A history of the Crusades written from the Muslim perspective, stressing the diversity of Muslim experiences of European holy war, not merely as victims or victors. The tale ranges across the medieval Mediterranean, from Spain to Sicily to Syria, with stops in north Africa and Turkey. It deals with military confrontations and enigmatic heros such as the great sultan Saladin, but also peaceful diplomatic wranglings, commercial interaction, and cultural encounters,
all of which distinctively shaped Muslim experiences of Europeans until the close of the Middle Ages.
Author Biography
Paul M. Cobb is Professor of Islamic History at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of numerous books and studies, including a translation of the Arabic memoirs of a Muslim eyewitness to the Crusades published as The Book of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades (2008). A recognized authority on relations between Islam and the West during the Middle Ages, he has travelled widely throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He divides his
time between teaching in Philadelphia and farming in his home town of Amherst, Massachusetts.
