Muslims, Mongols and Crusaders

The period from about 1100 to 1350 in the Middle East was marked by continued interaction between the local Muslim rulers and two groups of non-Muslim invaders: the Frankish crusaders from Western Europe and the Mongols from northeastern Asia. In deflecting the threat those invaders presented, a major role was played by the Mamluk state which arose in Egypt and Syria in 1250. The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies has, from 1917 onwards, published several articles pertaining to the history of this period by leading historians of the region, and this volume reprints some of the most important and interesting of them for the convenience of students and scholars.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Qasida on the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols 2. Notes on the Arabic materials for the history of the early Crusades 3. Influence of Chengiz Khan's Yasa upon the general organization of the Mamluk state 4. Studies on the structure of the Mamluk army [I] 5. Studies on the structure of the Mamluk army [II] 6. Studies on the structure of the Mamluk army [III] 7. Saladin and the Assassins 8. Position and power of the Mamluk sultan 9. Cassiodorus and Rashid al-Din 10. Treaties of the early Mamluks with the Franks 11. The Momgol Empire (review article) 12. Saladin and his admirers: a bibliographical assessment 13. Observations on the 'Abbasid caliphate of Cairo 14. The 'Great Yasa of Cingiz Khan' and Mongol law in the Ilkhanate 15. The Ilkhan Ahmad's embassies to Qalawun: two contemporary accounts 16. The Crusades of 1239-41 and their aftermath 17. Secret History of the Mongols: fresh revelations 18. Ghazan, Islam and Mongol tradition: a view from the Mamluk sultanate 19. Marco Polo and his 'Travels' Index

About the Author :
Gerald R. Hawting is Head of the History Department and Professor in the History of the Near and Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His special interest and most of his publications relate to the early development of Islam in the Middle East.