The author has combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses, and often participants. He retells their story and o...
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Aug 06, 2011
Charles
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In our society the word crusade has been largely divorced from its origins in a European invasion of the Middle East, so much so that our previous president probably didn't recognize how inflammatory this statement was.
This book is a solid reminder that there were two sides, and often more, in that long campaign. While the general public in the West barely remembers what took place in the Holy Land between 1096 and 1291, in the Muslim world the past isn't dead. It isn't even past. More...
This book is a solid reminder that there were two sides, and often more, in that long campaign. While the general public in the West barely remembers what took place in the Holy Land between 1096 and 1291, in the Muslim world the past isn't dead. It isn't even past. More...
Feb 24, 2011
Mashael
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قول في مقدمتها :
ينطلق هذا الكتاب من فكرة بسيطة : سرد قصة الحروب الصليبية كما نظر إليها وعاشاها وروى تفاصيلها في المعسكر الآخر أي في الجانب العربي , ويعتمد محتواه بشكل حصري تقريباً على شهادات المؤرخين والأخباريين العرب في تلك الحقبة.
كتاب فريد من نوعه عن الحروب الصليبية وطبعاً لا داعي من إعطائكم نبذة عن محتواه فالتاريخ يعيد نفسه ويتكرر بصورة منسوخه خيانة , تواطئ , تفكك إسلامي يغري الطامعين من الخارج بالرغم من كمية القهر التي تنتابك وأنت تقرأ النهايات الحتمية لبعض More...
ينطلق هذا الكتاب من فكرة بسيطة : سرد قصة الحروب الصليبية كما نظر إليها وعاشاها وروى تفاصيلها في المعسكر الآخر أي في الجانب العربي , ويعتمد محتواه بشكل حصري تقريباً على شهادات المؤرخين والأخباريين العرب في تلك الحقبة.
كتاب فريد من نوعه عن الحروب الصليبية وطبعاً لا داعي من إعطائكم نبذة عن محتواه فالتاريخ يعيد نفسه ويتكرر بصورة منسوخه خيانة , تواطئ , تفكك إسلامي يغري الطامعين من الخارج بالرغم من كمية القهر التي تنتابك وأنت تقرأ النهايات الحتمية لبعض More...
Feb 22, 2010
Bader
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أعجبت كثيرًا بفكرة السرد الروائي للتاريخ خاصة عندما تكون من كاتب وباحث كأمين معلوف, ومن مترجم مجتهد كدمشقية.
الكتاب زاد من حنقي على المناهج التعليمية التي غصصنا بها لفترة من الزمن, ويغير من فكرتي السابقة الناتجة عنها عن الحروب الصليبية, ويجعلني أكثر إقبالاً على التاريخ لما به من دروس وعبر.
أضيف على هذا ماستفدت من معرفة بعض الشخصيات الجميلة في تاريخنا "الإسلامي" وخاصة في باب التأريخ.
ولهذا أشجع الكثير ممن تعود على كتاب التاريخ المرحلة المتوسطة, والذي اتخمنا بعناوين More...
الكتاب زاد من حنقي على المناهج التعليمية التي غصصنا بها لفترة من الزمن, ويغير من فكرتي السابقة الناتجة عنها عن الحروب الصليبية, ويجعلني أكثر إقبالاً على التاريخ لما به من دروس وعبر.
أضيف على هذا ماستفدت من معرفة بعض الشخصيات الجميلة في تاريخنا "الإسلامي" وخاصة في باب التأريخ.
ولهذا أشجع الكثير ممن تعود على كتاب التاريخ المرحلة المتوسطة, والذي اتخمنا بعناوين More...
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Jan 21, 2012
The violent incursion of the Norman princes and their fanatical allies into Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean seaboard in the closing years of the 11th century could be reasonably characterized as the last of the great barbarian invasions. Through a 200+ year ebb and flow of hostilities and alliances, the establishment of so-called “Frankish” states in the Middle East left deep scars upon the Muslim psyche which the intervening centuries have not effaced. The narrative of this misadvent
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Aug 29, 2011
Marcus
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I honestly don’t know how to regard this book. On one hand it is well-written, brief, perfectly readable description of crusades, seen from a unique perspective. Its main strength is the fact that the author uses only Arabic, predominantly primary sources, which is invaluable for the European student of the period for a simple reason that Arabic sources so scarce to English-speaking readers.
At the same time I can’t help but consider this book as lost opportunity. Maalouf attempts to present More...
At the same time I can’t help but consider this book as lost opportunity. Maalouf attempts to present More...
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Aug 11, 2011
Bethany
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On the front cover of the book there is a quotation from The New Yorker that says the book is "A readable and entertaining mirror image of events that are as familiar in the West as fairy tales." This statement is a pithy, but generally accurate summation of what a reader will actually find in reading this book.
For one thing, anyone who knows anything about fairy tales in the West can tell you that absolutely no one agrees on the details for any of them. Was Cinderella's sl More...
For one thing, anyone who knows anything about fairy tales in the West can tell you that absolutely no one agrees on the details for any of them. Was Cinderella's sl More...
Oct 06, 2010
Aram
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I'll just mention one of my favorite parts, which talks about how the various Arab city-states would constantly be fighting over territory, and that the crusaders would often exploit these divisions. So typically they'd ally with one faction against another. Eventually, the crusaders would start gaining a lot of territory, and the Arabs would unite against them. The crusaders would be totally outnumbered, and start losing very quickly. Soon, there would be only one small fort left controlled
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Jul 07, 2009
I have refrained from rating this book, because I really don't know whether it's a good account of how the arabs saw the crusades or not. My trust in the author's objectivity got a serious dent today after reading one of the sources he used. Amin Maalouf renders an account of Frankish barbarianism in medicinal practice on p. 131-132. When I check this passage in the original account of Usama ibn Munqidh, there are at least two more examples of Frankish medicinal practice directly following th
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Apr 09, 2011
Liz
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I liked this book primarily for its quotes from primary sources - Middle Eastern historians who mostly don't seem to have been translated to English (yet). I made a list of names:
* Ibn Jubayr (1144-1217) trans. into french by geuthner
* Ibn al -Qalanisi (1073-1160 Damascus
* Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233) (wrote a giant 13-volume history)
* history of Nahr al-Kalb (Philip Hiti)
* Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim (1192-1262) Aleppo
* Usamah Ibn Munqidh (1138-ish) (Espe More...
* Ibn Jubayr (1144-1217) trans. into french by geuthner
* Ibn al -Qalanisi (1073-1160 Damascus
* Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233) (wrote a giant 13-volume history)
* history of Nahr al-Kalb (Philip Hiti)
* Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim (1192-1262) Aleppo
* Usamah Ibn Munqidh (1138-ish) (Espe More...
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Nov 04, 2010
Zare
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As the name of the book says this is a story told from the viewpoint of Arabs and other nations living in the North Africa. It is a very interesting story (author's style is great) and one that should be read today - echoes of the past seem to resonate with greater strength in modern times (as authors explains in the afterword).[return][return]Depicted are intrigues in Arab courts, way rulers set their priorities (more important [almost all the time] was inner squabbling than fighting the common
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Jan 08, 2012
Mate77
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I'm not entirely happy with this book. It was interesting to see how the crusades were viewed in arab eyes, especially in the eyes of the contepmorary writers of chronicles in the arab world. This book succedes in once again showing us that there are two sides to every story. What I felt lacking in the book was the writing style, which I thought was dry and unengaging. What bothered me more than this was the authors bias and unobjectivity regarding the material he was using. He gives the reader
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Dec 05, 2011
Abdulrahman
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يحتاج مني الكتاب لقراءة ثانية، لذلك فإن هذه المراجعة مبنية على القراءة الأولى ينقصها بعض العمق.
أربكتني ترجمة الكتاب كثيراً، فهي نوعا ما تختلف عن الترجمات الأخرى للمترجم، وإن كان هو بنفسه قد ذكر أن ترجمته للكتاب تمت في ظروف صعبة ص١٣٧. من الأمثلة على ذلك استخدامه لكلمة "لسوف" في كثير من المواضع للكلام عن مستقبل وقع في زمن ماضٍ إن جاز التعبير بذلك! كما أن الأخطاء المطبعية في الكتاب كثيرة نسبياً، وهو أمر مربك في الحقيقة.
أمر آخر يستحق الوقوف عنده، هو عنونة الفصول، فقد جاءت قاصرة ف More...
أربكتني ترجمة الكتاب كثيراً، فهي نوعا ما تختلف عن الترجمات الأخرى للمترجم، وإن كان هو بنفسه قد ذكر أن ترجمته للكتاب تمت في ظروف صعبة ص١٣٧. من الأمثلة على ذلك استخدامه لكلمة "لسوف" في كثير من المواضع للكلام عن مستقبل وقع في زمن ماضٍ إن جاز التعبير بذلك! كما أن الأخطاء المطبعية في الكتاب كثيرة نسبياً، وهو أمر مربك في الحقيقة.
أمر آخر يستحق الوقوف عنده، هو عنونة الفصول، فقد جاءت قاصرة ف More...
Aug 08, 2011
Natxo
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Un dels pitjors llibres d'història que han passat per les meves mans. És una simple successió de fets bèlics, noms de reis i sultans musulmans i àrabs, comtes i comandants francs, dates i llocs, completament descontextualitzats, ni cap altra voluntat d'explicar res que no sigui el resultat d'un enfrontament rere l'altre i la disputa de Jerusalem. El pretext original del llibre, una visió "àrab" del conflicte, suposadament novetosa i alternativa a la versió "cristiana" (l'evan
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Jul 30, 2011
Obviously I'm not completely up-to-date on the current historical understanding of the Crusades, but if even a quarter of what is in this book is true, the Franks and other Europeans were real bastards. I've heard someone try to explain away the Crusades by claiming that everything happens for a reason, and it's all God's will. That I can completely agree with. What I cannot agree with is the attempt to justify wholesale slaughter of Muslims, Jews and, seemingly worst of all, other Christians, a
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Feb 11, 2009
Serene
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I came to this book after reading several of Maalouf's fiction works. Even though it is a history book, it is very readable, and if it weren't for all the names, I would have thought I was reading a story. He draws the main figures of the Crusades as real people, not just objects of scholarly interest. I cried when Saladin died. Being an Arab myself, it was hard to shake the feeling of history repeating itself, but obviously the truth is more complex than that. What made the book important for m
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Oct 25, 2011
إديث
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Quite nearly as good as "Destiny Disrupted" in making a complex history with a huge cadre of players and motivations accessible to a broader audience. Using his training as a journalist, Maalouf sure can tell a good story in excavating the complexities of the Crusades. The episode in history has long been pigeon-holed as a clash of civilizations, but that alone makes it hard to explain the strange alliances often made across the aisles. The reality is more complex, and economic, person
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Feb 05, 2012
Flávio
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The Crusades as seen by the Arabs by Amin Maalouf offers us a fresh take on the crusades by centering the point of view in the Arab world during the crusading wars. Be at ease though, the book is not revisionist in the slightest nor does it try to romanticize the feats of any of the belligerents. The book is largely based on chronicles of the time and in doing so you, Amin manages to write a unique and valuable historical document book destilled to satisfy contemporary needs and questions r More...
Oct 01, 2011
Fahad
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الحروب الصليبية كما رآها العرب
بقراءة هذا الكتاب أكون قد قرأت تقريبا ً كل نتاج أمين معلوف – ما يهمني منه على الأقل -، لازلت حتى الآن أذكر كيف تعرفت على هذا الروائي الفذ، وكيف قفز إلى قمة الكتاب المفضلين لدي بروايتيه (سمرقند) و(ليون الأفريقي)، كان هذا عندما كنت طالبا ً في جامعة الملك سعود، قرأت يومها في صحيفة الجزيرة مقالا ً للكاتبة أميمة الخميس تمتدح فيه رواية أمين معلوف (رحلة بالداسار)، جذبتني فكرة الرواية فحفظت اسم الكتاب والكاتب حتى موعد معرض الكتاب الذي كان يقام حينها في بهو More...
بقراءة هذا الكتاب أكون قد قرأت تقريبا ً كل نتاج أمين معلوف – ما يهمني منه على الأقل -، لازلت حتى الآن أذكر كيف تعرفت على هذا الروائي الفذ، وكيف قفز إلى قمة الكتاب المفضلين لدي بروايتيه (سمرقند) و(ليون الأفريقي)، كان هذا عندما كنت طالبا ً في جامعة الملك سعود، قرأت يومها في صحيفة الجزيرة مقالا ً للكاتبة أميمة الخميس تمتدح فيه رواية أمين معلوف (رحلة بالداسار)، جذبتني فكرة الرواية فحفظت اسم الكتاب والكاتب حتى موعد معرض الكتاب الذي كان يقام حينها في بهو More...
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Apr 01, 2011
Kimberly
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The Crusade Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf provides a good introduction for readers who are interested in the Arab perspective of the Crusades. Maalouf allows the Muslim chroniclers to speak for themselves, often quoting them at length throughout the book. He provides plenty of context and factual details to ease the readers understanding; and manages to cover 200 years of history in 250 pages.
The book is divided into five sections, starting in 1096 with the first Franj invas More...
The book is divided into five sections, starting in 1096 with the first Franj invas More...
May 16, 2010
George
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This was a really great book. The time period was familiar to me, but the events described were very new and exciting. Most of the scholarship I have been exposed to has been centered on the influences and the actions of the European actors in the crusades. This book explains the Arab side of the conflict. I loved hearing about the complex relationships and political intrigue between the Muslim princes and clerics. Too often the Arabs are presented as a monolithic block, this book proves how wro
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Feb 11, 2009
Anne
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I picked this book up, thinking it would be a good introduction to the topic. However, to say it's a dry read is an understatement. I know that there are two sides to every story, but I only I made it through about 3/4 of this book before giving up on it. I think the problem is that the side of the Crusades I grew up hearing as a kid in America is laced with legend and intrigue. I suppose that is the problem, and the reason why a book like this needs to exist. I don't, however, have enough of a
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Oct 18, 2008
Peregrino
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Me encanta la prosa de Maalouf. En este libro, que no pretende ser una novela histórica, a diferencia de otros suyos, el objetivo es narrar la época de las cruzadas desde una perspectiva árabe, pero posicionándose como un historiador objetivo, neutral.
Nos coloca detrás de la vanguardia enemiga. Las cruzadas han sido estudiadas en Occidente desde la perspectiva del heroísmo de los cristianos en la reconquista de Jerusalem.
Maalouf nos describe las distintas intrigas que hiciero More...
Nos coloca detrás de la vanguardia enemiga. Las cruzadas han sido estudiadas en Occidente desde la perspectiva del heroísmo de los cristianos en la reconquista de Jerusalem.
Maalouf nos describe las distintas intrigas que hiciero More...
Jul 05, 2008
JuliAnna
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 03, 2007
gk
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I pick up every book that so much as mentions Saladin, and this book had chapters on him, so I had to read. The subject matter's interesting, and I loved the way it was presented, how dry and ironic the narrator's voice could be. For example, there were passages like this, where they describe the power struggle between two Seljuk brothers for the control of Baghdad:
As the bemused Arabs watched, having given up any attempt to understand, the struggle took a decidedly burlesque turn. I More...
As the bemused Arabs watched, having given up any attempt to understand, the struggle took a decidedly burlesque turn. I More...
Aug 21, 2011
Fatma
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أكثر ما أعجبني في هذا الكتاب هو أنه يروي احداث الحروب الصليبية بلسان مؤرخين عرب عاصروا تلك الفترة وهذه هي روايتهم عن الأحداث التي جرت. بقراءة هذا الكتاب فهمت جيدا أحداث هذه الحملات وفهمت أخيرا لما استمر الوجود الغربي في القدس لأكثر من مئتي عام.
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Oct 13, 2011
Colin
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Excellently clear and concise narrative history. But it's Maalouf's epilogue, in which he examines the legacy of the Crusades, that is really fascinating. He asks: "[For the Arab world] henceforth progress became the embodiment of 'the other.' Modernity became alien. Should cultural and religious identity be affirmed by rejecting this modernism, which the West symbolised?" Published in 1983, this analysis of Islam's 'predicament' now looks prescient. Perhaps, almost a thousand years la
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Aug 08, 2011
Excelente combinación entre la precisión histórica y de sus fuentes y la belleza literaria, muy acorde con la forma árabe de hacer las cosas. Una muestra nostálgica y amarga de como la historia nunca será una y de lo incansable que es buscar la verdad y sus lecciones. Un epílogo honesto, que evita caer en el reclamo fácil y aporta elementos críticos para entender la historia que vivimos hoy.
Aug 01, 2009
Kaye
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A very interesting book. The writing itself is nothing special, a bit dry and academic. The book has been translated from the French, so that could be the reason. But the subject matter is fascinating.
As Europeans, we are used to hearing about the Crusades from a Shrub-like good-guys-vs-bad-guys point of view, where the European invaders were the "good guys". This book presents the same subject, but the good guys are the defenders of their own territory and heritage. The na More...
As Europeans, we are used to hearing about the Crusades from a Shrub-like good-guys-vs-bad-guys point of view, where the European invaders were the "good guys". This book presents the same subject, but the good guys are the defenders of their own territory and heritage. The na More...
Jul 01, 2009
Steven
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A very lively and readable history. Maalouf's experience as a novelist shows up in this book, which is richly told as a story. This was the book that got an Arab Secret Service agent kicked off a plane some years back. It looked suspiciously "Arabic." Its contents are suspiciously Arabic, as well, which is why it is one of the best books on the Crusades available in English.
Aug 29, 2011
Dad
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Quite an eye opening book! Many who live or work among Muslims should read in order to see things from their point of view. I was appalled to learn of the cannibalism by the crusaders, something that even today the Muslims in West Africa use to scare their children when a westerner is around! The heart of man is black, very black, warrior Christians and Muslims alike.
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