Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

Infidel kings and unholy warriors, faith, power, and violence in the age of crusade and jihad, Brian A. Catlos

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [335]-365) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Infidel kings and unholy warriors

bibliography

Brian A. Catlos

faith, power, and violence in the age of crusade and jihad

An in-depth portrait of the Crusades-era Mediterranean world, and a new understanding of the forces that shaped the Mediterranean world of 1050-1200. We experience the sights and sounds of the region just as enlightened Islamic empires and primitive Christendom began to contest it. We learn about the siege tactics, theological disputes, and poetry of this enthralling time. And we see that people ofdifferent faiths coexisted far more frequently than we are commonly told. Catlos's meticulous reconstruction of the era allows him to stunningly overturn our most basic assumption about it: that it was defined by religious extremism. He brings to light many figures who were accepted as rulers by their ostensible foes

The Mediterranean world -- The (Jewish) man who would be king. An ornament, tarnished ; the rules of the game -- A Christian sultan in the age of "The reconquest." The Cid rides again ; Rodrigo Díaz, Taifa King of Valencia -- Kings of Sicily, kings of Africa. A Norman conquest ; Don't ask, don't tell -- Infidel rules of a heretical caliphate. After the Messiah ; Traitors and spies -- Ambition, opportunism, and the end of an era. A heavenly kingdom? ; Jerusalem restored -- The decline and fall of the Roman empire -- Holy war, a user's manual

adult

Faith, power, and violence in the age of crusade and jihad