Summary of Amin Maalouf's The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 In 1096, the Turkish sultan Kilij Arslan learned that an enormous Franj army was en route to Constantinople. He feared the worst, and immediately began planning how to defend his city.

#2 The Byzantines had always recruited Western knights to help them fight the Muslims, and in 1096, they were joined by thousands of Franj, who were Christian refugees from the East. They had come to exterminate the Muslims, but they also sacked many Greek churches on their way.

#3 The sultan’s palace was awash with agitation. The Turkish cavalry was ready to mount their chargers at a moment’s notice, but there was a constant flow of spies and scouts reporting the smallest movements of the Franj. The Franj went through several villages and plundered the harvests, then returned to camp and began to squabble over the spoils.

#4 The Franj were ambushed and nearly six thousand of them were killed. The sultan, Kilij Arslan, was proud of his achievement, but he kept a cool head. He sent two Greek spies to the Civitot camp to report that Reynald’s men were in an excellent position and that they had taken Nicaea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669377931

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Insights on Amin Maalouf's The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In 1096, the Turkish sultan Kilij Arslan learned that an enormous Franj army was en route to Constantinople. He feared the worst, and immediately began planning how to defend his city.

#2

The Byzantines had always recruited Western knights to help them fight the Muslims, and in 1096, they were joined by thousands of Franj, who were Christian refugees from the East. They had come to exterminate the Muslims, but they also sacked many Greek churches on their way.

#3

The sultan’s palace was awash with agitation. The Turkish cavalry was ready to mount their chargers at a moment’s notice, but there was a constant flow of spies and scouts reporting the smallest movements of the Franj. The Franj went through several villages and plundered the harvests, then returned to camp and began to squabble over the spoils.

#4

The Franj were ambushed and nearly six thousand of them were killed. The sultan, Kilij Arslan, was proud of his achievement, but he kept a cool head. He sent two Greek spies to the Civitot camp to report that Reynald’s men were in an excellent position and that they had taken Nicaea.

#5

The Battle of Manzikert was a huge victory for the Byzantines, but it was also a costly one. It allowed the sultan to ignore the information that came through the following winter about the arrival of fresh groups of Franj in Constantinople. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason for disquiet.

#6

The Seljuk Turks, with their thousands of nomadic horsemen, had conquered the entire region by 1055. The caliph of Baghdad was only a puppet in their hands. The Seljuks, who were crushed by the Turks in 1071, would never rise again.

#7

The sultan was worried about the Franj taking over his capital, so he went to see Danishmend, who was a man of honor, and proposed a truce.

#8

The city was besieged by the forces of Kilij Arslan, and the sultan had to decide whether to stay and defend it, or retreat to the interior of the country. He decided to retreat, and the city was handed over to Alexius Comnenus.

#9

The sultan of the