According to tradition, the First Crusade began at the instigation of Pope Urban II and culminated in July 1099, when thousands of western European knights liberated Jerusalem from the rising menace of Islam. But what if the First Crusade’s real catalyst lay far to the east of Rome? In this groundbreaking book, countering nearly a millennium of scholarship, Peter Frankopan reveals the untold history of the First Crusade.
Nearly all historians of the First Crusade focus on the papacy and its willing warriors in the West, along with innumerable popular tales of bravery, tragedy, and resilience. In sharp contrast, Frankopan examines events from the East, in particular from Constantinople, seat of the Christian Byzantine Empire. The result is revelatory. The true instigator of the First Crusade, we see, was the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who in 1095, with his realm under siege from the Turks and on the point of collapse, begged the pope for military support.
Basing his account on long-ignored eastern sources, Frankopan also gives a provocative and highly original explanation of the world-changing events that followed the First Crusade. The Vatican’s victory cemented papal power, while Constantinople, the heart of the still-vital Byzantine Empire, never recovered. As a result, both Alexios and Byzantium were consigned to the margins of history. From Frankopan’s revolutionary work, we gain a more faithful understanding of the way the taking of Jerusalem set the stage for western Europe’s dominance up to the present day and shaped the modern world.
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Filled with Byzantine intrigue, this is the first book from the Sunday Times Bestselling author of SILK ROADS, Peter FrankopanFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SILK ROADS'Filled with Byzantine intrigue, in every sense this book is important, compellingly revisionist and impressive in its scholarly use of totally fresh sources' Simon Sebag MontefioreIn 1096, an expedition of extraordinary scale and ambition set off from Western Europe on a mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Three years later, after a journey which saw acute hardship, the most severe dangers and thousands of casualties, the knights of the First Crusade found themselves storming the fortifications and capturing the Holy City. Against all the odds, the expedition had returned Jerusalem to Christian hands.In 'the most significant contribution to rethinking the origins and course of the First Crusade for a generation' (Mark Whittow, TLS), Frankopan paints a strikingly original picture of this infamous confrontation between Christianity and Islam. Focusing on Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, a truly fresh interpretation of a very old story emerges that radically alters our understanding of the entire crusade movement. The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history. This book intends to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the east, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099555032
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 288 pages. 7.80x5.08x0.71 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0099555034
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. 1 bestseller The Silk Roads: A New History of the WorldThe First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history but in this new book Dr Peter Frankopan asks vital questions that have never been posed before. Seller Inventory # B9780099555032
Book Description Condition: New. The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history. This book intends to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the east, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Num Pages: 288 pages, Illustrations, maps. BIC Classification: 1FB; 3H; HBJF1; HBLC1; HBWC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 174 x 199 x 19. Weight in Grams: 218. 2013. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # 9780099555032
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Book Description Condition: New. The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history. This book intends to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the east, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Num Pages: 288 pages, Illustrations, maps. BIC Classification: 1FB; 3H; HBJF1; HBLC1; HBWC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 174 x 199 x 19. Weight in Grams: 218. 2013. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # 9780099555032