The First Crusade
The Call from the East
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:7th Mar '13
Should be back in stock very soon
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 Montefiore
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.
FROM 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 Montefiore
In 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.
Frankopan has written a remarkable book that makes as strong case as the incomplete and episodic evidence permits * Literary Review *
Scholarly and yet accessible, and unashamedly partisan, The First Crusade, as any vibrant history should, is bound to set a lot of feathers flying * Daily Telegraph *
A dazzling book, perfectly combining deep scholarship and easy readability. The most important addition to Crusading literature since Runciman
A nuanced and often counterintuitive story of power politics, international diplomacy and war and, ultimately that very rare thing - a truly fresh interpretation of an old story * Time Out *
Frankopan's qualities as a historian and writer are of a high order * BBC History Magazine *
Convincing and accessible * Sunday Times *
A scholarly but readable account of the first crusade, refreshingly repositioning it as a successful attempt by the Byzantine Emperor to save Constantinople * Sunday Telegraph (Seven) *
The best book on the First Crusade ever written * Prof. Paul Chevedden *
Peter Frankopan's re-assessment of the Byzantine contribution to the origins and course of the First Crusade offers a compelling and challenging balance to traditional accounts. Based on fresh interpretations of primary sources, lucidly written and forcefully argued, The First Crusade: The Call from the East will demand attention from scholars while providing an enjoyable and accessible narrative for the general reader.
In this fluent and dramatic account, Frankopan - quite rightly - places the Emperor Alexios at the heart of the First Crusade and in doing so he skilfully provides a texture/dimension so often missing from our understanding of this seminal event in world history. Frankopan illuminates the complex challenges that faced Alexios and deftly depicts the boldness and finesse needed to survive in the dangerous world of medieval Byzantium
- Short-listed for Gladstone History Book Prize 2013 (UK)
ISBN: 9780099555032
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 18mm
Weight: 214g
288 pages