Nicholas Morton (1)

Where the author provides a signal service is to put the contingency back into the Frankish period of Middle Eastern history, when a relatively small band of European soldiers (with local help), with a unique military system (the premier heavy shock cavalry of the time), could box above their weight. The question becomes why could the Franks never quite close the deal by taking the major city (Aleppo, Damascus or Cairo) that might have allowed them to settle down for the long haul. At the show more end of the day it may simply boil down to how Muslim leaders such as Nur al-Din, Zangi or Saladin were always better equipped to play a more subtle political game with these cities, where only total military victory (which even the Frankish leaders seemed to realize was a low probability event) was the sole viable option for the Crusader states.

Morton chooses to end on the note that while some have tried to draw links between the intervention of the Crusaders, and the current violence in Syria, the reality is that the contemporary disaster owes more to the sorry modern traditions of "total war," than the limited outcomes that these Medieval contenders for power were fighting for. show less

The Field of Blood is a thesis book as such focuses on certain events and people, it is specialized, but easy to read. Making the case that while we tend to view the Crusader States as doomed follies, they actually came close to succeeding. Why not? Morton says the tide broke at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis in 1119, the high-water mark of Crusader expansion. Reasons for this are "contingent", but generally the Middle East at this time was highly populated with Morton recalling a case where a show more crusader army stormed a large city, breached the walls and charged inside only to disappear into the warrens never to be seen again. They were too few in number and the Frank's tactical fighting advantage, the heavy horse cavalry charge, was limited to open flat places. Morton also makes some excellent points generally - that the Crusades were not a culture clash between Christianity and Islam as traditionally told, being more complex and interesting with alliances between Christians and Muslims against common enemies and inter-Christian and inter-Muslim fighting. The interchange of customs and ideas. He is also a very good writer, the journey from Anatolia to Egypt on the wings of a goose was really memorable. This is an excellent book for what it is. show less

I found this book to be quite informative especially about the Teutonics. The work is mainly chronological with two analytic chapters on internal organization and also about the economics of the order. The book has a good plan for describing the effects of a military order, and the prospect of doing a similar job on the Calatrava, Templars and the Hospital, if it hasn't already been done in English should encourage people looking for a doctorate in this area. The maps are not very show more informative, and should have been greater in number, with several chronological maps for the Levant being an improvement. The book also tries to explain the constant pulls exerted by the Papacy, The German Empire, and the possibility of greater prospects in the Baltic than the Levant. A good book for the professional library. The prose is workmanlike rather than lively. show less

This work is a comprehensive tale of the empires of the Middle East before, during and after the advent of the Mongols. It deals largely with the Mongols who reached the Middle East, with little other than background about groups to the east and north except as the interacted with those invading Anatolia, Syria and surrounding areas. This is history told mainly in terms of battles lost and won, changes in dynasties and borders, diplomacy and civil wars. It contains little about the mode of show more life of the Mongols other than that they were nomads, their beliefs other than that they believed they were fated to conquer the world. Of their long-term effect on history we learn mainly that they made Europeans aware of how large and rich Eurasia was, created the conditions for Turkish rule and contributed to the downfall of the Crusader states in Palestine. show less