The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
First edition (French)
AuthorAmin Maalouf
LanguageFrench
SubjectHistory
PublisherJC Lattès France
Schocken Books United States of America
Publication date
1983
1984 English translation
Publication placeFrance
ISBN0-8052-0898-4
OCLC22435105

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (French: Les Croisades vues par les Arabes) is a French language historical essay by Lebanese author Amin Maalouf.[1]

As the name suggests, the book is a narrative retelling of primary sources drawn from various Arab chronicles that seeks to provide an Arab perspective on the Crusades, and especially regarding the Crusaders – the (Franj), as the Arabs called them – who were considered cruel, savage, ignorant and culturally backward.[2]

From the first invasion in the eleventh century through till the general collapse of the Crusades in the thirteenth century, the book constructs a narrative that is the reverse of that common in the Western world, describing the main facts as bellicose and displaying situations of a quaint historic setting, where Western Christians are viewed as "barbarians", and unaware of the most elementary rules of honor, dignity and social ethics.[3]

  1. ^ Bourget 2006, pp. 265–6.
  2. ^ Bourget 2006, pp. 264, 267, 268–9.
  3. ^ Bourget 2006, pp. 270–71.