Holy war : the Crusades and their impact on today's world

Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of A History of God , skillfully narrates this history of the Crusades with a view toward their profound and continuing influence. In 1095 Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and reconquer the Holy Land. Thus began the holy wars that would focus the power of Europe against a common enemy and become the stuff of romantic legend. In reality the Crusades were a series of rabidly savage conflicts in the name of piety. And, as Armstrong demonstrates in this fascinating book, their legacy of religious violence continues today in the Middle East, where the age-old conflict of Christians, Jews, and Muslims persists. A penetrating narrative history of the Crusades that reveals the ominous links and parallels between those medieval clashes and the violent rivalries of the Middle East today. Cover 1 Title Page 8 Copyright 9 Dedication 10 CONTENTS 12 Preface 14 Introduction 18 Author's Note 24 Maps 26 Part One: Journey to a New Self 40 1. In the Beginning: There Was the Holy War. Why? 42 2. Before the Crusade: The West Seeks a New Christian Soul 88 3. The Present Conflict: Jews and Arabs Seek a New Secular Identity 115 Part Two: Holy War 186 4. 1096-1146: The Crusade Becomes a Holy War and Inspires a New Jihad 188 5. 1146-1148: St. Bernard and the Most Religious Crusade 238 6. 1168-1192: A Religious Jihad and a Secular Crusade 274 7. 1967: Zionism Becomes a Holy War 314 8. 1981: The Death of President Anwar Sadat: Holy War and Peace 357 Part Three: Crusading and the Western Identity 410 9. 1199-1221: Crusades Against Christians and a New Christian Peace 412 10. 1220-1291: The End of the Crusades? 454 11. 1300 to the Present Day: New Crusaders in the West 497 Epilogue: Triple Vision 570 Notes 580 Glossary of Terms 622 Bibliography 640 Index 650 The New York Times bestselling author of A History of God skillfully narrates the history of the Crusades with a view toward their profound and continuing influence. " Holy War brings compassion, objectivity, breadth, and imagination to the most urgent crisis of our time." The Boston Phoenix In 1095 Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and reconquer the Holy Land. Thus began the holy wars that would focus the power of Europe against a common enemy and become the stuff of romantic legend. In reality the Crusades were a series of rabidly savage conflicts in the name of piety. And, as Armstrong demonstrates in this fascinating book, their legacy of religious violence continues today in the Middle East, where the age-old conflict of Christians, Jews, and Muslims persists. "In 1095, with the tomb of Jesus still in the hands of infidels and the Byzantine empire overrun by Muslim Turks, Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and their swords against the Turks and then recover the holy city of Jerusalem from Islam. It was to be the first of the Crusades, a holy war that would focus the power of the European kingdoms against a common enemy. The Crusades became the stuff of romantic legend, but in reality they were a series of rabidly savage battles carried out in the name of Christian piety to advance the power of the Western Church. Their legacy of religious violence is felt today as the age-old conflict of Christians, Jews, and Muslims persists."--BOOK JACKET. Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of A History of God, skillfully narrates this history of the Crusades with a view toward their profound and continuing in-fluence. In 1095 Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and reconquer the Holy Land. Thus began the holy wars that would focus the power of Europe against a common enemy and become the stuff of romantic legend. In reality the Crusades were a series of rabidly savage conflicts in the name of piety. And, as Armstrong shows in this fascinating book, their legacy of religious violence continues today in the Middle East, where the age-old conflict of Christians, Jews, and Muslims persists On November 25, 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II summoned the first Crusade.