell. In so doing, Granara considers and translates, often for the first time, a vast range of primary sources - from the master chronicles of Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Khadun to biographical dictionaries, geographical works, legal treatises and poetry - and modern scholarship not available in English. He charts the shift from Sicily as 'warrior outpost' to vital and productive hub that would transform the medieval Islamic world, and indeed the entire Mediterranean.
