Product Description: Nine hundred years ago, a vast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the Pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a city revered by both faiths. Over the two hundred years that followed, Islam and Christianity--both firm in the belief that they were at God's work--fought for dominion of the Holy Land, clashing in a succession of chillingly brutal wars: the Crusades...read more

Product Description: Released to coincide with a major BBC TV documentary series on the crusades presented by the author. In the eleventh century, a vast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a city revered by both faiths...read more

A history of the First Crusade provides an account of the three-year expedition to the Holy Land, describing the mobilization of the crusaders in Europe, the journey to Constantinople and the Middle East, their struggle against Muslim armies, and the impact of the crusade on the relationship between Islam and the West.