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

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. 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.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1: Frankish Expansion 2: Friends and Foes (1099-1129) 3: Aleppo and Damascus (1117-1129): The challenge of the Big Cities 4: The evolving balance of power (1130s-1148) 5: The rise of Nur al-Din 1149-1174 6: Saladin and the battle Hattin 7: Innovation and cross-cultural exchange in the evolution of Near Eastern warfare Why did the Crusader States lose the contest for the Near East?

About the Author :
Nicholas Morton is a lecturer in History at Nottingham Trent University where he specialises in the history of the Crusades, the Military Orders, and the Medieval Mediterranean. He is especially interested in interfaith relations, medieval biblical exegesis, and military history, and has written extensively on these themes. His recent publications include: The Field of Blood: The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Middle East (2018), The Uses of the Bible in Crusader Sources (2017, co-edited with Elizabeth Lapina), and Encountering Islam on the First Crusade (2016). He is also an editor of the Routledge series: Rulers of the Latin East and The Military Religious Orders: History, Sources and Memory.

Review :
In The Crusader States & Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187, Nicholas Morton takes a fresh look at the history of the military encounters between the Frankish states of the Latin East and their various Christian and Muslim neighbors in the twelfth century. Morton's work differs from that of others in his careful situation of the Latin polities within their Levantine context for understanding of how and why Frankish armies and their commanders operated the way they did. For general readers, perhaps the most important conclusion of Morton's book is that because such a complex and evolving political, cultural, and religious climate characterized the Near East, both alliances and wars were not driven by religious ideology alone ... This volume therefore breaks new ground in military history and should become required reading for those interested in the history of the crusades, conflicts in the Near East, and the Mediterranean. Morton ambitiously sets out to offer a comprehensive analysis of all the military activity of the region in the twelfth century, with as many military episodes considered as possible, from the smallest to the largest. In this, he has succeeded impressively. The results of his extensive research have led to not only an invaluable book on warfare in the Middle East in the twelfth century, but one which also contributes notably to our understanding of medieval warfare in general. It is a thoroughly engrossing read.