| Edition |
First Palgrave Macmillan edition. |
| Description |
viii, 280 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [273]-276) and index. |
| Summary |
"Traditionally, the word "Crusades" has referred to the wars fought by the West after the late eleventh century to recover the Holy Land from Muslim domination. Geoffrey Regan, however, takes a new and controversial view of the Crusades. Challenging the view that the term "Crusade" is only appropriate to western or Latin Christianity, Regan argues that the true first crusaders came from the East several centuries before. His new look at this period shows that the Crusades cannot be fully understood without studying the epic story of the struggle between the Christian Byzantine Empire and its "infidel" neighbors. Regan's story begins in the seventh century with the conquest by the Persians of much of the Byzantine Empire; Jerusalem itself was seized in a terrible massacre during which the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed and the True Cross, Christianity's most important relic, was taken back to Persia. At this moment of crisis, the great emperor Heraclius came from Africa to save Christianity and the Byzantine Empire." "First Crusader is the first account in English of these "first Crusaders." It is a dramatic and epic story of adventure and heroism which easily rivals that of the better known western crusades. Skillfully written by a master of narrative history, Regan's new work is an entertaining and challenging reinterpretation of one of the key events of the Middle Ages."--BOOK JACKET. |
| Contents |
1. Epiphany -- 2. The Christian Empire -- 3. The New David -- 4. The Wild Boar -- 5. The First Crusader -- 6. The Avar Siege -- 7. Alexander Reborn -- 8. The Prophet -- 9. Islam Rampant -- 10. Ersatz Crusades -- 11. The Dreadful Day -- 12. The First Crusade -- App. 1. Single Combat in Byzantine Warfare -- App. 2. Heraclius, Mohammed and the Origin of Jihad. |
| Subject |
Heraclius, Emperor of the East, approximately 575-641.
|
|
Crusades.
|
|
Byzantine Empire -- History -- 527-1081.
|
|
Byzantine Empire -- History, Military.
|
| ISBN |
1403961514 |
|
9781403961518 |
|
