Saracen Strongholds AD 630-1050

the Middle East and Central Asia

Illustrated by Adam Hook The Islamic world drew upon a myriad of pre-existing styles of fortification, taking Romano-Byzantine, Indian and Chinese ideas to create a highly effective and sophisticated hybrid fortification that was both new and distinctive. This book examines early Saracen fortifications, covering their ...

Crusader warfare

Byzantium, western Europe and the battle of the Holy Land

This book presents as many aspects as possible of warfare during the period of the crusades within all the cultures most directly involved. To a large extent the current interest in the Crusades reflects the perceived threat of a so-called 'clash of civilisations'. While warnings ...

Crusader warfare. Vol. II.

Muslims, monglos and the struggle against the Crusades, 1050- 1300 AD

This second volume of "Crusader Warfare" focuses on those non-Christian cultures which were most directly involved in the Crusades. Centering on the Islamic world, the Mongol "World Empire", its fragmented successor states and certain other non-Christian cultures David Nicolle presents many fascinating aspects of warfare ...

Teutonic Knight

1190-1561

Illustrated by Graham Turner The Military Order of Teutonic Knights was one of the three most famous Crusading Orders, on a par with the Templars and the Hospitallers. Originally focusing on the preservation of the Crusader States in the Middle East, after the loss of ...

The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

Illustrated by A. McBride This book describes and illustrates the armour, weapons, fortifications and ships of one of the least-known phases of the Medieval Crusades - the expeditions by Scandinavian Catholics against the pagan peoples to the east of the Baltic Sea, and their subsequent clashes ...

Fighting for the faith

the many fronts of Medieval Crusade and Jihad 1000-1500 AD

Fighting between Christians and Muslims in the medieval period is often seen in the narrow context of the battle for the Holy Land. Other points of conflict tend to be ignored. But, as David Nicolle's thought- provoking survey shows, the religions clashed across the ...

Armies of Ivan the Terrible

russian troops 1505-1700

Illustrated by Angus McBride It is generally assumed that the military reforms which propelled Russia into the modern world were due solely to the genius of Peter the Great. In fact, his reforms were built upon changes that had taken place during the previous 200 ...

The Normans

warrior knights and their castles

Contents illustrated Chris Gravett is a former Senior Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and a recognized authority on the arms, armor and warfare of the medieval world. He has worked as an advisor for numerous TV and film productions, and has written ...

Armies of the Caliphates 862-1098

Illustrated by Graham Turner. The 8th century heralded the start of a golden age in the history of the Islamic world. At this time, the Sunni Muslim 'Abbãsid Caliphate, with its capital at Baghdad, ruled virtually the entire Islamic world. Islamic military power peaked in ...

Atlas histórico del mundo islámico

God's warriors

Crusaders, saracens and the battle for Jerusalem

Romano-Byzantine armies 4th-9th centuries

By the late 4th century the pressures on the frontiers of the Roman Empire had transformed the nature of the army which defended it. With the western half of the empire in economic decline and chronic manpower shortages the army had proved incapable of defending ...

The Moors

the islamic west 7th-15th centuries AD

The high point of medieval islamic expansion was the 700-year presence of the 'Moors' in Spain and Portugal. The Arab and Berber conquest was followed by the establishment of a richly distinct culture in Andalusia, where for a while Muslim and Christian co-operated as often ...

Italian militiaman

1260-1392

Illustrated by Christa Hook. Medieval Italy was characterized by regular warfare among its numerous city-states, as well as internal strife within comunes as aristocratic factions fought each other for domination of the cities' governments. In this context, Italian warfare developed quickly, with the crossbow playing ...

Granada 1492

the twilight of moorish Spain

The First Crusade 1096-99

conquest of the Holy Land

Illustrated by Christa Hook In 1095 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I appealed to the Christian states of western Europe for help against the Turks who had swept across the Empire after the disastrous Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071. This book is about the First ...

A companion to medieval arms and armour

Warriors and their weapons around the time of the Crusades

relationships between Byzantium, the West and the Islamic World

Lake Peipus 1242

battle of the Ice

Illustrated by Angus McBride The battle of Lake Peipus took place in 1242 between the Teutonic Knights and the Russian city-state of Novgorod, led by its inspirational leader Alexandre Nevskii. The Teutonic Knights were a powerful military order, backed with the crusading zeal of Europe ...

Knight of Outremer AD 1187-1344

Illustrated by Christa Hook After Saladin's great victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1137, Outremer, as medieval westerners called the remaining Latin or Catholic enclaves in the eastern Mediterranean, was no longer a threat to Islam. Its military elites preferred to live in ...