Crusader Castles and Modern Histories

Ronnie Ellenblum0521860830, 9780521860833

For the last 150 years the historiography of the Crusades has been dominated by nationalist and colonialist discourses in Europe and the Levant. These modern histories have interpreted the Crusades in terms of dichotomous camps, Frankish and Muslim. In this revisionist study, Ronnie Ellenblum presents an interpretation of Crusader historiography that instead defines military and architectural relations between the Franks, local Christians, Muslims and Turks in terms of continuous dialogue and mutual influence. Through close analysis of siege tactics, defensive strategies and the structure and distribution of Crusader castles, Ellenblum relates patterns of crusader settlement to their environment and demonstrates the influence of opposing cultures on tactics and fortifications. He argues that fortifications were often built according to economic and geographic considerations rather than for strategic reasons or to protect illusory ‘frontiers’, and that Crusader castles are the most evident expression of a cultural dialogue between east and west.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Dedication……Page 7
Contents……Page 9
Illustrations……Page 11
Tables……Page 12
Acknowledgements……Page 13
PART I National discourse and the study of the Crusades……Page 15
CHAPTER 1 From moral failure to a source of pride……Page 17
EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY CHANGES: ROMANTICISM, CATHOLICISM, AND COUNTER-MOVEMENTS……Page 26
THE BIRTH OF THE FRENCH NARRATIVE: JOSEPH-FRANCOIS MICHAUD (1767–1839)……Page 32
THE BIRTH OF THE GERMAN NARRATIVE: HEINRICH VON SYBEL (1817–1895)……Page 37
OTHER NATIONALIST NARRATIVES……Page 40
CRUSADER NATIONAL NARRATIVES AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF NATIONAL IDENTITY……Page 42
THE EXPROPRIATION OF CRUSADER ARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE BY GERMAN NATIONALISM……Page 46
FRENCH NATIONALISM EXPROPRIATES THE CRUSADER REMAINS……Page 50
PART II Crusader studies between colonialist and post-colonialist discourse……Page 55
RELATIONS OF EUROPEAN SETTLERS WITH THE LOCAL POPULATION: THE PRO-COLONIALIST MODEL OF INTEGRATION……Page 57
RELATIONS OF EUROPEAN SETTLERS WITH THE LOCAL POPULATION: THE ANTI-COLONIALIST MODEL OF SEGREGATION……Page 63
Major aspects of the model of segregation……Page 65
Crusader castles and cities……Page 69
Zionist ideology and the interpretation of the Crusades: settlement and immigration……Page 71
Rey’s and Oman’s colonialist approach……Page 76
THE EUROCENTRIC APPROACH OF THOMAS EDWARD LAWRENCE (‘LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’)……Page 78
THE ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRANKISH CASTLES: THE ACCEPTED VIEWPOINT……Page 82
CHAPTER 6 ‘Crusader cities’, ‘Muslim cities’, and the post-colonial debate……Page 87
CHAPTER 7 Crusader castle and Crusader city: is it possible to differentiate between the two?……Page 98
PART III Geography of fear and the spatial distribution of Frankish castles……Page 117
THE COLONIALIST MODEL OF REY, PRUTZ, AND DESCHAMPS……Page 119
THE ANTI-COLONIALIST VIEW OF SMAIL AND PRAWER’S ZIONIST OUTLOOK……Page 124
CHAPTER 9 Borders, frontiers, and centres……Page 132
WERE THERE POLITICAL BORDERS IN ANTIQUITY?……Page 135
ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF MEDIEVAL BORDERS……Page 137
DENYING THE EXISTENCE OF MEDIEVAL POLITICAL BORDERS……Page 139
‘NATURAL FRONTIERS’ AND THE COLONIALIST DISCOURSE……Page 141
CREATING A SYNTHESIS BETWEEN THE TWO VIEWPOINTS……Page 143
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN BORDERS?……Page 144
FRANKISH CENTRES OR FRANKISH BORDERS?……Page 148
ASSUMED BORDER LINES ALONG THE ITINERARY OF IBN JUBAYR……Page 151
FRONTIER, ‘LIMES’, ‘MARCHA’, AND ‘THUGHR’……Page 154
CHAPTER 10 The geography of fear and the creation of the Frankish frontier……Page 160
STAGES IN THE MILITARY HISTORY OF THE LATIN KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM ACCORDING TO THE FREQUENCY OF HOSTILITIES……Page 163
FIRST STAGE, 1099–1115: FREQUENT MILITARY ENGAGEMENTS……Page 165
SECOND STAGE, 1115–1167: A PERIOD OF RELATIVE SECURITY……Page 167
THIRD STAGE, 1168–1187: THE MUSLIM OFFENSIVE AND THE CREATION OF THE FRANKISH FRONTIER……Page 175
CHAPTER 11 The distribution of Frankish castles during the twelfth century……Page 179
FIRST-GENERATION CRUSADER CASTLES (1099–1114)……Page 180
SECOND-GENERATION CRUSADER CASTLES (1115–1167)……Page 184
THIRD-GENERATION CRUSADER CASTLES (1168–1187)……Page 191
PART IV The castle as dialogue between siege tactics and defence strategy……Page 201
CHAPTER 12 Siege and defence of castles during the First Crusade……Page 203
FRANKISH SIEGE MACHINERY AND LOGISTICS DURING THE FIRST CRUSADE……Page 206
FRANKISH ATTACKS AND MUSLIM ARTILLERY……Page 213
FRANKISH SUPERIORITY IN LOGISTICS AND PROFESSIONAL MANPOWER……Page 217
THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANKISH SUPERIORITY IN LAND BATTLES……Page 220
A SUPPORTING FLEET……Page 222
Craftsmen……Page 223
THE MUSLIM REACTION……Page 224
SPEED AND EFFICACY OF RELIEF FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY……Page 225
Siege tactics: Frankish continuity and Muslim change……Page 227
THE FIRST DECADES OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY: MINING AND LIGHT ARTILLERY……Page 231
MUSLIM USE OF ARTILLERY BEFORE AND AFTER THE SIEGE OF MONTFERRAND……Page 236
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEEDY CAPTURE OF ENEMY CASTLES: THE CONQUEST OF EDESSA……Page 239
THE IMPORTANCE OF REINFORCEMENTS: THE SIEGE OF BANIYAS, 1157……Page 241
MUSLIM OFFENSIVE: THE CAPTURE OF HARIM, THE CAVE CASTLE, AND BANIYAS……Page 245
SIEGE CAMPAIGNS IN EGYPT……Page 247
CRUSADER FRONTIERS AND CONCENTRIC CASTLES……Page 250
Muslim adoption of heavy artillery and siege towers……Page 251
Lengthier Muslim sieges……Page 252
Thicker walls……Page 253
Higher fortifications……Page 254
Massive vaults within the castle’s outer range……Page 256
The moat as a major component of defence……Page 259
Larger and higher towers……Page 261
Improved firing apertures……Page 263
Creation of posterns for sorties……Page 264
Greater stocks of food and water……Page 267
Additional lines of walls: castles become ‘concentric’……Page 269
THE 1170S: A STRATEGIC EQUILIBRIUM……Page 272
VADUM IACOB: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FRONTIER CONCENTRIC CASTLE……Page 275
THE FIRST WALL……Page 282
THE SIEGE OF VADUM IACOB……Page 284
CHAPTER 17 The last years of the Latin Kingdom: a new balance of power……Page 289
THE BATTLE OF HATTIN AND AFTER……Page 295
Conclusion……Page 301
Appendix……Page 319
ABBREVIATIONS……Page 332
PRIMARY SOURCES……Page 333
SECONDARY EARLY MODERN SOURCES……Page 338
Author index……Page 361
Subject index……Page 365