An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades : memoirs of Usāmah ibn-Munqidh (Kitāb al-Iọtibār)

The life of Us�mah ibn-Munqidh epitomizes the height of Arab civilization during the early Crusading period. These memoirs -- which represent a rare first-hand account of medieval European manners, morals, politics, and medicine written by a non-European -- offers new perspective and insight into an important point of military and cultural contact between the East and West. In his introduction, translator Philip Hitti writes, "Ancient Arabic literature has preserved for us other biographies, memoirs, and reminiscences by great men, but there is hardly anything superior to this one in its simplicity of narrative, dignity, and wealth of contents and general human interest. The life of Usamah ibn-Munqidh epitomizes the height of Arab civilization during the early Crusading period. These memoirs -which represent a rare first-hand account of medieval European manners, morals, politics, and medicine written by a non-European -offers new perspective and insight into an important point of military and cultural contact between the East and West. In his introduction, translator Philip Hitti writes, "Ancient Arabic literature has preserved for us other biographies, memoirs, and reminiscences by great men, but there is hardly anything superior to this one in its simplicity of narrative, dignity, and wealth of contents and general human interest. The life of Usâmah ibn-Munqidh epitomized the height of Arab civilization as it flourished in the period of the early Crusades. His memoirs present an uncommon non-European perspective and understanding of the military and cultural contact between East and West, Muslim and Christian. His writing is remarkable for its narrative clarity, its humanity, and its wealth of perceptive details.
Contents Foreword Preface Section I. Wars, Travels and Other Experiences Section II. Rare Anecdotes Section III. Usamah’s Hunting Experiences Index