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The Third Crusade 1191 pdf download

THE THIRD CRUSADE 1191
Book Title The Third Crusade 1191
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The Third Crusade 1191 – Richard the Lionheart, Saladin and the struggle for Jerusalem by David Niccole

THE THIRD CRUSADE 1191

Origins of the campaign

The Third Crusade was one of those events which contradict the idea that the medieval world was characterized by major cultural blocs, such as European Christendom and the Islamic World, which had little impact upon one another.

Nor was the Third Crusade an example of some supposed ‘clash of civilizations between Islam and the Christian World.

It was much more complex, involving numerous competing political and cultural groups whose interests and actions did not lead to the formation of ‘eastern’ or ‘western’ blocs. Rather the Third Crusade was characterized by complex rivalries within the supposedly Christian and Islamic ‘camps’, which in turn resulted in unexpected and shifting alliances.

The 12th century was a period of remarkable economic and population expansion in Western Europe, accompanied by huge cultural advances and booming confidence. This process was in full flow at the time of the Third Crusade.

Considerably more money was now in circulation – money which rulers and the higher aristocracy could use to hire and equip professional soldiers.

This money also provided the capital with which economically advanced regions such as the Italian ‘naval republics’ of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice financed their expanding trade within and outside Europe – a trade which included an arms industry which now became a booming business for manufacturers and merchants alike.

Although the Islamic World had long been in advance of Western Europe in most of these fields, the Europeans were playing ‘catch up’ so successfully that they overtook their Muslim rivals in several significant fields, most notably shipping and trade. Italian vessels now dominated the Mediterranean but communications within Europe were still generally slower and less efficient than in the Islamic World.

Furthermore, Europeans had far inferior geographical knowledge, especially outside Europe.

This geographical ignorance was more of a problem for merchants than Crusader commanders since the latter now rarely ventured beyond territory conquered, and subsequently lost, by their predecessors. Inadequate communications were more serious, with their reliance on personal messengers or delegations which needed military protection.

It also took a long time for messages to reach their destinations, and for replies to return. While Western Europe was going through an economic revolution and a cultural renaissance, the Byzantine Empire was in relative stagnation. However, the Islamic World was also seeing

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