Al-Mas’udi on the Byzantines
Known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs,” Abu Al-husayn ‘ali Ibn Al-husayn Al-mas’udi (d. 957) was a prominent historian and traveler from the tenth century. Continue reading
Known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs,” Abu Al-husayn ‘ali Ibn Al-husayn Al-mas’udi (d. 957) was a prominent historian and traveler from the tenth century. Continue reading
The Muslim Conquest have received some quite valuable recent historical inquiry, yet the strategy of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who reigned from 610 to 641, has recived much less. Continue reading
Ibn al-Athīr’s Accounts of the Rūs: A Commentary and Translation By William E. Watson Canadian/American Slavic Studies, Vol.35 (2001) The evidence on the early Rūs contained in medieval Arabic geographical literature has long been part of the Normanist/anti-Normanist controversy.1 The … Continue reading
The Mongols in the West Denis Sinor Journal of Asian History: v.33 n.1 (1999) The economic and social factors which made conflicts between China on the one hand and the pastoral empires of Mongolia on the other almost inevitable did … Continue reading
Caste, Skill, and Training: The Evolution of Cohesion in European Armies from the Middle Ages to the Sixteenth Century Dennis E. Showalter The Journal of Military History: vol. 57 (1993) Abstract The Middle Ages were characterized by growing institutional sophistication, … Continue reading
The Crusading Motivation of the Italian City Republics in the Latin East, c. 1096-1104 Christopher J. Marshall Rivista di Bizantinistica v.1 (1991) Throughout the 200 years of its existence, the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was heavily reliant upon the Italian city … Continue reading
The Town In Service Of War In The Medieval Crown Of Aragon Donald Joseph Kagay (Albany State College) De Re Militari (1997) It is the purpose of this paper to explore the role of the town in the medieval Crown … Continue reading
Horses and Crossbows: Two Important Warfare Advantages of the Teutonic Order in Prussia Sven Ekdahl The Military Orders, Volume 2: Welfare and Warfare (1998) The thirteenth-century conquest of Livonia and Prussia by the Order of the Swordbrothers and its successor, … Continue reading
Robert Hales Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime’s Passion London: Robert Hales, 2013, 400 pp., £85 [note 1] ISBN 978-0-9926315-0-5 This gorgeous collector’s volume of arms and armour covering most of Asia is a stunning book. It includes numerous … Continue reading
Teenagers at War During the Middle Ages Kelly DeVries (Loyola University, Maryland) The Premodern Teenager: Youth in Society, 1150-1650 (2002) Early in 1212 a young man from western Germany, whose name has come down through history only as Nicholas, became … Continue reading
During the period of the Crusades a large number of Muslim writers wrote accounts of the events that took place at the time, and also kept records of their experiences. Continue reading
Military Intelligence in Arabo-Byzantine Naval Warfare Vassilios, Christides To empolemo Byzantino – Byzantium at War:(Athens: Institute for Byzantine Studies, 1997) Abstract During the long Arab-Byzantine struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea from the Seventh to the fourteenth century an … Continue reading
The Trebuchet Paul E. Chevedden, Les Eigenbrod, Vernard Foley and Werner Soedel Scientific American (July 1995) Abstract Centuries before the development of e›ective cannons, huge artillery pieces were demolishing castle walls with projectiles the weight of an upright piano. The … Continue reading
Warrior Neighbours: Alfonso el Sabio and Crusader Valencia: an Archival Case Study in His International Relations Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies v.21 (1990) Abstract The thirteenth century was a turning point in the physical evolution of western European countries. As … Continue reading
A Forgotten Crusade: Alfonso VII of Leon-Castile and the Campaign for Jaen (1148) Simon Barton Historical Research: v.73 (2000) Abstract Between 114-7 and 1149 the rulers of the realms of Christian Iberia conducted a series of victorious campaigns against the … Continue reading
From Tyrants to Soldiers of Christ: the nobility of twelfth-century Leon-Castile and the struggle against Islam Simon Barton (University of Exeter) Nottingham Medieval Studies: v.44 (2000) On 2 July 1120, Bishop Diego of León made a generous grant of property, … Continue reading
What motivated the Muslims to move north of the Pyrenees? What do the Latin and Arabic sources reveal about what transpired in the course of the battle? Precisely when and where did the encounter occur? Can we attach a macrohistorical significance to the battle? Continue reading
“Fino alle mura di Babilonia”. Aspetti militari della conquista normanna del Sud Giovanni Amatuccio Rassegna Storica Salernitana, n.30 (1998) L’apparizione dei Normanni nell’XI sullo scenario mediterraneo si caratterizza, a livello militare, come un incontro-scontro con le diverse realtà preesistenti: Longobardi, Bizantini … Continue reading
Thessaloniki, one of the largest cities of the Byzantine empire in the early tenth century, was captured and pillaged in 904 by a Muslim force led by Leo of Tripoli. Continue reading
Translated by William Watson. From: Canadian/American Slavic Studies 35 (2001). 1. al-Kāmil fi ‘t-Ta’rīkh, viii, 412-415 “The Rūs Seizure of the Town of Barda’a” (332 A.H./943-944 A.D.) In this year (332) armed bands of Rūs went by sea (the Caspian) to the … Continue reading
This text, known as the Munyatu’l-Guzat, or Wish of the Warriors of the Faith, is a fourteenth-century chivalric arts manual written in Mamluk-Kipchak. The work was originally in Arabic, but that version and the Mamluk-Kipchak have several differences. The use … Continue reading