Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192 (Fortress) [Paperback]

David Nicolle (Author), Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Fortress | Publication Date: July 25, 2004

The Crusaders that landed in the Middle East in the late-11th century brought with them their own traditions of military architecture, but it was not long before their defensive construction began to reflect a broad array of local influences. Most early Crusader structures were relatively small, and tended to increase the existing natural and defensive features of a site. The basic forms comprised freestanding towers, castra, and hilltop and spur-castles, but urban centres, religious sites and rural dwellings were also fortified. From the 1160s, bigger, stronger and more expensive castles began to appear, in response to developments in Islamic siege weaponry. This title examines the early fortifications erected by the Crusaders in modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and south-eastern Turkey.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Nicolle was born in 1944. He worked for the BBC, including the overseas broadcasting service, before returning to university in Edinburgh, Scotland, and obtaining his PhD. He subsequently taught at Yarmouk University in Jordan. David now devotes himself to writing, and is a specialist in medieval arms and armour. He is also a frequent contributor to numerous journals and international conferences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (July 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841767158
• ISBN-13: 978-1841767154
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, November 18, 2004

By 

medievalcrusadesbabe "ebabsedasurclaveidem" (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192 (Fortress) (Paperback)

This book, another in the collection on Castles and architecture, focuses on the Castles in the area known as the Levant, or the Holy Land, built during the period of 1097-1192. The focus is on the castles that were in use or used by the Crusaders during the time of the Crusades.

This series of books, the Fortress books by Osprey, are some of the best tools that can be utilized by anyone who is doing research on the areas or time periods noted in the titles, and this book is no exception.

The book contains not only valuable information on the types and structures of Castles in the Holy Land, but the maps, timeline, drawings and photos, and basic history incorporated into these books make them a pleasure to read and excellent sources of information for anyone doing research or getting into the study of the Crusades.

First, let's look at the discussion of the castles. The book presents the layout of the land, the need for defenses, the types and styles of castles, from the freestanding towers to the hilltop fortifications to the man-made and enhanced cave-fortresses. While we are more familiar with the stone edifices, there were also wooden fortresses, and there is discussion on how and why for the building materials chosen. There is also discussion on the choices of structures and layouts.

The outline of the crusades is presented so that the reader becomes familiar with the place names, the route of the original crusades and the reason for placement of these castles. The book very effectively lays out the battle strategies, key placement of fortifications, and how they were, or were not, effective against the invasion and occupation of opposing forces.

What makes this book outstanding are the references to events, incidents and places all through the crusade story. Excellent reference maps make the progress of the crusaders and locations of key fortifications easy to visualize and follow. What had been lacking in many books on the crusades, visual aids to follow as well as a time line progression, is more than made up for in this book. There is even a chart for the names of the castles referenced in Medieval French or Latin, Arabic and Turkish or Hebrew. This is a fantastic reference for reading other histories of the crusades from various language sources.

There are also wonderful illustrations of what the castles looked like at the time they were built, giving some great layouts to better explain how a castle was put together and it's purposes, what the original plan was for protection and fortification, and how some of these castles appear today. Black and white photographs show how they have withstood the test of time and attack.

There are some lovely illustrations of constructions and use of these castles as well as illustrations involving battles at various castles. The historical detail of period clothing, machines, armor and weapons give the reader a very realistic visual of what life was like at that time.

There is a timeline at the beginning of the book that places events, battles and even natural disasters into perspective as you follow the history of the crusades. This is a key piece of information that makes this book very easy to follow.

The material is well researched, well thought out as far as how to include the most amount of information in the space provided. While the focus is not the Crusades itself but rather the military aspect of the crusades in relation to battles and defenses, it can not help but include key events, military groups, religious centers and the general story of the Crusades.

This book can augment any other reference you will be looking at, whether a school project or just curious reading. For the maps and time line alone it is a valuable resource. Include the look at the military strategies, the culture and the life style of the time, and it is probably one of the best resources for the price point as well as ease of reading and understanding. No college degree required here.

The book has a good outline in the table of contents, a bibliography (Further Reading), a glossary of terms that you will not encounter elsewhere, and an index that makes for easy reference.

A great reference tool, one that will surly find it's way into school libraries as well as home libraries for it's value as a well done, well researched and easy to understand book. medievalcrusadesbabe

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crusader Castles, August 14, 2009

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192 (Fortress) (Paperback)

A good handbook to the castles erected or occupied by the Crusaders from the beginning of the First Crusade through to the conclusion of Salah al-Din's campaigns against the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The detailed text is supported by several color plates, numerous color photos and black and white diagrams, a substantial bibliography, and a handy list of all the major Crusader castles, giving their French or Latin, Medieval Arabic, and modern day Hebrew, Arabic or Turkish names.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fine castle book, but with flaws, April 26, 2006

By 

M. Van Der Gaag - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192 (Fortress) (Paperback)

David Nicolle has written many excellent books on medieval history for osprey publishing. This book however gives the impression that it is too quickly published. If the author and publisher had spend a little more time on it, removing the flaws, it could have received 5 stars.

The book covers interesting examples of crusading castles and fortifications in the middle east of 1097-1192, including the unknown (for me) cave-fortress of Ain al Habis (La cave de Sueth). Do not expect the well-known big crusader castles in this book (except saone), these are covered in his next book. The information makes the book well worth for anyone interested in castles and crusader history.

However, the flaws are many. The most annoying are the maps and drawings of Cave de Sueth. Why has the publisher placed an illegible picture (72 dpi or even lower) here? This is even more strange as the picture originates from another (scientific) manuscript of the author. He must have access to a good quality image (Due to this book, I now have a copy of this manuscript, which contains excellent pictures).

Other flaws of the book are:
- Some of the color illustrations do show very little interesting parts of the castles (for instance The Hospitallers take over the castle of Turris Rubea in the 1190's).
- Plans of castles do not appear at the place where they are described in the text. Other plans shown are not mentioned at all in the text, as well as descriptions of castle plans in the text have no image of the plan.
- Some photographs show hardly any information.
- Two maps showing the castles of the region are very detailed and in full color, whereas two maps other regions are crude and black and white.

In conclusion:
If you want a general book on crusader castles, buy another book which is better presented. If you are a castle-enthousiast or interested in this period of history, this book is still worth your money.