CRUSADES THROUGH ARABS EYES (Saqi Essentials)

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

The book is a primary source book for theoretical and narrative historians and students. One problem with historiography ,especially for Asian historians,is that most materials are from the West and naturally Euro-centric. So making original Asian materials is of great value. Of course contemporary narratives also need textual criticism but this book gives life experiences and so can be given almost the value of epigraphic materials. I had always doubted the history of crusades I studied in school/college and had later developed my hypothesis that the phenomenon is comparable to the predatory Mongol invasions .That is, predatory invasions of poverty stricken martial societies plundering rich settled societies. This book gave me solid evidence for my hypothesis .i have made some inquiries about the social,martial,ideological,sacred organisation of Mongols but i am yet to come across such a sociological work about tribal/early feudal Latin Europe. Can somebody give some link? This book gives such details about the Anatolian/Syrian society. The book also supports my thesis that a wealthy creative civilization need not be one which is politically and militarily unified (the West Asian society of the period was rich and cultured and because of that had decentralized polities and civic politics).This becomes a disadvantage when confronted by less civilized societies which are militarily well organised.Reading about such details gave me insights and pleasure(example,about the cities of Aleppo,Tripoli etc). My knowledge about the roles the Italian city states,Catholic imperialism etc in this process was substantiated besides my suspicion that the Crusades were the the factor which created Islamic fundamentalism in the cultured societies of West Asia. And crusades made the West Asian Christians' lot precarious This a good addition to my reference library

I love this book and I will definitely buy more from this seller.

Great book

poorly written

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.

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.

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.