Buy new:
-34% $13.16
FREE delivery Saturday, July 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$13.16 with 34 percent savings
List Price: $20.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Saturday, July 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, July 10. Order within 15 hrs 58 mins
In Stock
$$13.16 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.16
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
Late fee A late fee of 20% of the item price will apply if you complete the drop off or pick up after the ‘Return By Date’.
Restocking fee A restocking fee may apply if the item is not returned in original condition and original packaging, or is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to Amazon or seller error. See details here.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
Late fee A late fee of 20% of the item price will apply if you complete the drop off or pick up after the ‘Return By Date’.
Restocking fee A restocking fee may apply if the item is not returned in original condition and original packaging, or is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to Amazon or seller error. See details here.

Return instructions

Item must be in original condition and packaging along with tag, accessories, manuals, and inserts. Unlock any electronic device, delete your account and remove all personal information.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$8.58
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! See less
FREE delivery Monday, July 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, July 10. Order within 7 hrs 28 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.16 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.16
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Amin Maalouf
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Saqi Essentials) Paperback – April 29, 1989

by Amin Maalouf (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 772 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.16","priceAmount":13.16,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"16","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"H36V3m9y4EPqYaa1ZBZVvScAaVzZqR%2B9v9It8bD5J0iXr38nkPRBPvm96XJ5mFYZmQ3onx55dxyoH4WyCMyN3zw2d0Rrpn6fLWcQLFFwFYt8OUvk8sys%2BA6d%2BO9BLs5Fw3osM%2FTGGts%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.58","priceAmount":8.58,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"58","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"H36V3m9y4EPqYaa1ZBZVvScAaVzZqR%2B9ovbMCkADAxTiYKV4XBHjQW7EpST4LQGUE6eDs4GYcQnzG6mimYL%2FSjjtMtYQXtS0dyHRsSOCyKChbeZW%2FTggya37KCRDkmmFGfB84W7MTQ7gxERaXlE5JX1RfzshOt08zSczzIBI5FyvfFSFV7VbNuNWYdNp7gDl","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The author has combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Part of series
    Saqi Essentials
  2. Print length
    293 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Schocken
  5. Publication date
    April 29, 1989
  6. Dimensions
    5.2 x 0.65 x 7.98 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0805208984
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0805208986
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Frequently bought together

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Saqi Essentials)
$13.16
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jul 13
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Destiny Disrupted: 8.25
$13.89
Get it as soon as Monday, Jul 15
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past
$17.40
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jul 13
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Control
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Crusades Through Arab Eyes may be warmly recommended to lay-readers and students alike."
—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

From the Inside Flap

as combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Schocken (April 29, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 293 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805208984
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805208986
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.65 x 7.98 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 772 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Amin Maalouf

Amin Maalouf

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
772 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book well written and amazing. They also find the documentation highly informative and contemporary, with an Arab perspective.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityDocumentation
44 customers mention "Readability"35 positive9 negative

Customers find the book well-written, engaging, and complete. They also appreciate the author's seamless citing inline. Readers also mention that the style is gorgeous and the history is well described.

"...Payne’s THE DREAM AND THE TOMB along side this book for a beautifully written and researched Western perspective of the eight crusades and the end..." Read more

"...An amazing story telling experience by Amin Maalouf" Read more

"Maalouf writes well, and presents what Arabs were writing about the Crusaders at the time, with some surprising insights into both cultures, both..." Read more

"...But, the author is fair and in the final piece, seems a bit reluctant to admit that while the Muslim east expended its energies to relieve the land..." Read more

34 customers mention "Documentation"31 positive3 negative

Customers find the documentation highly informative, simple, and unique. They also appreciate the excellently detailed descriptions of the battles and sieges. Readers describe the author as erudite and cogent, laying out the chronology of the convoluted and convolute.

"...Maalouf is erudite and cogent as he lays out the chronology of the convoluted and intrigue-laden events over a three or four hundred year period...." Read more

"...-a shame because it is a wonderful book and one that has expanded my understanding of all that happened during the centuries of the Crusades...." Read more

"This remarkable work is a scholarly work which is so well written that it achieves the author's wish to write a history of the conflict between East..." Read more

"...Part of what makes this well-researched and highly readable book so valuable is that it is not simply a piece of Islamic propaganda...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

A.H. Derman
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful and Perceptive
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
There is only one thing that made this a difficult read: the phonetic transliteration of Arabic names is lousy in the Kindle edition. Otherwise,
Maalouf is masterful, superbly narrative and poignant as he alludes to the long and deep wounds of The Crusades upon Arab peoples and upon the perception of persecution that often accompanies fanatical mindsets in both East and West. Maalouf is erudite and cogent as he lays out the chronology of the convoluted and intrigue-laden events over a three or four hundred year period. He also demonstrates the fragility of peace and order in The Holy Land during this time period. This book is a rare gem as most texts I have read as an historian have been the Turkish, Western European and the Greek perspectives (my languages are Turkish, Latin and Greek). Uniquely, Maalouf demonstrates the intricacies of the tapestry of cultures present from India to Egypt to show us that there was no monolith of cultures on either side.

I often read several historical books from differing perspectives simultaneously, as it tends to deepen my understanding of events. I recommend reading Robert Payne’s THE DREAM AND THE TOMB along side this book for a beautifully written and researched Western perspective of the eight crusades and the end of Christian occupation.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
radi radi
5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
The ultimate history of the crusades as seen from the side of the occupied. An amazing story telling experience by Amin Maalouf
Helpful
 Report
Tim Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for a complete look at the Crusades.
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2004
Verified Purchase
Oddly, I purchased this book some time ago but only read it over these past two weeks-a shame because it is a wonderful book and one that has expanded my understanding of all that happened during the centuries of the Crusades.

Maalouf's nicely condensed book is a joy to read with many passages from medieval Arab chroniclers and an ability to, for the most part, thread his [and our] way through mightily complex Near Eastern dynastic histories. I say for the most part because, particularly in Part Three, he gets mired in that political dynastic swamp alluded to previously. Fortunately he uses that historical patchy ground to launch into a discussion of the rise and dominance Saladin in this political morass.

Maalouf, because he is writing from a broader perspective than most Western Crusade historians, has illuminated the Near Eastern stage at the time clearer than the histories that I have read during these past years. It's strange reading the Crusade histories from this other perspective because it is like looking at a picture that you thought was familiar to you only to discover that you've been looking through a kaleidoscope and it is a little unsettling.

A person studies the Crusades through Western histories and their organization usually follows each Crusade from People's through Louis' Afracan debacles; Maalouf however, never mentions these separate crusades-in fact you read of Conrad's drowning death as an event that caused the collapse of a huge band of reinforcements coming to strengthen the seige of Acre. So these separate crusades that we in the West look upon as normal historiography are passed simply as new bands of reinforcements for events already taking place.

If I can criticize Maalouf, and I'm wary of doing so, I would say that for this reader he failed to present a comprehensive picture of all that was taking place in the Near East; rather he gives the reader extraordinarily detailed accounts of the details of dynastic history among a myriad of conflicting city states nominally under an umbrella government but in reality acting totally alone and for their own interests. And this is why the Crusades had any success at all-not western religious valor but eastern disunity.

Maalouf has written a great book and it has my highest recommendation.
19 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Stephen E Israel
5.0 out of 5 stars An uncommon good look from the other side
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
Maalouf writes well, and presents what Arabs were writing about the Crusaders at the time, with some surprising insights into both cultures, both the Muslims at their zenith, and their minds starting to close, and Europeans and early signs of democracy and closed minds starting to open.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Justin F. Mc Donald
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2004
Verified Purchase
When I picked this book up I figured it would be an all out hate attack against the West and would prop up the East as being saintly. I was surprised though, because it was very little of that at all. In fact, most of the book revolved around the problems between the Arab emirs and sultans. It seems as though there political problems have not changed for hundreds of years, heck, it seems as though they were more screwed up than the Crusaders'.

Obviously there was some bias. Whenever the Crusaders won the Muslims "fought valiantly" and whenever the Muslims won the Crusaders were "crushed." But, do realize that this is an arab's perspective and a fanatic christian would probably do a similar turn.

It doesn't give a real concise history of the crusades because it seems that from the Arab's perspective, there isn't a numbering of crusades, rather, a constant threat of invasion. So, you would have to have a little knowledge of the crusades before reading this book so that one could distinguish between the 1st and 3rd crusade for instance.

I did like how it went into a bit of detail on Reynald de Chatillon, the merciless hater of Muslims who doesn't seem to get a whole lot of mention in any of Western accounts of the Crusades that I have mentioned, but even then there were some discontinuities, for I had though the 3rd crusade was started with his attacking a caravan with one of Saladin's wives, yet Maaloof only makes not of an attack on a caravan.

But, the author is fair and in the final piece, seems a bit reluctant to admit that while the Muslim east expended its energies to relieve the land of the "Franj" it in the same token lost much of what it made it a civilized land, in effect, passing their civilization onto the Franj in exchange, ironically, for the backwardness and religious fanaticism that was used to describe the first Frankish invaders in 1097.

Overall, I recommend this to anyone who has some idea of the crusades and wants a different outlook. Its an easy read, not weighed down by too many facts though for the Western reader, the Arabic names seem to get confusing at times.
21 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Paul Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in Australia on January 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
The author has done an extraordinary amount of research to bring together this historic book essential for anyone wondering why we are where we are in relations between “middle eastern” and “western” cultures. Or more accurately between Christian and Muslim countries, especially those with radical Christians and radical Muslims. Interestingly the Israelis are considered crusaders by some. The Prologue gives an insight, if not picked up when reading each chapter, about the effects of the Crusades on current world politics; why did the Arab world decline in areas of human development such as science, philosophy, education, literature and the western world take over and become more civilised cultures (to some extent).
Report
DDolsen
5.0 out of 5 stars How Arabs see past events and their influence on current affairs.
Reviewed in Canada on March 7, 2015
Verified Purchase
Translated from the French, this book forgives no-one but does seek to set the record straight re The Crusades and the angst that we here in the west inherited as a result of our misguided efforts. Seeing the problem from the other side is crucial to understanding what fronts of diplomacy may be possible in the coming century, if at all. Not a light read, but worth it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Need of Primary Non European Materials: This work is a contribution
Reviewed in India on March 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
The book is a primary source book for theoretical and narrative historians and students. One problem with historiography ,especially for Asian historians,is that most materials are from the West and naturally Euro-centric. So making original Asian materials is of great value. Of course contemporary narratives also need textual criticism but this book gives life experiences and so can be given almost the value of epigraphic materials.
I had always doubted the history of crusades I studied in school/college and had later developed my hypothesis that the phenomenon is comparable to the predatory Mongol invasions .That is, predatory invasions of poverty stricken martial societies plundering rich settled societies. This book gave me solid evidence for my hypothesis .i have made some inquiries about the social,martial,ideological,sacred organisation of Mongols but i am yet to come across such a sociological work about tribal/early feudal Latin Europe. Can somebody give some link? This book gives such details about the Anatolian/Syrian society.
The book also supports my thesis that a wealthy creative civilization need not be one which is politically and militarily unified (the West Asian society of the period was rich and cultured and because of that had decentralized polities and civic politics).This becomes a disadvantage when confronted by less civilized societies which are militarily well organised.Reading about such details gave me insights and pleasure(example,about the cities of Aleppo,Tripoli etc).
My knowledge about the roles the Italian city states,Catholic imperialism etc in this process was substantiated besides my suspicion that the Crusades were the the factor which created Islamic fundamentalism in the cultured societies of West Asia. And crusades made the West Asian Christians' lot precarious
This a good addition to my reference library
7 people found this helpful
 Report
Ludovic Leroy
5.0 out of 5 stars Estupendo!
Reviewed in Spain on October 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
Un libro necesario hoy en dia para comprender mas el mundo arabe. Ademas se lee muy fácilmente y con un ritmo frenético. Lo recomiendo mucho
Report
Ross
5.0 out of 5 stars history
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
Really good read. Great perspective to see how this period mapped out through the eyes of the islamic inhabitants from squabbling petty rulers to the religious groups and the ordinary people. Seen through their eyes no one expected the invasions to be successful and so bloody and how the people despaired of their leaders to mount a defense and drive the crusaders back into the sea. As the story progresses we see how champions eventually emerged and were able to focus and turn the tide. We also see how the invaders eventually succumbed to the same intrigues and power struggles as their rival Islamic enemies.
8 people found this helpful
 Report