Folio Archives 478: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf 2012
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The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf 2012
Too often, those in western countries view history through a Eurocentric lens, and rarely have the opportunity to judge history from the point of view of those on the other side of a battle, ideology or, in this case, religion.
The crusades took place over two centuries between 1096 and 1291 and involved numerous assaults by Christian armies, drawn from all over Europe, against the Moslems who at that time controlled Jerusalem and the surrounding Holy Land – a city and land that was holy to not only to those two religions, but Judaism as well, a religious and ethnic conflict that persists in the 21st. century.
The history of the Crusades from a Christian perspective is well known to most educated readers in the West, but here we have an account that turns the view the other way, and shows the way the rulers, religious leaders and even the average person viewed the assaults by the Crusaders on their homeland.
The author researched contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, reports by eyewitnesses, and the memoirs of participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today. He records details about actors on both sides in a play filled with short-sighted power struggles, hubris, greed, religious fervour, stupidity and violence.
This beautifully bound book is encased in dark red buckram with a gilt blocked design and multicolour image on front cover. It has xxix+305 pages and a plain black slipcase that measures 24.8x16.9cm. The text was translated by Jon Rothschild and is introduced by Malise Ruthven. There are 25 pages of bound-in full page colour plates and two line-drawn maps. The endpapers are dark red.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Too often, those in western countries view history through a Eurocentric lens, and rarely have the opportunity to judge history from the point of view of those on the other side of a battle, ideology or, in this case, religion.
The crusades took place over two centuries between 1096 and 1291 and involved numerous assaults by Christian armies, drawn from all over Europe, against the Moslems who at that time controlled Jerusalem and the surrounding Holy Land – a city and land that was holy to not only to those two religions, but Judaism as well, a religious and ethnic conflict that persists in the 21st. century.
The history of the Crusades from a Christian perspective is well known to most educated readers in the West, but here we have an account that turns the view the other way, and shows the way the rulers, religious leaders and even the average person viewed the assaults by the Crusaders on their homeland.
The author researched contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, reports by eyewitnesses, and the memoirs of participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today. He records details about actors on both sides in a play filled with short-sighted power struggles, hubris, greed, religious fervour, stupidity and violence.
This beautifully bound book is encased in dark red buckram with a gilt blocked design and multicolour image on front cover. It has xxix+305 pages and a plain black slipcase that measures 24.8x16.9cm. The text was translated by Jon Rothschild and is introduced by Malise Ruthven. There are 25 pages of bound-in full page colour plates and two line-drawn maps. The endpapers are dark red.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
