The Crusader States and Their Neighbours : A Military History, 1099-1187

## Abstract The Crusader States and their Neighbours explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. This book recreates this world exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its war craft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanizing commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side. Cover The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099–1187 Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Tables Abbreviations Map Epigraph Introduction Methodology and Definitions Methodology: Army Sizes The Near East in the Summer of 1099 1 Frankish Expansion The First Decades: the Kingdom of Jerusalem under Godfrey and Baldwin I, 1099–1118 The First Decades: the County of Tripoli, 1099–1117 The First Decades: the Principality of Antioch, 1099–1115 The First Decades: the County of Edessa, 1099–1115 2 Friends and Foes (1099–1129) The Fatimids 1099–1123 The Turks: Aleppo and Damascus The Armenian Lords 3 Aleppo and Damascus (1117–29): The Challenge of the Big Cities Aleppo Damascus 4 The Evolving Balance of Power (1130s–1148) John II Comnenus and the Atabeg Zangi Why did the Franks’ Territorial Expansion Stop? The Siege of Damascus: 1148 5 The Rise of Nur al-Din 1149–74 Military Activity 1146–74: the North Military Activity 1149–74: the South Frankish Manpower and Mercenaries The Size of Armies 6 Saladin and the Battle of Hattin Kurdish Involvement in the Wars of the Near East 1099–1187 Saladin and the Crusader States 1174–87 Rethinking Hattin 1187 Fighting Pitched Battles Theoretical Approaches and Models concerning Warfare and Alliances in the Medieval Near East The Strategic Role of Castles in Turkish and Frankish Campaigning 7 Innovation and Cross-cultural Exchange in the Evolution of Near Eastern Warfare The Combatants Feigning Flight Learning to Defeat Frankish Heavy Cavalry Identifying the Cross-cultural Transmission of Ideas and Tactics Conclusion Why did the Crusader States Lose the Contest for the Near East? Decadent ‘Pullani’? Problems with Offensive Operations in Syria Speed Integrating Crusaders Synthesis Bibliography Primary Secondary Unpublished Works and Theses Index The Crusader States and their Neighbours (Winner, The Verbruggen Prize, The Society for Medieval Military History) explores the military history of the Medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the crusaders themselves. Nicholas Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict, and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side. "The Crusader States and their Neighbours explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. This book recreates this world exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its war craft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanizing commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side." -- Oxford Scholarship Online "The Crusader States and their Neighbours explores the military history of the Medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs and the crusaders themselves. This book recreates this world exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side"-- Provided by publisher The Crusader States and their Neighbours' explores the military history of the Medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the crusaders themselves. 0Nicholas Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict, and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side The Crusader States and their Neighbours is a region-wide military history of the Near East at the time of the early Crusades (1099-1187). It explores the major military events of this period, from the sieges of Aleppo, Damascus, and Cairo to the battle of Hattin, offering substantial revisions to many key orthodoxies concerning the crusades.