The field of blood : the battle for Aleppo and the remaking of the medieval Middle East

The field of blood The battle for Aleppo and the remaking of the medieval Middle East

Nicholas Edward Morton

Book - 2018

"In 1119, the people of the Near East came together in an epic clash of horses, swords, sand, and blood that would decide the fate of the city of the Aleppo--and the eastern Crusader states. Fought between tribal Turkish warriors on steppe ponies, Arab foot soldiers, Armenian bowmen, and European knights, the battlefield was the amphitheatre into which the people of Eurasia poured their full gladiatorial might. Carrying a piece of the true cross before them, the Frankish army advanced, anticipating a victory that would secure their dominance over the entire region. But the famed Frankish cavalry charge failed them, and the well-arranged battlefield dissolved into a melee. Surrounded by enemy forces, the crusaders suffered a colossal de...feat. With their advance in Northern Syria stalled, the momentum of the crusader conquest began to evaporate, and would never be recovered"--

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Subjects
Artuqid dynasty, > 1098-1408.
Ager Sanguinis, Battle of, Syria, 1119.
Crusades.
Sarmadā (Syria) > History.
Syria > History > 750-1260.
Islamic Empire > History > 750-1258.
Published
New York, NY : Basic Books [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Nicholas Edward Morton (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
"February 2018"--Title page verso.
Physical Description
vii, 236 pages : maps ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-225) and index.
ISBN
9780465096695
9780465096701
  • Maps
  • Prologue
  • Chapter 1. The Rival Architects of the Crusader States: Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred of Hauteville (1100-1110)
  • Chapter 2. Riding the Storm: Seljuk Turks and Arab Emirs (1111-1118)
  • Chapter 3. The Battle (1119)
  • Chapter 4. Fields of Blood (1120-1128)
  • Chapter 5. Aftermath (1128-1187)
  • Afterword
  • Abbreviations
  • Notes
  • Further Reading
  • Index
Review by Library Journal Review

The First Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099. Europeans spent the next century trying to defend and expand their political power in military conflict with the Turkish states surrounding them. Morton (history, Nottingham Trent Univ.) provides a clear outline of military tactics that were used by both sides, rivalries within and between European and Turkish leaders, and crusader strategies to build economic and political institutions to support their primary goal of Christian rule for the Holy sites in Jerusalem. Despite constant military operations, the land east of the Mediterranean grew as a vital center for trade and cultural interaction between Europe and the East. Morton draws extensively from contemporary sources to portray the key actors; driven by political ambition, greed, and faith to build and to challenge a Christian outpost far from Europe that survived for several centuries before being vanquished. This well-done study reminds us that this region has been the scene of battles between local peoples and Western invaders many times. VERDICT Recommended for bringing multiple perspectives and a sense of immediacy to this historic period and for better understanding how the battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo existed in the 12th century as well as today.-Elizabeth Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Evanston, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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