Nov 02, 2012 amin maalouf, a lebanese catholic writer who lives in france and is a member of the academie francaise presents things very much from the point of view of arab muslim chroniclers who lived through the crusades, who wrote of the franj as barbarous, unwashed, promiscuous brutes who had invaded the house of islam without provocation and. When reflecting on the crusades through arab eyes, this quote always sticks out as the most powerful piece of maaloufs work. The crusades through arab eyes quotes by amin maalouf. The dramatic story of the crusades seen through arab eyes from the seizing of jerusalem under pope urban ii in 1099 to its recapture by salah addin, richard the lionhearts efforts to regain. The dramatic story of the crusades seen through arab eyes from the seizing of jerusalem under pope urban ii in 1099 to its recapture by salah addin. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf, jon. Reviewed by jon west two of the three divisions of the plo are named after medieval battles fought between the crusaders and arab forces in the levant.
Imam asim khan in general, islamic thought, opinion, propagation 25092009 3 comments i know it sounds cliche, but i really had a hard time putting this book down. Met in germany by more adherents and a few knights. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf read online. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf this was a relatively short book 266 pages, but a huge story that spans the initial invasion of nicaea in what is now turkey in 1096 to the final expulsion of the franj meaning all western christians in 1291. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf, 9780805208986, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Passing through france into germany, its impoverished adherents survived by gifts and plunder. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf anonymous. Les croisades vues par les arabes is a french language historical essay by lebanese author amin maalouf. The crusades through arab eyes, written by amin maalouf, focuses on how muslims viewed the series of battles that lasted almost two hundred years. There is supposed to be one caliph just as there is supposed to be one pope, but at this time there was a sunni abassid caliph in baghdad and a shia fatimid caliph in cairo.
The rewriting of history in amin maaloufs the crusades through arab eyes. Review of the crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf. An arab perspective is a fourpart series produced by al jazeera english, which first aired in december of 2016. Thought of it as a way to conquer their lands that they had held for centuries. He retells their stories in their own style, giving us a vivid portrait of a society rent by internal conflicts and shaken by traumatic encounter with an alien culture.
I believe as you grow through life, you become more and more aware of the world around you through education. The crusades through muslim eyes, will be a two night presentation that will draw upon the most notable muslim historians of the era including ibn athir, usaman ibn mundiqh, ibn qalanisi, bahaud. The crusades through arab eyes, by amin maalouf essay. Its content is based almost exclusively on the testimony of contemporary arab historians and chroniclers. As the title clearly indicates, this book is an attempt to depict the experience of the crusades through arab eyes. The crusades through arab eyes is a story and a historical discussion rolled into one, and to the authors credit he never overextends himself into polemics, which is left for the professional historians. The crusades through arab eyes quotes showing of 3 it seems clear that the arab east still sees the west as a natural enemy. European and arab versions of the crusades have little in common. The holy land in 1096, when the first crusade was launched, was a bit of a mess.
Maalouf offers fascinating insights into the historical forces that even today shape arab and islamic consciousness. Amin maaloufs the crusades through arab eyes starts off with an arab description of the barbarism and savagery of the high point of the franj invasions as the muslims called the crusades, the capture, sack and slaughter of jerusalem. The crusades occurred at a time when arab culture was viewed by the west as sophisticated and advanced, compared to the franj franks or all westerners who were unrefined in comparison, amounting to a reversal of modern perspective maalouf, 1984, p. In amin maaloufs 1984 the crusades through arab eyes, the lebanese journalist offers an account of the crusades from the arab perspective. According to muslims, jerusalem is the 3rd most sacred city. Kingdom of heaven by ridley scott is a modern film about the crusades, set in 1184 centered on balian of ibelin. Against that enemy, any hostile actionbe it political, military, or based on oilis considered no more than legitimate vengeance. Muslim perceptions muslims thought of the crusades as barbaric wars and had to be confronted. The awardwinning novelist amin maalouf has been highly praised for this thoroughly researched work, especially from nonmuslim sources, even though the crusades through arab eyes sets out to redress the balance after centuries of historical bias by presenting the arab side of the crusades in their own words. From an internationally renowned expert, here is an accessible and utterly fascinating onevolume history of the crusades, thrillingly told through the experiences of its many playersknights and sultans, kings and poets, christians and muslims. It presents the dramatic story of the medieval religious war through an arab point of view. An arab perspective is a fourpart documentary series telling the dramatic story of the crusades seen through arab eyes, from the seizing of jerusalem under pope urban ii in 1099, to. Mar 07, 2009 the crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf another nonfiction book translated from the french that is actually a good read.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of dubliners and what it means. By the second half of the 11th century, the turks, who had previously converted to islam, occupied land near constantinople, now istanbul, as well as regions of the middle east, including jerusalem. Read the crusades through arab eyes, by amin maalouf online on bookmate european and arab versions of the crusades have little in common. The crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf librarything.
Les croisades vues par les arabes is a french language historical essay by lebanese author amin maalouf as the name suggests, the book is a narrative retelling of primary sources drawn from various arab chronicles that seeks to provide an arab perspective on the crusades, and especially regarding the crusaders the franks franj, as the arabs. For arabs, the twelfth and thirteen centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. Crusades as they were seen, lived, and recorded on ythe other sidein other words, in the arab camp. Crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf alibris. Comparative paper notes comparative paper notes the. The first crusade and the conquest of jerusalem the. It makes extensive use of contemporary arab sources to examine the crusade era from the arab viewpoint. The crusades through arab eyes is a narrative history by amin maalouf to give westerners a glimpse of how the muslim world in general saw the crusades as they were happening over two hundred year span. The crusades through arab eyes saqi essentials ebook. Precisely because it is from the arabmuslim perspective, it is a striking reminder of how savage the.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The dramatic story of the crusades seen through arab eyes from the seizing of jerusalem under pope urban ii. As the name suggests, the book is a narrative retelling of primary sources drawn from various arab chronicles that seeks to provide an arab perspective on. These latter spoke not of crusades, but of frankish wars, or ythe frankish invasions. Shiraz dossa maalouf, the crusades through arab eyes, middle east report 143 novemberdecember 1986. A narrative of the crusades from the initial invasion of nicaea in 1096 to the final expulsion of the franj in 1291 from the arabs and other nations living in north africas perspective.
Although the crusades ended on june 17, 1291, when the muslim armies. This welcome addition to the numerous volumes on the crusades is a wellwritten and absorbing history by a lebanese journalist for the general reader. Buy the crusades through arab eyes saqi essentials reprint by amin maalouf, amin maalouf isbn. Review of the crusades through arab eyes by amin maalouf by john sjoholm the lebanese french melkite greek catholic journalist and novelist amin maalouf did not set out to write an accurate history book or a fictive tale. It was lead by the most popular itinerant preacher, peter the hermit. In the crusades through arab eyes, amin maalouf has sifted through the works of a score of.
Comparative paper notes the crusades through arab eyes amin maalouf summary. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of high middle ages 1200 and what it means. The rewriting of history in amin maaloufs the crusades. As a growing college student this quote brings harsh reality to the world i live in. This paper analyzes the narrative strategies that shape maaloufs rewriting of the history of the crusades, examines why considerations of the problems inherent to the historiographical act are relegated to the. For arabs, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. Until i read this title, my two favourite works concerning the crusades were the first crusade by thomas asbridge and the sword and the scimitar by ernle bradford. Really helped solidify my understanding of the crusades. Intriquing and entertaining, the crusades through arab eyes is a vivid portrait of a society nearly destroyed by internal conflict and shaken by a traumatic encounter with an alien culture.