The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Saqi Essentials)

This remarkable work is a scholarly work which is so well written that it achieves the author's wish to write a history of the conflict between East & West as if it were a novel. The title is a trifle misleading. The author himself points out in his last paragraphs that, by the time the last last Western sovereign had been evicted fro m the Orient, the leaders of the Musical world had ceased to be Arabs. The original Arab leaders had been replaced by Kurds, Iranians (Persians), Turks and Mamluks, among others. The West became ascendant as it was evicted from the Orient, having harvested the riches of Arab civilisation and culture. Maalouf observes that Muslim culture had failed to learn valuable traits of Western civilization which would have benefited them. They commented on the legal structures of "Franj" (I.e. European) civilization, which the Muslim world lacked. Maalouf says clearly that he thinks the failure to adopt similar patterns kept the "Arab" (Muslim) world fragmented. Baghdad had been the intellectual & scientific Capitol of the civilized world. This is evidenced by the many scientific and mathematical cal terms of Arabic origin. Neil DeGrasse Tyson makes this point in "Cosmos," pointing out the number of astronomical terms of Arabic origin. Westerners think of the Crusades as religious wars which happened centuries ago, which we have moved beyond. The Muslim world is living in the Crusdes - they consider Western campaigns in their region to be continuations of the Crusades. They refer to non-Muslim invaders as Crusaders or as "Franj." To understand present day conflicts between the West and Islam it is essential to understand the history of those conflicts which began in the 13th Century and have continued, in different ways, ever since.

When I picked this book up I figured it would be an all out hate attack against the West and would prop up the East as being saintly. I was surprised though, because it was very little of that at all. In fact, most of the book revolved around the problems between the Arab emirs and sultans. It seems as though there political problems have not changed for hundreds of years, heck, it seems as though they were more screwed up than the Crusaders'. Obviously there was some bias. Whenever the Crusaders won the Muslims "fought valiantly" and whenever the Muslims won the Crusaders were "crushed." But, do realize that this is an arab's perspective and a fanatic christian would probably do a similar turn. It doesn't give a real concise history of the crusades because it seems that from the Arab's perspective, there isn't a numbering of crusades, rather, a constant threat of invasion. So, you would have to have a little knowledge of the crusades before reading this book so that one could distinguish between the 1st and 3rd crusade for instance. I did like how it went into a bit of detail on Reynald de Chatillon, the merciless hater of Muslims who doesn't seem to get a whole lot of mention in any of Western accounts of the Crusades that I have mentioned, but even then there were some discontinuities, for I had though the 3rd crusade was started with his attacking a caravan with one of Saladin's wives, yet Maaloof only makes not of an attack on a caravan. But, the author is fair and in the final piece, seems a bit reluctant to admit that while the Muslim east expended its energies to relieve the land of the "Franj" it in the same token lost much of what it made it a civilized land, in effect, passing their civilization onto the Franj in exchange, ironically, for the backwardness and religious fanaticism that was used to describe the first Frankish invaders in 1097. Overall, I recommend this to anyone who has some idea of the crusades and wants a different outlook. Its an easy read, not weighed down by too many facts though for the Western reader, the Arabic names seem to get confusing at times.

Everyone knows that the Middles Ages were barbarous times, but the Europeans come out of this account looking like downright savages. Don't get me wrong, the Arabs aren't presented as the ideal people of earth in the book, but their "Christian"-invader counterparts from Europe come off as filthy, greedy, opportunistic and brutal which, truth finally be told, they were. Maalouf even supplies a few recorded accounts of crusader cannibalism, where the enemy is cooked and eaten. Along with that are several Arab exchanges of heads in boxes. Gruesome. Maalouf has done his due diligence here. He starts with the state of the Arab world before the first Crusade, indicating the fractured state of the area and how one kingdom would not necessarily come to the aid of another. Everything takes off from there, with an account of all the Crusades, the Saladin, etc. If you've played Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings , seen Kingdom of Heaven: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook) and read The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History , then you'll be fully prepared for Maalouf to round out the story of the Crusades. And the author does it all without any sort of bias towards one side or the other. Concise, educational and entertaining all at the same time.

A fantastic read and a great insight into the crusades from an alternative and very informative viewpoint. My education told the crusades through the eyes of the Templars and of Richard the Lionheart. This provides a refreshing alternative perspective into one of histories most interesting periods.

Amazing Read. How the reality can be different for two regions of EARTH. Must Read!!!!

Un libro necesario hoy en dia para comprender mas el mundo arabe. Ademas se lee muy fácilmente y con un ritmo frenético. Lo recomiendo mucho

Translated from the French, this book forgives no-one but does seek to set the record straight re The Crusades and the angst that we here in the west inherited as a result of our misguided efforts. Seeing the problem from the other side is crucial to understanding what fronts of diplomacy may be possible in the coming century, if at all. Not a light read, but worth it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I enjoyed Maalouf's writing style. While history can be dense, Maalouf did well to make the book digestible with a clear flow. I genuinely learned so much and am glad to have read this book, which will form my base for further research on the time period.